Page 80 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
“You’re the coward, Raven,” she hissed, her face inches from mine. “Hiding in the Shadow Thorn Pack, behind Alpha Damien. But now, there’s no one to protect you, and I’ll take what’s mine.”
My heart pounded, and I felt something like a faint growl in my chest, but her next words froze me. “That message from Voss?” she said, her smile sadistic. “That was Rielle’s idea. We’ve been working together to lure you out of Alpha Damien’s pack.”
Shock stole my breath, my mind reeling. “Rielle?” I said, my voice breaking. “But she has amnesia. She was feral.”
Ivy’s laugh was a blade, sharp and mocking. “That’s what you think, you fool,” she said. “Rielle’s sane. It was all part of the plan. She’s reunited with her mate…her true mate. Damien can’t save you now.” Her eyes gleamed with triumph. “The Ivory Moon Pack will finally be mine.”
“The Ivory Moon Pack will never be yours!” I shouted, my voice raw and pulsing.
“Not yet,” Ivy said, her tone icy. “But by this time tomorrow, while your body rots in the dirt, it will be.”
She stepped closer, her hand caressing my belly, her touch a violation that made my skin crawl. “It’s what you deserve after everything you took from me. Elias abandoned me because of you. But I’ll make this right tomorrow.”
Her hand lingered, the baby kicking, and I felt that surge again, that strength almost felt like my wolf, making my arms strain against the guards’ grip. I felt stronger than I’d felt in a long time.
Ivy’s eyes widened, mocking. “Oh, look,” she cooed. “It kicks!” Her laugh was cruel. “Kick now, little one. It’ll be the last thing you do.”
Rage exploded, and I spat in her face. The act felt primal and defiant. Ivy’s hand cracked across my cheek again, the sting sharp, and she snarled, “Take her to the cells. Tomorrow, at dawn, our blood duel takes place!”
The guards dragged me through the streets, their grips bruising, my boots scraping the cobblestones as I kicked. They shoved me into a car, the engine roaring as we sped toward the cells. My screams fell on deaf ears. The guards remained quiet throughout the drive.
At the pack’s dungeon, they yanked me out, throwing me into adank cell, the iron bars slamming shut with a clang that echoed like a death knell. I sank to the floor, my breath heaving, my hand flying to my belly, my baby’s kick felt like a desperate pulse, as if the child growing inside me was aware of our situation and was terrified too.
The cell reeked of mold and despair, its stone walls cold, the moonlight barely reaching through a high grate. I had no phone, no way to reach Damien, no one to save me.
Dawn loomed, and I was wolfless, heavily pregnant, and facing a blood duel against Ivy’s beta wolf in front of the entire pack. Terror gripped me, my heart was racing, but somewhere within me, I felt a spark of defiance.
I steeled myself, my hands trembling, but I vowed to fight with everything I had for my child, my parents, and my pack, even if it was my last stand.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Raven
The darkness clung to me like oil.
I knew I was dreaming even as the nightmare played out. It was a nightmare I had so often, yet one that sent chills through my body. The memory of that fateful night.
Flames roared around me, devouring wood and flesh alike. There was that sharp stench of burning fur. My mother’s voice cut through the fire, ragged and desperate as she urged, “Run, Raven! Run!”
Her scream fractured into echoes as my feet pounded the dirt. My lungs burned. My heart tore itself apart inside my chest. I looked back and saw my father fall, his silhouette collapsing in the chaos, blood blooming across his chest.
There was never any face in my dreams, none besides the faces of my parents as they fell. Just shadow and death.
And then came the silence.
The deep, deep hollow silence where my wolf should have been, there was only an empty ache. A deafening, gaping absence.
I kept running.
But in this nightmare, as I ran, something shifted. I felt a presence ahead. It was steady, powerful, and strangely calming.
It was Damien.
He stood there, hand outstretched. “I’ve got you,” he said, voice low and certain. As I reached for him, I felt my wolf stirring inside me, rising. A surge of strength flooded through me, steadying my steps, pushing me forward.
I woke with a gasp as well, my ruffled and torn clothes drenched in cold sweat, the dream still clinging to me.
The cell was still dark and damp. It was still real. That part wasn’t a dream. I was actually in the Ivory Moon Pack dungeons.
