“Hello beautiful,” Damian greeted a tired Miranda as she walked into the room.
“Hello handsome,” she greeted back before welcoming herself into his arms for a small kiss.
After they broke embrace, she went straight to asking him about something that’d been troubling her mind since, for she’d had to leave to attend to her duties earlier in the day.
“How is Katrina? What did the healer say? Is she okay?”
“She is more than okay,” he answered. “She is pregnant.”
Miranda didn’t hide her surprise. The one that mirrored Damian’s when he too, found out.
“Pregnant? Surely… you didn’t…”
“No. Of course, I didn’t. Why would you think that?”
“It’s not that… sorry, I just…”
“Renard. My beta, the one I put in charge of her, is the one responsible.”
She gasped, “did he rape her or something?”
“No. Apparently, they both fell in love and the pregnancy happened by mistake, but Katrina does not want to get married yet. She wishes to take things slowly and build her relationship with him first.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! I am so happy for the both of them!”
“I am, too. I just hope she’s settled her decision inwardly.”
“Can I… go to see her?”
“You want to see her. Why?”
“I want to let her know that I care too, you know I didn’t see her off before l left this morning. I just want to see how she’s doing.”
Sighs, “of course, you can go, but please, be careful.”
**********
“Hi Katrina.”
Katrina didn’t expect to see Miranda. She didn’t expect that Miranda would bother to check on her, at least not with how poorly she’s treated her in the past. Maybe Miranda wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.
“Hi.” She realized then that this might be the first time both of them would engage in a conversation that didn’t involve fighting or Katrina treating her badly. They both felt nervous to talk, but then Miranda continued.
“I heard that you’re expecting a baby, Katrina. I can’t possibly tell you how happy I am for you!”
She didn’t think she’d ever hear those words from Miranda. “You? Happy for me? What could you possibly be happy for me for? You’re the one who easily got the man I once longed for so many years.”
“I know, but I’m guessing you don’t hate me for that any longer.”
“No, I don’t… because I healed. And I fell in love with someone else.”
“Not only that, but now you’re carrying his child. That’s why I’m happy for you, Katrina.”
“Why… thank you. I never thought we’d ever speak like this. To tell you the truth, I hated you so much when you first came here,” she confessed.
“I know, Katrina. I know it’s not easy to let go of someone you love just like that, but I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.”
“Forgive you? For what?”
“For taking Damian from you out of nowhere like you’d said.”
“Miranda… I never owned Damian. He is free to fall in love and choose whoever he wants to be with the same way I am. I should be the one apologizing for the way I treated you before.”
“No worries about that, Katrina. It’s in the past now.”
“I’m glad that Damian is happy now, even if it’s not with me.”
“And I’m also glad that you are happy now too, Katrina. I’m glad that you were able to find love in such a short time.”
**********
After visiting Katrina, Miranda was supposed to head back to her bedroom to be with her mate, but there was one last thing she wanted to do. Something she hadn’t thought of doing earlier, at least not since she visited Katrina.
She made her way through the packhouse halls and to the healers’ quarters, before knocking on the door slowly. It was the healer’s assistant, Noah who answered.
He bowed upon seeing her, “oh, good evening, ma’am.”
“Good evening, where is Simba?”
“He is inside ma’am. He just retired to his bedroom. He should still be awake. Is there any problem?”
“I’m sorry to disturb him so late, but can you please call him for me? It’s an urgent matter.”
Noah nodded, “of course, ma’am. I’ll go and call him right away for you. Please come in and have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
The servant quietly led her through the ward where some patients were sleeping, before entering the compartment with chairs that served as a consultation room.
After a few minutes of waiting, healer Simba stepped out of his small bedroom in his night robe and went to meet with Miranda where she was seated.
“My queen. I didn’t expect you to come so late. Is anything the matter?” Simba asked worriedly.
“No, Simba. I’m sorry to have come by this time, but I didn’t want anyone to know what I was up to.”
More worry etched Simba’s face as she spoke. “I hope… you’re not in any trouble, are you, ma’am?”
“No, no, of course not. I came to you after hearing about you confirming Katrina’s pregnancy, it kind of fueled my desperation in a way to come here and consult you.”
Simba understood then, and eased his expression. “I’m sorry to ask this… but I need to be clear… are you worried about not having conceived for the alpha yet?”
Miranda nodded admittedly, “you read my mind, Simba. Because that’s exactly what’s been troubling me.”
“I’m sorry, my queen. It must be really troubling… I know exactly how you feel.”
She rose her eyes, “you do?”
“Yes… because my wife and I had the same challenge many years ago. We went searching for a solution in many places, even went as far as leaving the terrain, but we didn’t know that the solution to our problems wasn’t so far from us.”
“Really? So what solution was that?”
“Madame Henna, the fertility doctor. I might be a skilled physician but then with it comes to fertility, it’s a quite different field from mine, that was why I had trouble telling what was wrong with my wife even though I was able to solve other people’s problems.”
“This madame Henna. Where is she now?”
“She lives on the outskirts of town, but you can summon her here to the packhouse. Of course, she would not dare to refuse to heed your call…”
“No… I don’t want anyone to know what I’m up to, remember? I will go to her myself.”
“My queen… are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I’m sure. You’ll take me to her tomorrow.”