EPISODE 13
The journey back to Amethyst territory was far too long, made worse by the suffocating presence of Daniel at my side.
He was attentive, just as he had been before, back when I still thought he loved me, back before 1 recovered my hearing and learned the truth. He kept me warm through the cold nights, made sure I ate, and even shielded me when the rain came pouring down.
If I hadn’t known better, I would have been swayed by his care, convinced that he was the mate I once thought he was.
But I did know better.
His betrayal had cost me everything. And I was not about to forgive him just because he was playing the role of a doting mate and husband once again.
Still, I saw him slipping. During one of our interactions, when I stiffened under his touch, refusing to meet his gaze or even talk back when he asked me a question, something flickered across his face. It was an obvious edge of desperation, frustration even. He was losing control of whatever act he was putting on.
And I had no intention of making it easy for him.
But a question nagged at me: why was he still pretending?
Why was he acting as if nothing had happened?
Did he really believe I had forgotten the pain he inflicted on me? Did he think I would ever forget the way he protected Helen more than me?
He was not clueless, I could tell, so he should have known my reaction. I might have been naive once, but I was not someone who would wrong myself once I knew the truth.
Or was it because Helen needed ‘nourishment‘ again?
A chill ran down my spine at the thought. My hand instinctively pressed against my stomach as if shielding the life growing within me. I would not let them take this child. I would not allow them to rip another piece of my soul away again.
The moment we stepped into Amethyst’s packlands, I felt the weight of their gazes. Whispers spread like wildfire, their eyes darting between me and my swollen belly. Though my pregnancy had progressed to eight months, my frame was small, and my stomach wasn’t as pronounced as most would expect.
But it was still obvious enough.
They thought another man had made me pregnant.
I heard their murmurs, speculation that a rogue had sired my child. After all, everyone in Amethyst knew that I had lost Daniel’s pup before I fled. To them, my rounded belly meant only one thing, that I had conceived with another while living among the rogues.
Daniel heard them too. I saw his jaw tighten, his hands curl into fists. He didn’t react immediately, but I could feel the storm brewing inside him. His silence was more terrifying than his anger, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he erupted.
And he did.
EPISODE 12.
3/3 60.0%
8:44 pm DDDD
The moment we reached his den, our former home, before I could even sit, his voice rang through the air, sharp and unrelenting.
“Get rid of it.”
I froze. “What?”
Daniel turned to me, golden eyes burning with fury. “You’re going to abort it. I won’t have you carrying another man’s child in my pack.”
His words stunned me. After everything, after dragging me back here, after pretending to care, was this the first thing he had to say? He hadn’t even asked me how I was doing, hadn’t even let me settle in before demanding the death of my unborn child.
My shock turned to anger, white–hot and searing.
“You want me to abort my child?” I hissed, stepping closer. “So that you can feed it to Helen?”
Daniel’s entire body stiffened. He masked it quickly, but I caught it, the brief flicker of panic in his
eyes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said smoothly, but his voice lacked its usual confidence.
I let out a sharp laugh, filled with nothing but bitterness. “Don’t play dumb, Daniel. Helen herself told me everything. How my first child was taken from me to keep her strong. How my other children were used to ‘nourish‘ her body so she could also conceive a child.”
I looked at him pointedly, rage filling my reddened eyes. “To conceive YOUR child. What? Is it that demeaning for you to have my child instead? Does it need to be hers?”
I shook my head, pursing my lips. “I have been away for a few months. She needed another one soon, right? And you expect me to hand over this baby like I did the first?”
Silence.
For the first time, Daniel had no words.
His guilt was written all over his face, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. He had never expected me to know. He thought I had run away without understanding the true horror of what had been done to me.
Then, suddenly, his expression hardened.
‘That’s not what this is about,” he said, voice rough. “You don’t understand, Maurice.”
‘Then help me understand,” I shot back. “Tell me why you betrayed me. Tell me why you let her do it. Why couldn’t she have your child while I, your wife and mate, could not?”
Daniel inhaled sharply. “I didn’t have a choice.”
I scoffed. “There is always a choice.”
‘I was forced!” he snapped. “By Helen, by your father, by everyone who had power over me! I had to do what they said, or I would have lost everything. Someone would have taken the Alpha position from the pack!”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. “You think that justifies what you did?”
His expression faltered, pain flashing through his eyes. “I know I was wrong,” he admitted. “I realized too late what I had done to you, to us. And I regret it, Maurice. Every day.”
EPISODE 13
8:45 pm DDDD.
I shook my head, unwilling to believe him. “You’re only saying this now because you nee something from me. Because you want me to trust you again.”
“I mean it,” he insisted. “I never wanted to hurt you. I… I love you, Maurice. I always have. I wa just too much of a coward to stand up for you before.”
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I cried enough over Daniel. would not do it again.
“Then prove it,” I whispered.
I took a step closer, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “If you want me to kil my child,” I said, “then you’ll have to do the same to Helen’s.”
Daniel inhaled sharply. His entire body tensed, his hands twitching as if he wanted to reach for me, to stop me from saying anything more. But I wasn’t finished.
“That’s fair, isn’t it? After all, you said you love me,” I continued, tilting my head. “I will abort thi: baby, so does hers.”
8:45 pm
