The doctor furrowed his brows. "I treated lycan patients before, Your Grace, so I know what a lycan pregnancy is like. Yours is not one."
Sophie was dumbfounded by the doctor's explanation. What did he mean by... she was not carrying a lycan baby?
"Doctor, you must have made a mistake," said Sophie several times.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been pregnant three times with lycan babies and gave birth twice. All her children were lycans and she carried them all to terms in less than five months. Standard lycan babies.
So, why did suddenly the doctor make it seem like she was having a human baby?
"I don't think I made a mistake, Your Grace," said the doctor patiently. "But we can wait and take more tests if you wish to know more."
"But I..." Sophie was not ungrateful that she would have a human baby this time if the doctor was right, but she was just dumbfounded by the fact. She thought lycan genes were much more dominant than humans and that the children conceived through their unions would always produce lycan children.
Wait...
She looked at her own hands and realized, she was actually proof of how she was wrong.
"I thought lycans have stronger genes," she told the doctor apologetically. "I am sorry, I just realized that I am one such child. My parents are human and lycan and I was born human."
"You are?" The doctor looked at Sophie with interest. "It's very rare indeed, but since you experienced it yourself, you must understand that it does happen."
Sophie was human for as long as she could remember. If she had been born a lycan like her children, she would be born as a pup and she would transform when she turned five. However, she remembered crawling when she was a toddler and playing with little Lee and her mother.
She had always been human from the start. So, maybe the genes being passed on from her father's lineage were quite strong that it could affect the baby given birth by a lycan princess, producing a human baby, and now it went to Sophie's youngest child and made them human too.
"Usually, children conceived between humans and lycans would follow their lycan parents. Most of them would be fully lycans with their ability to transform and they also would have the strength and senses which are more enhanced than humans," the doctor explained politely.
He continued, "I had a few lycan patients over the years since my family lives near the border with Frisia and we are acquainted with some lycan pack members over there. So, I have seen hybrid babies being born. However, none of them were born fully humans... like yourself, Your Grace. This is... an anomaly."
"What caused this, do you know?" Sophie had never looked into her lineage because she didn't have her parents to ask. Her aunt's family didn't know and Leland also didn't understand why the granddaughter of the lycan king was born a human.
She heard about a few hybrids who were born without their lycan abilities whatsoever, like her, but she didn't think too much about it because all her children were born lycans and that's all that mattered.
Well, now that the youngest one seemed to be born a human, Sophie's heart was conflicted. It was a bit bittersweet for her. The sweet part was, finally, she would have a child who took after her. This bonus baby was a blessing when she was at her lowest point.
However, she secretly felt bad about her youngest one being born as a human. She, herself, wished she was born a lycan so she could understand the lycan language and have their abilities.
Lycans had so much more advantages compared to humans. They were physically stronger and had heightened senses. And they could transform into wolves. She was worried that her youngest would feel excluded from his/her older siblings, being different from them.
And another thing to think about was... she was relying on the fact that raising lycan babies was so easy, she could focus on rebuilding her life and operating her tavern to make money.
Lycan babies didn't need care 24/7 like human babies. As soon as they were born they would be able to walk and run around with their four legs. They were active and healthy. She didn't have to carry them all the time. Even Anne, who was sick, was very easy to care for and Sophie could spend time outside to prepare for her tavern business.
However... with a human baby on the way, now her plans would be disrupted. Suddenly Sophie felt uneasy about her situation. The doctor noticed her change of expression and thought Sophie disliked her pregnancy. He held her arm and talked to her about it.
"Your Grace, are you feeling unwell? Is this information bothering you?" the doctor asked her with concern. Sophie quickly shook her head. She sat on the chair and looked at her belly. It was still flat.
No wonder she had not shown pregnancy signs even after three months. She could no longer use her previous experience as the benchmark. This one was a new experience altogether.
One thing was for sure, she must think about her plans to move out of the palace and open her tavern if she would give birth to a human baby that would take up most of her waking moment.
"Thank you for your help," said Sophie to the doctor. "I need to rest. You may go."
"Very well, Your Grace," the doctor got up and collected his medical bag. He took out a pouch of herbs and gave it to Sophie. "I will leave you with this vitamin. You should take it every day to help strengthen your fetus."
He took his leave after Sophie took the pouch. After the doctor left, Sophie was sitting dejectedly in the chair. She was looking at Anne who was lying down on her foot and Jack who was relaxing in front of her and licking its paws alternately.
"Well... I guess, you will have a human sibling soon," said Sophie to both. Anne and Jack raised their heads and looked at Sophie attentively. They didn't seem to understand what she was talking about. They had never seen a human baby before.
"That's okay. You will understand when the time comes," Sophie murmured to herself.
She looked at her belly again and rubbed it lovingly. Thinking about her human baby, her heart was slowly filled with warmth. Yes, raising this baby would be harder than raising her other children, but she could see how special this baby would be. Sophie would be able to immediately communicate with it.
Sophie cupped her face with her hands and silently cried when she remembered this child would not have a father when it was born. What would Leland say if he found out that Sophie was pregnant with his child?
Should Sophie send the news to him to notify him? Would he even want to know? Where was he now?
Slowly tears fell down her cheeks. The pain that she had buried inside so she could move on with her life for the sake of her children, suddenly resurfaced.
***
Nicholas came to visit Sophie as soon as he knew about her condition from the doctor. He was really worried for her. He could tell Sophie was shocked by the news when he saw her.
"Hey... I heard something from the royal doctor," Nicholas spoke when he was close to Sophie. "Is that true?"
The woman looked up and saw Nicholas walk closer to her and his face was filled with worry. She nodded weakly and said yes.
"I am having a human baby," said Sophie. "It is quite unexpected."
"Indeed," said Nicholas. "However, I am actually relieved that you are carrying a human baby."
He spoke seriously and looked at Sophie with concern. This made Sophie become curious. Why was Nicholas relieved to know her daughter was human? fre ewebno vel.com
"To be honest, I thought your unborn baby is very sick because I could hear his heartbeat but it was very faint. I don't wish for you to raise another sick child, while also taking care of a business. It is just too much work for you," Nicholas explained.
He added, "Now I know that the reason for the faint heartbeat is because the baby is just very very young and has not fully developed. Over time, it will be much stronger as he grows inside you."
"Thank you," said Sophie with a smile. She unconsciously rubbed her belly and said, "I hope he will grow up healthy."
Silence ensued. Now, it became difficult for Nicholas to let Sophie go. He wanted to talk her out of her plans to leave, but he didn't know how to do it without making her feel offended.
Sophie's life had become more difficult with this new baby. Would she be able to handle this while taking care of her other children and her business?
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