Page 6 of Luna's Forgotten Vow

Ronan means to keep me locked up until I agree to be his mistress. The sheer madness of it sends me spiraling—laughing one moment, thrashing the room the next. Screaming.

I have never felt so cornered. So trapped.

I receive one meal a day. Porridge. He's trying to starve me as well, but I barely feel it. The confinement is what drives me crazy.

I place a hand to my stomach, feeling it out. Where would I go? How do I hope to raise a child when I am currently penniless? If I did end up escaping, with what money would I travel so far that Ronan would never find me?

Telling him the truth and agreeing to his terms would be a wiser choice, for the sake of our child, but the thought leaves me nauseated and angrier. I know instantly that I'd rather eat dust.

The continuous tapping against the floorboard outside alerts me to the presence of the guard outside, monitoring me in case I somehow barreled through the door. Laughable, really.

A muffled sound outside makes me sit up and reach for the butter knife under my pillow. "...let me through this instantly."

Luna Kaida? I'm on my feet in an instant, taking the knife with me as I approach the door.

Another voice, raspy and manly. "She receives no visitors. The Alpha's orders..."

The words get lost to me and only a moment later, the door unlocks. Luna Kaida walks in, her black ceremonial robes trailing behind her, though, she looks like anything but a grieving wife.

Sharp brown eyes run across the length of the small space, her small button nose scrunching up with disgust. "Dreadful." Her eyes finally focus on me. "Ronan tells me he's severed the bond between you two. I cannot for the life of me understand why he still chooses to keep you here."

Our talks always go this way. She berates me, reminds me that I am no one of consequence and would never deserve her son. Then she offers me money to leave—quite the attractive sum, which I would almost immediately turn down and assure her I was here to stay.

Right now, though, I have nothing to say. I'm not sure what to even feel. Shame. Ire. Hate. Anger. All of the above.

"You cannot live here, regardless of what Ronan thinks. Should your relationship get out any more than it already has, we will all be ruined." She pauses, searching my eyes with a keenness that is so much like Ronan. "You will leave the pack before dawn and never come back."

A bitter laugh slips past my lips. "Ronan will never let me go."

She goes on like I haven't spoken a word. "In thirty minutes, there'll be a guard shift. I'll see to it that the next rotation is delayed—just long enough for you to slip out unnoticed." She tosses a bundle of crisp bills at my feet. "Take it, child. Consider it payment for your services and keeping your mouth shut."

I pick the money off the floor only to cross the distance and shove it back in her palm. "I don't want your money."

Annoyance flashes across her face, but then she goes utterly still. Her nostrils flare, and she steps closer, fingers clamping around my arm as she inhales sharply. Her brown eyes widen.

"You're pregnant."

Panic grips me, sharp and sudden. I jerk back, prying myself from her grasp. She wasn't supposed to know. Now they'll trap me here. Force me to?—

Kaida waves a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Tova's child will be the heir. Get rid of it and any delusions that it changes anything. As you have come to know, Ronan doesn't care for anything that doesn't benefit him. As it stands, there's a high chance the child is another wolfless mutt like you."

My head goes quiet. "It is mine," I say in a voice that doesn't entirely belong to me. I lean into her so close, I see the black of her eyes widen in shock. "Keeping it is my choice because it is mine. Insult me all you want but if you so much as utter another word about my child, I'll forget who you are."

For the first time, Kaida hesitates. She blinks, fast and disbelieving, as if she's seeing me for the first time. Then, with a sharp exhale, she turns on her heel and storms out of my room.

Thirty minutes later, the guard outside retreats, and true to her word, when I step out, no one stops me.

Though I don't look back, it feels like I left a part of me behind.

I'm being followed.

I hadn't been sure at first, but the shuffling behind me has been going on for more than half an hour, even when I've diverted routes, tried doubling back, even stopped once to listen.

There are two footsteps. Maybe three. Goddess.

I don't break my stride, fingers tightening around the hilt of my butter knife. It's a pathetic weapon, but I grip it like a lifeline. My heart pounds as I step over another fallen tree.

Light flickers in the distance—streetlights. The road must be close by. My ears perk at the sound of a car speeding past in the distance. If I could get on the?—

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