Chapter 5

The sound of voices slowly drew me back from the blackness. A groan escaped my lips as my eyelids opened. My vision was blurry and unfocused at first until everything gradually came into view.

I was lying on something soft, a bed, which felt strange compared to the hard ground I remembered being on last. The air smelled clean and sharp like antiseptic, a smell I recognized from past visits to the healer. It told me I was in some kind of medical room or hospital.

I decided to pretend I was still asleep, letting my eyelids drift closed again. I kept very still, listening intently to the voices. They were close by, just on the other side of a thin curtain.

“She’s weak from the beating she took. And…” The voice trailed off. “She’s pregnant.”

Pregnant. The word sent a shiver of fear down my spine. They knew. The doctor, and whoever he was speaking to knew about my baby. What would they do? Would they take my child away?

“There’s more,” the doctor continued. “She has beta blood, and her wolf is unusually weak right now. I’ve never seen anything quite like this in all my years of practice.”

My memories came back to me in broken pieces. I could see the faces of the crowd, their mouths open in shouts. Then, there was the executioner's blade raised high. And then… the scent that had filled my senses.

Along the scent came a word that seemed to resonate within my very being: Mate. But why? Why would the Moon Goddess offer me a second chance mate, after everything? Especially here, in the very place where I had almost met my end. It made no sense.

Then, a deep voice cut through my thoughts. “Ben. Get her some clothes and watch over her. When she wakes and is strong enough, Let me know.”

I held my breath and everything went quiet. I strained my ears, waiting until I couldn't hear that deep rumbling voice anymore. When I thought it was safe, I carefully pushed myself up from the bed. A sudden stab of pain hit me in the ribs and I let out a small cry. My whole body felt heavy as I slumped back onto the pillows, too drained to move another inch.

“Take it easy,” a gentle voice said. I looked up to see a man with kind eyes and a cute smile. It must be Ben.

“Where…where am I?” I croaked out.

“You’re in the medical wing,” he replied. He retrieved some clothes from a nearby cabinet, a simple tunic and trousers—and placed them on the bed. “I’ll give you some privacy to change.” He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

With a groan, I managed to sit up, the pain in my body protesting with each movement. The clothes felt strange against my skin after the rough rags I’d been wearing. Once I was dressed, I looked at Ben who was now standing by the window.

“Why… why did they save me? Who… who intervened?” I asked.

Ben's smile grew a bit wider. "That was Alpha Derick, who'll be our next King," he said with a light laugh. "You should consider yourself fortunate. It's pretty rare for the Alpha King to step in and stop an execution."

His words felt like someone had punched me in the gut. The Alpha King was my mate? The same one who'd stopped them from killing me? I thought back to my last moments before everything went dark - how I'd heard him command everyone to stop, and how I'd barely managed to whisper "mate."

Now it all clicked into place. That overwhelming scent that had washed over me, that voice here that demanded absolute obedience... it had been him all along. I couldn't find any words. The Alpha King himself, not just any wolf but the most powerful one of all was my second chance mate, the one who'd saved my life.

“How… how do you feel?” Ben asked, breaking through my stunned silence.

“Better,” I managed though my legs still felt weak. “Still a bit dizzy.”

Just then, the doctor returned giving me a thorough check-up. “You’re recovering well. But you need to take it easy for a while to avoid any complications.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, still reeling from the revelation about Derick.

“You’re welcome,” the doctor replied, then turned to Ben. “Keep an eye on her.”

“Will do,” Ben assured him.

Once the doctor had left, Ben turned to me. “The Alpha wants to see you in his quarters.”

The Alpha King's private wing? What could he possibly want with me? I was torn between terror and this weird flutter of hope. Sure, he'd saved me from death, gotten his Beta to help me out, and made sure I got proper medical care. Maybe he was finally ready to complete our mate bond. The idea sent warmth spreading through my chest, but then reality hit me hard.

He wasn't just any Alpha - he was the freaking Alpha King. And what was I? I honestly didn't even know anymore. Just some wolf whose mate had thrown her away, who'd nearly been killed as a rogue, and who somehow ended up being mated to the most important werewolf alive.

Walking through the pack house, I couldn't shake this nervous energy building inside me. He's probably going to make things official. My heart started pounding at the idea.

Ben stopped before a large, ornately carved door and knocked. A deep voice from within responded, “Enter.”

He opened the door, and I stepped into a room that took my breath away. The space seemed endless, filled with deep colors from tapestries draping the stone walls, while flames danced in the massive fireplace. Near the tall windows stood the Alpha King himself gazing outward, his broad shoulders turned away from where I stood.

As he turned, our eyes met, and the connection was undeniable. It was him, the one who saved me. The one who whispered mate. He was my second chance. I felt a tiny bit hopeful for a moment, but that feeling went away as soon as a woman walked in. She looked perfect and pretty, and she carried herself like royalty.

Her expensive clothes made me feel even smaller, and the way she looked at me like I was dirt under her shoes made my stomach turn.

"Derick, honey, who's this?" She said sharply.

Derick looked at her first, then turned to stare at me intensely. “This is Aria. The rogue from the Jared pack. She’s going to be… our new slave.”

Her eyes widened in shock as she glared at me. "A slave? This is the rogue you saved from execution?"

Slave? Of course. What had I expected? That he would immediately claim me as his mate? This was the Alpha King. I was a rogue, saved from execution only to be made a slave.

"Why would you make a rogue our slave? What is the meaning of this?" The lady hissed.

The Alpha King simply turned and walked away, leaving me alone with the woman whose expression was now filled with pure hatred. She stepped closer to me.

"It seems the Alpha King has taken a liking to you. But I assure you," she snarled, "I will make your life so miserable that you'll wish you had died on that executioner's block. You'll regret the day the Alpha spared your life.”

My heart raced faster with fear. What had I gotten myself into? The Alpha King, my mate had saved me from one death only to deliver me into another kind of hell. What was going to happen to me?