Chapter 83

Hu Yetao nodded, noticing Oscar stiffening beside him. He absently reached out to take his hand.

Madam Chen gave them a sympathetic look, not knowing what else to say. She turned to open the door and swiftly left them in a flurry of skirts, returning to her patient laid out in the hospital bed, withdrawing her wand as she went and approaching with a gentle smile. The first-year Hufflepuff with the tear-stained face seemed to relax at her kind demeanor, indicating that he may have done something a bit foolish in Potions class to end up there.

Hu Yetao and Oscar left the infirmary in a bit of a stupor, unsure of what to do; neither of them having been prepared to play a waiting game for the next fortnight.

"I think it's time for dinner," Hu Yetao pointed out numbly as he glanced at the tall ornate clock in the hospital wing corridor.

Oscar stopped walking, pulling back on Hu Yetao's hand.

Hu Yetao turned to him with a frown. "What is it?"

Oscar stared at him a moment, brow knit. "Nothing," he finally replied vaguely, giving his head a tiny shake and then starting forward again.

Hu Yetao continued to frown at him as they walked; clearly, something was agitating his mate and Oscar didn't want to talk about it. Hu Yetao pressed his lips together and resolved to ask him about it later.

They entered the Great Hall and headed for the half-empty Slytherin table. They were a little early and students were still drifting in and taking their seats at the four long house tables, chatting loudly or getting an early start on assignments.

Hu Yetao refused to glance towards the Gryffindor table, because if Zhang Xinyao and Jing-Long were there, they would be able to read him like a book and would run straight over, demanding to know what was wrong. He had every intention of warning them about the possibility of him being pregnant - just not with half the school listening in.

Only Chenchen was seated at the end of the Slytherin table where the eighth years always gathered. She looked up with a smirk as they settled themselves onto the bench opposite her.

"How are you feeling Yetao?" she asked, batting her dark lashes innocently.

"Fuck off," Hu Yetao muttered. Chenchen knew full well he'd been out of class because he'd been in heat. He couldn't wait until her eighteenth birthday; experiencing a heat cycle for herself may finally shut her up - or she may end up a Beta and be utterly mortified. Either way, Hu Yetao could count on the snide comments coming to an end.

"Enough Chenchen," Oscar said warningly, not appearing in the mood for her teasing either.

Chenchen immediately pouted at her housemate. "You're no fun tonight Oscar. You should be nice to me; I have front-page-worthy gossip."

Hu Yetao noted - with no small amount of dread - the smug sparkle in her eyes, and he immediately clenched his hands in his lap. He hoped this thrilling gossip didn't concern either himself or Oscar; he couldn't take anything else going wrong.

Chenchen leaned in and lowered her voice dramatically. "Naixin was taken out of Potions yesterday by Mrs. Amber, and Wen Zhou overheard the Headmistress in the corridor telling Naixin that her family wanted her at home because her sister's illness had taken a turn for the worse. Today, all of Naixin's things have disappeared from her room and Professor Síla Gehuo announced in the common room that she wasn't expected to return this year - because Meng had passed away."

Hu Yetao felt all the blood drain from his face.

Chenchen smiled proudly; pleased that she could be the bearer of such astonishing news. She leaned on one elbow as she absently twirled her dark ponytail with one finger. "I don't know why she's taking the entire year off though," she continued pensively and then paused in her hair twirling. "I do hope whatever Meng had wasn't catching," she added, wrinkling her pug-like nose.

Hu Yetao was too busy wondering if Meng was gone to be outraged by Chenchen's insensitive attitude towards her deceased housemate. Had the Nundu Clan finally decided on what she'd done to Oscar and executed her? As much as he loathed Meng for what she'd done, and, even though Oscar could've been the one on the wrong side of the executioner's wand because of it, Hu Yetao was still shaken by the news.

It all seemed so surreal that he was a part of this secret world where people -teenage girls were put to death for their crimes.

But perhaps her death was just a ruse for the family to flee the country; either by order of the Clan or in defiance, to save their daughter's life.

Hu Yetao turned to look at his Alpha, needing answers to questions he knew he couldn't possibly ask at that moment.

Oscar wasn't looking at him though; he was looking at Chenchen with a slight frown. "And you're overwrought by the news of her passing," he drawled wryly in observation.

