Page 48 of Rejected and Pregnant By the Alpha King

“Go,” I breathe out, the air in my lungs feeling tight. “Now.”

She turns and hurries out, leaving me slumped against my desk as I fight to regain my composure. My wolf is still silent, leaving me to feel all of this alone.

She never loved you.

I choke out a gasp as my chest constricts. My bond is so damaged that I barely recognize it. Once it was a beautifully golden cord wrapped around my heart, beating strongly in time with my fated mate’s own pulse.

Now it is nothing but barbed wire, cutting deeper into me and killing me slowly from the inside with each passing day. The pain is agonizing and only seems to get worse.

How long do I have until it ends me?

Every day I wake up and beg for death. And yet, it never comes.

A soft knock comes at my door, breaking through the deafening silence.

“What?” I struggle to say.

“Your Grace, the elders are requesting a meeting.” Constance, one of my advisors.

“Alright. Thank you.”

I push myself up from my desk, struggling to compose myself while walking to the door. When I open it, Constance glances up and down my form. Her long dark hair is pulled back from her face in its usual high ponytail, her outfit form-fitting and practical.

Her face is pulled into a concerned frown, though she doesn’t say anything, knowing her place.

Instead, she simply nods and turns to lead the way. “There is word that the Southern King is on the move again.”

I sigh at that, the pain inside of me gradually subsiding as I’m thankfully distracted. “We’ll send patrols out to cover our area.”

“Already done,” she says. “They’ll bring their reports directly to you once they’re back.”

“Good. Let’s hope he’s not interested in coming this way again.”

She glances over her shoulder as we walk. “Yes, let’s hope.”

21

Raine

The air is cold this early in the morning.

The sun hasn’t risen yet, but with the way the sky is starting to lighten just over the tree line, it’s bound to happen any minute now.

A shiver races up my spine, but not because of the cold or the fact that I’ve been dressed in a sheer material that is practically see-through—Daniel’s final act of humiliating me, no doubt—but because I know my new owner will be arriving soon.

My stomach twists at the thought of that—my new owner.

But that’s what he’ll be, right? I’ve been sold as his brood mare and nothing more. A glorified sex pet, which hopefully won’t mean I’m locked in a cage until I’m ready to be used. Although, it’s not much different than how I’ve been kept the past few weeks, is it?

My cell had been my cage until Daniel could secure this deal. I’m only surprised it took so long for him to find someone willing to buy me.

My wrists and ankles are bound in steel cuffs chained in the middle, so there will be no way I can shift and run off like my wolf is begging me to. She’s been scratching and clawing inside of my mind since this morning, ready to mow down anyone who tries to get in the way of our freedom.

I haven’t given in though, dully aware of what happened last time I tried to escape. Since coming back, I haven’t seen Delilah at all, and I can only hope that she’s been sequestered back in her family’s home until I’m finally gone.

She’s a worthy female and I’m sure her parents are disappointed with her trying to help break me out. They most likely requested for Daniel to keep me locked away until today, and he was probably very happy to oblige.

My ears pick up on the sounds of footsteps pounding against the ground in the distance, growing closer and closer as each passing second rolls by.

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