Laras lay completely still, terrified to move. The gnawing sound inside her stomach grew louder — wet, crunching, like tiny sharp teeth tearing at something soft. She pressed both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.
The pain sharpened again, spreading through her abdomen like icy fire. She could feel it moving, crawling, feeding.
"Zahir, stop this," she begged in a broken whisper. "Please … I can't take it anymore."
The gnawing paused.
Then came Zahir's voice, calm, cold, and dangerously close — right beside her on the bed, even though she couldn't see him.
"You don't understand yet, Jamila," he murmured, his tone almost tender. "Our child is half-jinn. He needs more than what your weak human body can give him. He needs strength. He needs fear. He needs me."
Laras's eyes filled with tears. Her stomach suddenly bulged outward violently, as if something was trying to push its way out. She gasped in horror.
Zahir's invisible hand gently stroked her cheek, his touch ice-cold.
"Every time Raka touches you, our son gets angry," he whispered. "And when he's angry, he feeds on you instead."
The movement inside her became more aggressive. Laras bit down on her lip until she tasted blood, trying not to wake Raka.
Then Zahir's face slowly appeared inches from hers. His breathtakingly handsome features were illuminated only by the faint moonlight. His eyes — now a deep, glowing amber — stared at her with frightening intensity and obsession.
"You're even more beautiful when you're scared," he said softly, almost lovingly. "I chose you for a reason, Jamila. You were always meant to carry my heir."
He leaned closer until his cold lips brushed against her ear.
"Leave him," Zahir whispered. "Come to me willingly … or I will make him watch while our son takes what he needs from you every single night."
Laras's body trembled uncontrollably.
The thing inside her kicked again — harder this time. So hard that her belly visibly distorted, showing the clear outline of a tiny clawed hand pushing against her skin from the inside.
Zahir smiled. A perfect, angelic, yet terrifying smile.
"Sleep now, my love. I'll stay right here, watching over my family."
The musk scent grew thicker until Laras could barely breathe. Her eyelids became unbearably heavy.
As she slowly lost consciousness, the last thing she heard was the soft, hungry sound of her unborn child feeding once again.
And Raka slept through it all.
***
The next morning, Laras woke up drenched in cold sweat. Her body felt heavy, as if something had drained her during the night. When she tried to sit up, a wave of dizziness hit her.
Raka was already gone for work. On the pillow beside her was a single black rose with dew still clinging to its petals. Its thorns were unusually long and sharp. Next to it, a small note written in elegant handwriting.
"You look most beautiful when you surrender. I'll come for you soon. — Z"
Laras's hands shook as she touched her stomach. It was noticeably larger than yesterday — as if she were already four or five months pregnant. The skin was stretched tight, and faint dark veins could be seen crawling beneath it.
She forced herself to stand and walked to the mirror. What she saw made her blood run cold.
Her face was paler, almost translucent. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her lips looked unnaturally red. She lifted her shirt and gasped. Her belly was moving slowly, as though the child inside was stretching lazily after a long night of feeding.
"Zahir…" she whispered hoarsely.
He appeared behind her in the mirror. Tall, impossibly handsome, and deathly still. His amber eyes glowed with satisfaction as they gazed at her reflection.
"Look at you," he murmured, his voice like dark velvet. "You're already becoming more beautiful. Carrying my child suits you."
Laras spun around, but he wasn't physically in the room — only visible in the mirror. His cold fingers appeared to caress her swollen belly through the reflection.
"He grew so much last night," Zahir said proudly. "Because I fed him your fear and a little of your life force."
"Stop this," Laras begged, tears falling. "Please … I can't do this anymore."
Zahir's expression darkened. In an instant, he was standing right behind her in the real world. His tall frame towered over her. He wrapped his strong arms around her from behind, one hand possessively cradling her belly. His skin was ice cold.
"You don't have a choice, Jamila," he whispered against her neck, his lips brushing her skin. "The child is already too strong. If you try to remove him. He will tear his way out."
