The Great Escape

Elara's POV:

The realization hit me with the crushing force of a falling brick—I was pregnant.

My hands trembled as they instinctively drifted down to rest against my flat stomach. I stared blankly at the sterile white walls of the clinic, forgetting how to breathe. The ambient hum of the medical equipment seemed to fade into a distant buzz.

Uncle Silas beamed at me, his weathered face stretching into a wide, joyous grin. He carefully pulled the earpieces of his stethoscope down to his neck. "Whoever the father is must be a very lucky man. I actually heard two distinct heartbeats in there. You are having twins, Elara."

Twins.

The single breath I managed to draw caught sharply in my throat, choking me. My vision blurred around the edges. They were Alpha Kaelen’s. These tiny, fragile lives growing inside my womb were the direct, undeniable heirs of the Blood Seekers pack. My mind raced through the gruesome horrors waiting for me if the Alpha ever found out about this. He had strictly forbidden me from breathing a single word to anyone about our passionate night. He tossed me aside the moment he got what he wanted. If he discovered this pregnancy, he would slaughter me and these unborn children without a second thought to protect his reputation.

Desperately suppressing the rising, icy terror that threatened to consume me, I dug my fingernails into my palms. I forced a fake, trembling smile onto my lips. Tears pricked my eyes as I looked up at the aging doctor. "Uncle Silas, that is wonderful news," I lied, my voice cracking under the weight of my panic. "But please, I beg you, you must keep my condition a secret."

He frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his gentle features.

"I want to surprise him," I added quickly, desperation clawing at the inside of my chest. "I do not want anyone else to find out before I can tell him myself. It has to be special."

Mistaking my raw fear for a newly mated female's innocent surprise, his frown melted away. He warmly agreed with a soft chuckle. "Of course. People nowadays love to surprise their mates." He reached over to his desk, grabbed a pen, and happily signed the official nursing certificate.

I snatched the thick paper from his fingers, clutching it to my chest like a lifeline. I finally possessed the exact tool I needed to escape this hellish prison. "Thank you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to washing the clothes."

I hurried out of the clinic, practically sprinting down the long, dimly lit stone corridor to pack my meager belongings. My mind buzzed with frantic escape plans. But as I rounded a sharp corner, I collided hard with an unyielding wall of muscle.

The impact sent me stumbling backward. A familiar, intoxicating scent of pine and heavy rain flooded my senses. My blood ran cold.

Kaelen.

Pure panic spiked through my veins. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. What if his heightened Alpha hearing could detect the tiny, fluttering heartbeats inside my womb right now? I immediately scrambled backward, instantly lowering my head to expose my neck in absolute submission. "I apologize, Alpha Kaelen, for not looking where I was going."

Using his formal, full title triggered a sudden, blistering wave of dark anger. The suffocating heat radiated outward from his towering frame, filling the narrow space. He hated the title on my lips, but he was the one who made it clear that one mating could not make me his mate, nor his Luna.

I kept my eyes glued to the scuffed leather of his boots. "If you will excuse me, Alpha Kaelen. This mere filthy slave needs to go finish her chores."

I tried to step around his massive frame, desperate to put distance between us. His reflexes snapped. He lunged forward. His large hands clamped onto my waist tightly, his fingers digging into my skin. He yanked me hard against the cold stone wall, trapping me between his broad chest and the bricks. The breath slammed out of my lungs.

"You dare to use that mocking tone of yours while talking to me," he hissed venomously. His handsome face leaned in dangerously close to mine, his hot breath ghosting over my cheek.

Refusing to succumb to his intoxicating, possessive touch ever again, I squeezed my eyes shut and kept my gaze downcast. The sparks dancing across my skin only fueled my anger and disgust. I would not sway in his arms like a fool again. "A filthy and mere slave would never dare to mock the Alpha of the Blood Seekers pack."

My words pushed him over the edge.

He pulled his fist back and punched the stone wall right beside my ear.

