Chapter 3

Elara POV:

The cramps came in waves, a gnawing agony deep in my belly. I had to move. I had to act before the herb incapacitated me completely.

Kaelan was upstairs with Seraphina, no doubt celebrating their little victory. I crept out of the guest room and down the silent, echoing hall to his study. The room was just as I'd left it. On his massive oak desk sat the Mind-Link Communicator.

It was a beautiful, terrible thing-a polished obsidian box inlaid with silver runes that glowed with a faint blue light. It was the heart of the pack's communication, allowing the Alpha to send his thoughts and commands across vast distances. It was protected by layers of magical security. The first layer was simple, a pattern of runes. The second, however, was a blood seal that could only be bypassed by the Alpha or someone whose essence he had woven into the device's matrix. A mate. Or, apparently, a treasured sibling.

I remembered something he'd told me once, in a moment I'd mistaken for affection. He'd boasted, stroking my hair, that the only thing he held more sacred than his power was Seraphina. 'Her birthdate protects my secrets,' he'd murmured. 'A reminder of true loyalty.' He thought me too stupid to remember.

My fingers traced a sequence of runes on the box, corresponding to the stars in the sky on the day of her birth.

There was a soft click. The second layer of the blood seal dissolved.

I was in.

My mind reached out, connecting with the device. I sifted through the channels of communication, the official pack business, the border patrol reports... and then I found it. A private, encrypted channel. Its name made my stomach clench.

"Luna's Gift."

I opened the channel. The mental chatter of Kaelan's most elite warriors filled my head, a cesspool of crude thoughts and vile boasts.

Pinned to the top of the channel was a document. It was a schedule, meticulously drawn up in Kaelan's own mental script, titled 'Luna's Bedding Roster'. It listed the names of his warriors, cross-referenced with the phases of the moon.

"My turn is next full moon," a warrior named Lucian thought, his mental voice dripping with anticipation. "I wonder if she'll fight this time. I like it when they fight."

"She won't," Beta Corvus projected. "The Alpha's tonics keep her docile. Just a warm, empty vessel for our pleasure."

My breath caught in my throat. I felt a surge of nausea, but a strange, cold power was rising with it. A white-hot fire that burned away the pain, leaving only icy resolve.

Just then, a new message flashed across the channel. It was from Seraphina.

She sent a magical image-a moving picture that played directly in the mind. It was me, from last night. My eyes were glazed over from the drug, my body pliant and unresisting as the low-ranking warrior Kaelan had summoned used me.

Beneath the horrifying image, Seraphina had added a caption.

"A good little dog."

The dam of my grief finally broke, but what flooded through wasn't sorrow. It was power. Something ancient and powerful snapped inside me. A dormant part of my soul, a beast of white fur and glacial fury, roared to life. This power, this clarity, surged through me. With a focused thought, I began to copy everything-the entire chat log, the bedding roster, Seraphina's vile image-siphoning it from the communicator and pouring it into my memory crystal.

Just as the last bit of data transferred, I heard footsteps. I slammed the lid of the box shut and shoved the memory crystal back into my sleeve.

Kaelan stormed into the study. He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh.

"What are you doing in here?" he snarled.

"I... I was just looking for a book," I stammered, the pain in my abdomen intensifying. I doubled over with a gasp.

He looked at me, his eyes filled with disgust. "Pathetic. Get up. You're coming with me."

"Where?" I gritted out, trying to breathe through the pain.

"To Seraphina's homecoming feast," he said, yanking me upright. "The whole pack will be there to welcome her back. And you will be there to show everyone how sorry you are for driving her away all those years ago."

He dragged me from the room and forced me into a carriage. The short ride to the great hall was torture. Every bump and jolt sent a fresh wave of agony through me.

When we arrived, the hall was filled with the entire Blackmoon pack. Hundreds of wolves, all celebrating the return of the woman who had orchestrated my ruin. As Kaelan pulled me through the crowd, I felt their eyes on me. The warriors from the chat group looked at me with leering, possessive smirks. The other pack members looked at me with pity and contempt. I was the Alpha's Mate, pregnant with his heir, yet they all knew the truth. I was just a toy.

I tried to pull away, to run, to hide. "I need to leave," I pleaded, my voice barely a whisper.

Kaelan's grip tightened. He spun me around to face him, his face a mask of cold fury.

"You will stay," he commanded, his voice low and dangerous. "You will stand here and you will toast to Seraphina's health. And you will drink a cup of atonement for the pain you caused her."

He shoved a silver goblet filled with dark red wine into my hand, the force of his Alpha's Command crashing down on me, demanding obedience. "Drink it. Now."