Chapter 2 The Birth

Isabella s POV

"Isabella!"

My name was called sharply and I came to myself.

I was awhile uncertain where I was. Still in my mind like a nightmare, was the memory of the council hall, the accusations, Clara betraying me, Adrian rejecting me and the council sewing my fate. Despite it happening months back, it felt like it was yesterday.

"Did you become deaf?" the jail warden barked at me ." Get back in your cell!"

"Yes... I'm coming," I said quietly.

The other inmates started heading to the door. The majority of them were rogues we had taken in the patrol of the borders--wolves who had long since been out of the law of the pack. Dangerous. Unpredictable.

And now I was one of them. My hand then just naturally lay on my stomach as I trailed the others into the dungeon.The passage was damp and stale. The torches in the walls glowed feebly, and made long shadows upon the stone floor.

I needed rest, but I knew too well that was a fantasy.

"Well, the Luna is back," a coarse voice said.

I lifted my eyes slowly.

My fellow inmates

Three huge ladies. All rogues. Every one was stronger and more experienced in fighting than I was.

The speaker was leaning on the wall with crossed arms. Her hair was dark and dishevelled and there was a long scar on her cheek. I called her Scar behind her back.

"Be careful, girls, careful," Scar said in a loud voice. "The Luna has returned."

The other women broke out into laughter.

I didn't say anything. I just went to the end of the cell and sat down on the cold stone bench.

Silence was safer.

Regrettably they had no intention to leave me alone.

"Pray tell me something, Luna," Scar said as she came nearer. "Look at me!" She barked.

I kept my gaze lowered.

"Stay away from her," another voice suddenly said.

I looked up slightly.

The speaker was a tall rogue woman with braided hair standing close to the bars of the cell. She was a spy who single-handledly killed four wolves from our pack.

The lady added. "Pick on someone your own size. Can't you see she is pregnant?"

I experienced a little relief that moment.

Scar narrowed her eyes.

"Oh?" she said slowly. "You defending her now?"

The braided woman shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

Her sentence never finished.

Scared, startled, struck her, and the braided woman hit her back against the wall.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Scar hissed.

"Touch me once more and you'll become the fifth reason I'm in here." The woman with braids warned.

The atmosphere in the room was transformed immediately. The other rogue sat up, subtly cracking her knuckles, ready to jump in for her friend,Scar.

I felt my stomach tighten.

"Please," I said quietly. "Don't start a fight."

No one listened.

Scar sprung forward, and seized the shirt of the braided woman. In their crash, they struck a wooden stool and knocked it over against the wall. The beat of fists upon flesh was heard filling the little cell. Immediately the other woman jumped in.

What began as a push ended up as a full fight in a few seconds. Bodies were smashed in the walls. Scar cursed loudly. The other woman screamed and was punched on the face. I attempted to make more way into the corner. But there was nowhere to go.

Scar was thrown back before I could do anything. Her body struck me right to the ground. The blow made me feel as though I had no lungs left. Such a collision with the stone wall sent pain through my side. My hand flew to my stomach.

"Ah-!"

An excruciating pain was twisting somewhere within my stomach. I doubled over instantly. The pain grew worse. My vision became red and blurry.

Something was very wrong.

"I-" I gasped, trying to breathe. "Stop-please-"

"Fuck!" I heard a scream. "Guards! The Luna is bleeding!"

Footsteps were rushing down the corridor rattling the metal bars.

"What the hell is going on here?" a guard screamed as keys clattered against the metal bar.

The cell door burst open. Two guards broke their way in and started tearing the fighting women apart.

"Break it up!"

"Enough!"

On my knees, I held my stomach. My dress was covered with blood.

"Oh damn," he muttered.

A second guard moved nearer and swore to himself.

"Hospital, we need to take her to the hospital, she may be in labor."

The words echoed in my head. Labor. No. It was too early. I was struck by the pain, this time worse. I shouted a little when another contraction ripped my body.

"Raise her up," the guard on the right said. "Now!"

They hoisted me up, but each action caused a kind of pain in my stomach.

"Hold on," one of them said.

I could barely hear him. The only thing I could do is to concentrate on the pain. And the fear. Please. Please let my baby be okay. They took me to the pack hospital and the lights there were painfully bright. Voices filled the room.

"Get the healer!"

"She's already bleeding!"

"Hurry!"

Someone helped me onto a bed. The following hours melted. The agony came in waves, each stronger than the last. I held on to the bedside when the healer told me to breathe.

"Push, Isabella, push," the woman said sternly.

And just another contraction tore through me and I screamed.

"I can't-"

"Yes, you can," she replied. "Push!"

Time lost meaning. Pain. Breathing. Pushing. Over and over again. At last I was devoured by fatigue. The final thing I had recalled was the healer screaming something at the nurse. Then everything went dark.

I opened the eyes and the room was silent. Too quiet. My body felt weak and heavy. The doctor appeared next to my bed, and this was the first thing I saw. His expression was grim. My heart began to race.

"Doctor..." I whispered weakly.

My voice was parched and strange.

"Where... where is my baby?"

The doctor hesitated. It was a little pause that filled my heart with a fear.

"Doctor..." I said in a panicked manner, please. "Let me see my baby."

She lowered her eyes. Her voice was low when she finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Isabella."

My heart stopped.

"The child..."

She hesitated once more and completed the sentence.

"...was born stillborn."