Hu Yetao was once again struck by just how proficient Oscar was at affecting nonchalance when inside he must have been feeling just as much as Hu Yetao.

"I didn't know her that well," Chenchen sniffed dismissively, glancing up as the rest of their year began to filter in and sit at the table around them.

Oscar immediately slid an arm around Hu Yetao and pulled him into his side, then left his arm where it was; one hand firmly wrapped around Hu Yetao's right shoulder.

Hu Yetao glanced at his mate questioningly but Oscar was still frowning at Chenchen. Hu Yetao wondered fleetingly if Oscar's Alpha tendencies were going into overdrive because of the possible pregnancy. Oscar didn't appear comfortable with the sudden crowd, although it could just be the topic at hand that was making his mate uneasy.

"Talking about Meng?" Zhou Keyu asked as he took a seat on the bench next to Chenchen.

The steaming hot food appeared on the table in front of them then and all conversation ceased while they filled their plates.

Hu Yetao had been starving when he'd awoken but now he found that he'd lost his appetite. He took a sip of his pumpkin juice and then began to half-heartedly pile a bit of food onto his plate.

"Yes, just filling these two lovebirds in on why Naixin isn't here," Chenchen said to Keyu before delicately biting the tip-off of a honey-glazed carrot.

"I wonder what she had?" Yu Gengyin mused aloud with a frown. "Nobody seems to know, not even Professor Síla Gehuo."

"Does it matter?" Chenchen sniped. "She was always a bit of a cow, especially this year."

"Is this really how you treat each other in Slytherin?" Hu Yetao loudly interrupted in disbelief. As far as the rest of the house knew, Meng had died from a disease, not from committing a crime, so they had no possible reason to be so heartless.

"Hey don't lump us all in with Parkinson," Keyu instantly replied with a censorious look at Chenchen. "Chenchen only disliked her because Meng was her only competition for Pureblood males. You'll soon learn that Chenchen's a bit of an unfeeling tart, Yetao."

"Oi!" Chenchen threw a carrot at Keyu with indignation.

"It's true darling," Keyu said, picking up the thrown vegetable and popping it into his mouth with a smirk.

Hu Yetao turned to his mate as the other two continued to squabble, suddenly noticing that Oscar was spooning more food onto Hu Yetao's plate. He couldn't help but feel a little tug of affection, pushing aside some of the sick feelings in his stomach.

"What are you doing?" he asked him with quiet amusement.

Oscar glanced up and caught the warm look in Hu Yetao's eyes. He smiled a little and some of the tension in his expression eased as he continued to add more food to Hu Yetao's meager helping. "Fattening you up Taotao, you have to keep up your strength," he murmured into his ear.

Hu Yetao smiled as his heart did a little flip at his Alpha's words. Regardless of whether it was a good idea or not, or that it was the worst possible timing in the history of bad timing, Hu Yetao couldn't help but feel excited about the possibility that he could be carrying their child at that very moment. He knew it was the Omega in him that was flooding him with the warm and fuzzies over all this, but Oscar showing signs of love and support was almost making him teary-eyed with happiness.

Hu Yetao gave his head a shake and quickly clamped down on that embarrassing response. He picked up his fork and shot a grateful smile at Oscar before starting to eat with a little more enthusiasm.

"Ugh! You two make me sick," Chenchen proclaimed with a roll of her eyes, having caught the tender exchange of smiles between the two mates. "What happened to you, Oscar?"

"You're just jealous," Horan put in around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"I know I am," Zhou Keyu uttered quietly.

Hu Yetao glanced up and then quickly away again at the look in the Slytherin's eyes. Oscar's hand on his shoulder tightened in response.

"Jealous of that sickening display?" Chenchen continued, waving a hand at them. "I prefer a much more respectable relationship; where my husband keeps his distance and I spend all his money."

"That's real love," Yu Gengyin interjected sardonically, causing the rest of them to snigger and Chenchen to wink at him in response.

Hu Yetao took a bite of his roast chicken and hummed in pleasure at the delicious herb flavor; gaining back a little of his appetite as the shock of the news about Meng began to dissipate. He hadn't eaten at all during his heat cycle, they had barely stopped fucking to sleep and drink during those two and a half days. He would need to remember to fill up on carbohydrates before the next heat cycle he planned to spend with his mate.