Laras whimpered as she felt the baby move again — this time more violently. A small, clawed hand pressed hard against her stomach from the inside, as if reaching for Zahir's hand.
Zahir smiled against her hair, clearly pleased.
"He knows his father's touch."
He turned her around to face him. Up close, his beauty was almost painful — perfect bone structure, full lips, and those intense glowing eyes that seemed to see straight into her soul.
"I can make this easy for you," he said softly, almost lovingly. "Come with me tonight. Leave this pathetic human life behind. I will give you everything … a palace, eternal beauty, and a child who will rule kingdoms."
His thumb gently wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Or you can stay here," he continued, his voice dropping into something much colder, "and I will visit you every night while you sleep next to him. Our son will keep feeding on you until there's nothing left but a hollow shell."
Zahir leaned in until their lips were almost touching.
"Choose wisely, my love. Because either way … you already belong to me."
He pressed a cold, lingering kiss on her forehead. When Laras opened her eyes again, he was gone.
But the black rose on the bed had turned completely blood-red.
And deep inside her, the baby let out a soft, satisfied sound — almost like a purr.
Laras collapsed to her knees the moment Zahir disappeared. Her swollen belly throbbed violently, the skin stretching so tight it felt like it would rip open.
Then it started.
A sharp, piercing scream erupted from inside her womb — not a baby's cry, but a high-pitched, inhuman shriek that vibrated through her bones. Laras screamed too, clutching her stomach as the thing inside her thrashed wildly.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!! STOP! STOP IT!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears and snot running down her face.
The pain was unbearable. It felt like razor blades and claws were tearing her insides apart. She could feel it biting, chewing, and ripping at her organs from within.
"ZAHIR!!! MAKE IT STOP!! I'LL GO WITH YOU! PLEASE!!"
She screamed so loudly her throat tore, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her belly bulged and distorted grotesquely — something with sharp elbows and claws pushing outward, trying to break free.
The front door suddenly slammed open.
"Laras?! What's happening?!" Raka shouted as he ran inside. He had come back early after receiving a strange message.
The moment Raka entered the room, the screaming from inside her stomach grew ten times louder and more furious. Laras's eyes rolled back as blood began dripping from her nose.
"Honey, help me! It's eating me. It's eating me alive!!" she wailed, clawing at her own belly.
Raka froze in horror as he saw her stomach moving violently — clear outlines of small hands with long, black claws pressing against her skin from the inside.
"Ya Allah! what is that?!" he gasped.
Suddenly, the thing inside her let out an ear-splitting screech. Laras's belly tore open slightly at the navel. A thin, black, wet limb with sharp claws pushed out for a second before retracting, spraying dark blood across the floor.
Laras screamed in pure agony, her voice cracking and breaking.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! IT BURNS!!! IT'S BURNING ME!!"
Zahir appeared fully now, standing behind Raka with a cold, satisfied smile on his terrifyingly handsome face. Only Laras could see him.
"He doesn't like humans touching you," Zahir said calmly, as if enjoying a show. "Especially not the man who thinks he owns what is mine."
Raka tried to reach for her, but an invisible force slammed him hard against the wall, pinning him there.
"LARAS!!" he screamed, struggling helplessly.
Laras thrashed on the floor like a possessed woman. Blood poured from her mouth as the creature inside her continued feeding on her living flesh. Her belly kept changing shape violently, growing bigger by the second.
"Zahir … I beg you…" she cried weakly, blood bubbling from her lips. "Kill me! Just kill me!"
Zahir slowly walked over and crouched beside her. He gently stroked her sweat-soaked hair, his touch ice cold.
"Not yet, my love," he whispered tenderly. "You still need to give birth to our son. And I want you to feel every single second of it."
He leaned down and kissed her bloody lips.
The thing inside her screamed again — a deafening, demonic wail that shattered the mirror in the room.
Laras's eyes widened in pure terror as she felt something with teeth starting to chew its way upward, toward her ribs.
Her final scream was guttural, raw, and filled with absolute horror.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!"