You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 25

to remind him I still had frozen eggs. We could try a surrogate; all was not lost. Drake lashed out at the doctor about appearing weak. The shame of having such a let-down of a mate- I was no Luna at all. I sat and listened to the tirade against me, feeling my heart break at all I had lost.

Drake and I had been growing apart for years, coming together only when the time was right to conceive. Sex was no longer the thrill it had once been, my mate no longer worshiping my body. He was cruel and rough with his treatment of me, never taking me in any position that would allow me to kiss him or even look at him. Almost as if he couldn’t stand seeing my face for a moment longer than he needed to. He would be out the door before he had even finished zipping up his trousers. We would put on a united front for the pack, appearing content with each other. No one would ever accuse us of being madly in love, but we were strong together and lead the pack well. Now, though, now it was evident that he was no longer willing to put up the pretence. My inability to provide an heir had killed the last bit of consideration he had for me.

I hardened my heart that day. Never would I sign off for my eggs to be used. Drake didn’t deserve to bring a child into this world only to destroy them as he had destroyed me. With my baby, I would bury the last of my love, leaving nothing left for Drake or anyone else. I would no longer bend over backwards to please him, and Goddess help anything or anyone he cares for or loves in the future, because I would personally make their pitiful life hell on earth.

“Luna! Please come quick!” A desperate voice came over the mind-link. “The surrogate didn’t make it. You must come and calm down the Alpha - he’s killing everyone in his path!” I laughed gleefully. My prayers had come true. Drake had gone behind my back to impregnate one of his whores with the last of my eggs, and the pregnancy had failed. I wasn’t surprised. Drake may think he has this entire pack eating out of the palm of his hand, but one or two were still loyal to me. All it took was one promise of a night in my company, and the young warrior had been only too happy to tamper with the eggs, rendering them useless. Of course, Drake had killed his whore the minute she failed the pregnancy test. What use was she now?

No doubt it was my face he pictured when he ripped her apart limb for limb, but I was safe from harm. He couldn’t kill me without risking the wrath of my parents and all the pack alliances I had behind me thanks to them, and I was immune to his punishments. I had been whipped, starved, beaten, and burnt, but I felt none of it. I was a cold, emotionless shell of a wolf. Everything we were, and everything we ever could be, was buried alongside our beautiful baby.

So many of my former friends had tried to reach out to me, to offer their condolences, but the minute my back was turned, I knew they were in Drake’s bed, whispering in his ear about all they could offer, things that I would never have. It was as though I was less of a woman, all because I couldn’t provide an heir to the pack I was despising more and more every day.

They were wrong, though. I had my baby. If anyone cared to look for me, that’s where I could be found – with my son. I would sit in his memorial, talking to him, telling him all my secrets. I knew the Moon Goddess would keep his spirit close, she would never abandon me completely, and the thought brought me comfort. So, when everything kicked off with Drake and his whore, that’s exactly where I was, calmly weeding the flowers of my baby’s garden, smiling as I told him the story of what I had done. He would never judge me. He was flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood; we were bonded together. Even though I had never gotten the opportunity to hold him, I could feel his gentle touch on the breeze as we laughed together over yet another of Drake’s failures.

“How I wish you were here,” I whispered, spreading my fingers along the dirt atop his grave. He was so close, just an arm’s reach away, yet so far. I would give anything just to be able to hold him, to see his perfect face.

My ears pricked as a sound floated on the air, a familiar, aching sound that almost brought me to my knees. A baby’s piercing cry. Why was it here? Where was it coming from? My heart raced as I thought the Moon Goddess had returned my boy to me. I frantically sniffed the ground in search for the scent that was forever ingrained in my memory, thanks to the tiny cloth that had been used to wrap his frail body in.

I hadn’t gone far, maybe fifty meters or so from the memorial garden, when I saw the small bundle, kicking furiously at his blankets, his face scrunched up in absolute anger and misery as he let out another wail. I looked around for his mother but detected no smells, no footprints, no clues. The poor boy was in a pitiful state, covered in bite marks from the ants that still ran up his dirty body. I picked him up, brushing away the creatures and inhaled deeply, immediately smelling the powerful wolf that ran through him. Though they were unconnected as yet, and it should have been impossible to detect before the