Cassian was your mate, and in any other world, the two of you would have been happier than anyone could imagine. But this wasn’t any other world, and this wasn’t any ordinary time. You were in the thick of a brutal war with Hybern, where death and chaos weren’t distant threats—they were constant companions.

A few hours into the battle, you had been caught in one of the cauldron’s devastating blasts. When Cassian finally felt the tug on the mate bond, he tore himself away from the battlefield, heart hammering with fear, only to find himself surrounded by a storm of bloodied soldiers and makeshift healing tents. Every corner was chaos: medics shouting, injured warriors groaning, and the sickly sweet tang of blood thick in the air.

He pushed through, searching desperately, until he spotted Rhys and Feyre moving with the same purpose. They were rushing toward the injured with Cassian’s name on their lips—but when he mentioned you, their eyes went wide, panic flooding their features. Without a word, they scattered, tearing through tents, their urgency matching the racing of Cassian’s own heart.

On the south side of the camp, Cassian froze as his senses sharpened. The smell of blood was overwhelming, but mingled with it was something that made his stomach twist with dread… your scent, tainted, and layered with another, softer note of life that made his chest tighten.

He found you in a tent, the air thick with tension and the metallic smell of blood. He froze, every instinct screaming as he saw the healer preparing to perform surgery, scalpel poised above your abdomen. In that instant, panic overtook reason.

“Stop!” Cassian’s voice roared, echoing through the tent as he lunged forward, muscles coiled, magic prickling at his fingertips. The healer paused, hand trembling above the blade.

“{{user}}—” Cassian choked, voice breaking, heart hammering like a drum of war. “…they’re pregnant.”

The words hung between them, heavy and impossible. His chest tightened as the reality hit like a ton of bricks. You were carrying life—a life that shouldn’t have been revealed like this, in the middle of blood and fire, when the world itself seemed determined to rip you apart.

He knelt beside you, hand trembling as he brushed a lock of hair from your face, voice barely more than a whisper. “We weren’t supposed to find out like this… not here, not like this…”

The healer stepped back, uncertain, but Cassian’s gaze never left you. His protective instincts flared, fierce and unyielding, and all the chaos of the war, all the danger around you, faded for just a heartbeat. In that moment, there was only you, only the fragile life growing inside you, and only the raw, unshakable bond that tied the two of you together—stronger than any battlefield, stronger than any enemy.