Chapter 2
Heavy, freezing iron chains chafed my wrists and ankles.
The dungeon cell was pitch-black and damp, save for a pathetic sliver of light filtering through a tiny ceiling grate.
I curled into a tight ball on the wet stone floor, a sharp cramp blooming in my lower belly.
I was pregnant. During those nights in the cave when Kael was blind, we had conceived a child.
*****
I was locked in the dungeon cell for three days. No one brought me food or water.
I survived by licking the condensation off the slimy stone walls.
I could handle the hunger and thirst, but the craving for my mate's scent during pregnancy was nearly driving me mad.
My inner wolf was clawing at my ribcage, howling, begging for her Alpha.
But my Alpha was wrapped around another woman.
*****
On the third night, the door finally opened. I thought maybe Kael had remembered me, but it was Lina who walked in.
She stood there holding a bowl of dark, foul-smelling herbal brew.
"Alpha Kael sent this," Lina said. "He says you look weak. Drink up."
I stared at the bowl, not moving.
"What? Think I poisoned it?" Lina sneered. Her fingers clawed into my jaw, forcing my mouth open. She shoved the bowl against my lips, pouring the bitter liquid down my throat.
A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, like a thousand knives twisting inside me.
"Kael... Does he know?" I grabbed her hand, my voice trembling.
"Know what? That you're carrying a bastard?" Lina kicked me square in the stomach. "Alpha Kael said he won't have his noble bloodline tainted by trash like you. This thing doesn't deserve to breathe."
The blow sent me rolling onto the damp straw. Warm, thick blood began to pool between my thighs, soaking my clothes. No, please, not my baby.
Darkness rushed in, dragging me under.
*****
When I came to, I was lying on a cold stone bed.
A strange doctor was checking me over. "Alpha, she's too weak. The pup can't be saved."
Through the doorway, Kael's deep voice cut through the room, completely indifferent. "Then terminate it.
"Lina's condition's not good. She needs the cord blood of a strong wolf pup for her treatment. At least this child's death will serve a purpose."
A bitter, freezing cold washed over me.
He wasn't just killing my baby. He wanted to harvest my child's blood to save the monster who murdered it.
No way. I'd never let my baby be some pawn for someone else's pathetic survival.
I bolted upright, yanked the sharp silver hairpin from my hair, and pressed the point hard against my own throat.
"Don't come any closer!" I screamed. "If anyone touches my baby, I'll drive this into my throat right now!"
The door swung open. Kael walked in. His sharp gaze was icy and full of contempt.
"What kind of game is this?" he demanded. "Drop the hairpin, Belina. Stop acting crazy."
Belina. He called me Belina. That was Lina's name. He still thought I was her.
I stared him dead in the eye, making sure he heard every single syllable. "I am not Belina. I'm Bella. I was the one who nearly bled to death to save you during the riot."
Kael froze. Behind him, Lina's face instantly drained of color.
"Kael, don't listen to her!" she shrieked. "She's lost her mind. I'm the one who saved you. I'm your mate."
Kael looked back and forth between us.
Finally, his eyes settled on the wolf-fang necklace resting against Lina's collarbone.
He had placed that necklace around my neck himself. Now, she wore it like a trophy.
As Kael stared at the necklace, the flicker of doubt in his eyes vanished, hardening into absolute, brutal certainty.
"Strap her down," he ordered, his voice flat and freezing. "Get her on the operating table. Now."