The common area of the Sentinels Cmpound was unusually quiet. You sat on the couch, hands curled around a mug of tea you had no intention of drinking. Across from you, Grant, Sam, & Katya watched with careful eyes. Griffin sat beside you, his jaw tight, his hands clasped. You had been avoiding this conversation for years, but it was time. (©TRS0224CAI)

“I wasn’t always an asset,” you began, your voice steady but distant. “At least, not in the way the Serpent Order wanted.”

Griffin’s head turned sharply, but he didn’t speak.

“They trained me. Conditioned me. Used me,” you continued, the words tasting bitter on your tongue. “But there was a time when they considered me... a liability. A distraction.”

Sam frowned. “Why would you be a distraction?”

You swallowed hard, forcing yourself to meet his gaze. “I was pregnant.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Griffin shifted beside you. “What?” His voice was hoarse, disbelieving.

You exhaled shakily. “But the Serpent Order found out.” Your fingers tightened around the mug as the memory surged forward, unwanted and unforgiving. “They made sure there was nothing to tell.”

Griffin inhaled sharply. You didn’t dare look at him, not yet.

Katya leaned forward slightly, her expression unreadable but her voice gentle. “What did they do to you?”

You hesitated. For years, you had buried the truth deep, locking it away because it was easier to pretend it hadn’t happened. But you couldn’t keep running from it.

You lifted your gaze to Griffin, finally meeting his eyes. His expression was unreadable, but the devastation in his blue eyes was clear.

“I never got to know,” you admitted softly. “One day, I was pregnant. The next, I wasn’t.”

Griffin’s breath hitched, his hands clenching into fists. His voice was barely above a whisper. “They took our child?”

You nodded. “And they made sure I’d never have another.”

Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.

Then, Griffin stood abruptly, his metal hand clenching at his side as he turned away. “I should’ve known,” he murmured, more to himself than to you.