Chapter 4 4

Chapter 4:

I contacted a pack lawyer that afternoon and had him prepare the mate bond severance papers.

I didn't return home until after I had scheduled the procedure to terminate the pregnancy.

The moment I pushed open the front door, I froze. Rosalie Hayes was lounging on our sofa like she owned the place. She was wearing my silk nightgown - the ivory one Lucian had given me for our second anniversary. My expensive lipstick was smeared across her mouth in a shade I'd never seen her wear before.

When she spotted me, her lips curved into the most vicious smile I'd ever seen.

"Oh, you're back?"

Ice shot through my veins. My fingernails bit deep into my palms until I felt the sting of broken skin.

"Who gave you permission to touch my things?"

She rose from the sofa with deliberate slowness, spinning around so the nightgown's hem flared dramatically around her thighs.

"Your things?" Her laugh was pure poison. "This house, these clothes, every piece of makeup in that bathroom - it all legally belongs to Alpha Lucian."

She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper that cut like a blade.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know yet, do you? Alpha Lucian and I already completed the sacred bonding ritual. I'm his true mate now. And you?" Her eyes glittered with malice. "You're just the she-wolf he claims in public. Nothing more than a pretty decoration who can't even show her face as his real Luna."

The words hit me like physical blows. My head buzzed with white-hot rage.

I raised my hand and slapped her across the face with every ounce of strength I possessed.

The crack echoed through the living room like a gunshot.

But Rosalie suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream and threw herself backward. Her head struck the sharp corner of the coffee table with a sickening thud. Blood immediately began pooling beneath her skull.

"I'm sorry, Luna," she whimpered, clutching her head with trembling hands. "I shouldn't have gotten in your way. I'll leave right now."

"If you know you're in the way, then get out."

Lucian's voice cut through the air like winter wind.

I spun around to find him standing in the doorway, his expression colder than I'd ever seen it. But he wasn't looking at Rosalie writhing on the floor. His eyes were fixed entirely on me.

He stepped forward and reached for my hand. "Sweetheart, don't pay attention to her."

Rosalie's eyes flashed with pure hatred for just an instant before she clutched her stomach and doubled over in apparent agony.

"Alpha Lucian... my stomach hurts so much..."

A spreading pool of bright red began seeping through her nightgown.

Lucian didn't even glance in her direction. He pulled out his phone with mechanical efficiency.

"If it hurts, go to the hospital." His tone was arctic. Then he turned back to me, his voice immediately warming with concern. "I'm sorry, love. I had no idea she would barge in here and act like a lunatic. Were you frightened? Let me take you to the hospital to get checked over."

I jerked my hand away from his touch. "No need."

Pain flickered across his features like he'd been physically struck.

"Love, I don't understand why you've been so upset with me these past few days. But I know I must have done something terribly wrong. I'll prove with my actions that you're the only one I'll ever love."

I couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped my throat.

Before I could respond, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his expression shifted almost imperceptibly.

"Sweetheart, something urgent came up at the pack territory. I need to handle some Alpha business immediately. Rest well at home. Your Alpha will bring you moonlight cake when he comes back tonight."

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

He seemed to have forgotten that I was the one who had programmed his ringtone for pack business calls. That wasn't the sound I'd just heard at all.

But none of it mattered anymore.

I watched him stride out the door without a backward glance, then quietly climbed the stairs to gather my documents.

But just as I reached the hospital entrance an hour later, something heavy was thrown over my head from behind.

A sharp, medicinal smell flooded my nostrils. I thrashed desperately, but my limbs grew heavy. Everything faded to black.

When consciousness returned, I was lying on a cold hospital bed with a blood transfusion tube piercing my arm.

Through the thin wall, I could hear Rosalie's weak sobbing from the next room.

"Alpha, please save our pup..."

Lucian's voice was silk and honey, nothing like the ice he'd shown her at our house.

"Don't be afraid, my love. The pup will be perfectly fine."

The next instant, he was roaring at someone else.

"Didn't you say you found a volunteer willing to donate blood? Where's the blood I specifically requested?"

A doctor's voice, trembling with obvious distress: "But this young woman has already given 400cc. She's pregnant as well. If we extract another 400cc, it will definitely cause her to miscarry."

"It's just one pup."

Lucian's voice turned absolutely vicious.

"Pay her whatever she wants. Keep drawing blood! If anything happens to my mate and our pup, you can kiss this hospital goodbye."

I fought against my restraints with everything I had, trying desperately to reveal my identity. But thick cloth had been stuffed in my mouth, making speech impossible.

The nurse adjusting my IV caught sight of my struggles. Pity filled her eyes as she leaned closer.

"Alpha Lucian really adores his Luna," she whispered, trying to comfort me. "You're still young, dear. You can have more pups in the future."

No. I would never have children again. Not in this lifetime or any other.

Tears soaked through the blindfold as I felt the needle pierce my arm once more.

Warm liquid began flowing between my legs as the precious life inside me was drained away along with my blood.

I thrashed until my wrists were raw and bleeding. But I could only lie there helplessly as my miracle baby was murdered.

Through the wall, I could hear Lucian's voice, tender and loving as he spoke to Rosalie's belly.

"Be good for mommy, little one. Don't cause her any more pain, okay?"

Before darkness claimed me completely, I couldn't hold back a broken laugh.

Lucian, when you finally discover that you personally destroyed the pup you'd been praying for all these years, will you feel even a moment's regret?