*CRACK.*

The loud sound of shattering plaster echoed through the empty corridor. Chunks of debris and fine white dust rained down onto my shoulder. My heart leaped into my throat, but I forced myself to stay still. I had no wolf left for him to intimidate.

"Look. Fucking. At. Me. Elara!" he growled, a deep, chest-rattling sound that vibrated against my own ribs.

I flinched and slowly opened my eyes, dragging my gaze up his muscular chest to meet his stare. His golden pupils were fully dilated, swallowing the natural color of his irises. His powerful wolf desperately fought for control of his mind, clawing at the surface, demanding my submission.

He stared intently at my face, a sudden, jarring confusion crossing his sharp features. The golden glow in his eyes flickered as he leaned an inch closer. "Where is your wolf? I can't seem to sense her..."

My chest tightened. The phantom ache of my severed bond throbbed relentlessly. "That is none of your business," I whispered, hot tears furiously pricking the corners of my eyes.

He scowled, his jaw clenching tight. He gripped my arm to keep me from squirming away. I whimpered as his fingers dug into my tender flesh. His sheer strength tore the thin, worn fabric of my slave sleeve. The cheap cotton ripped down the seam, exposing a large patch of my pale skin.

It was covered in dark, prominent, ugly purple bruises. Fresh scratches that hadn't faded trailed down to my elbow, angry and red. Without my wolf, my supernatural healing was gone. I was just as fragile as a human.

Kaelen froze. His golden eyes widened in genuine, undeniable shock as he traced the raw wounds. The towering rage melted into stunned disbelief. "Why aren't you healing...?" he demanded, his voice dropping into a breathless murmur.

I gathered every ounce of my remaining human strength and ripped myself from his possessive grasp. He let me go, too stunned to fight back.

My stomach rolled violently, nausea hitting me so hard I thought I would faint right there on the stone floor. I spun around and ran blindly down the corridors. I ignored his calls, sprinting until I reached my tiny, suffocatingly small room. I slammed the heavy wooden door shut, twisted the rusted lock, and broke down onto the hard floor.

The dam broke. I pulled my knees to my chest and sobbed uncontrollably. I cried for my lost wolf, the missing piece of my soul. I cried for my sweet Isolde, whose death still haunted my every waking moment. And I cried for the sheer, terrifying helplessness of my pregnancy. I was truly alone, harboring the heirs of a man who broke me.

Another violent wave of nausea surged up my throat. I clamped a hand over my mouth, crawled to the cramped bathroom, and threw up my meager breakfast into the toilet. I gagged until there was nothing left but bitter bile.

I slumped against the cold porcelain, panting heavily. I wiped my mouth with the back of my trembling hand. Staring at my pale reflection in the cracked mirror, my resolve hardened into solid steel.

I patted my pocket. The paper crinkled. I had the certificate. Tonight was the perfect, once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape.

Whispers had already spread through the servant quarters all week. Tonight, the entire pack would be distracted, celebrating Kaelen’s lavish, high-profile engagement to another powerful Alpha's daughter from the Midnight Azure pack. Even though it shattered my already broken heart into a million pieces to see my own mate openly accept another Luna, I knew he had already rejected me. I had no other choice.

Hours bled into night. The loud boom of celebratory fireworks shook the tiny window of my room. Drunken cheers and howling echoed across the pack lands, drowning out the crickets.

Under the cover of the noise and celebration, I packed my certificate and a single change of clothes into a small bag. I sneaked out the back window, sticking to the deep shadows of the tree line. I moved silently through the dense forest, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

I pushed through the thick underbrush, keeping my eyes fixed on the distant tree line marking the border. I stepped out of the Blood Seekers pack territory, leaving the treacherous land behind.

I paused, glancing back at the imposing silhouette of the pack house one last time. I placed a protective hand over my flat stomach, looked up at the silver moon, and silently swore to the moon goddess that I would never, ever return.