Kacie POV:
The gala was suffocating. I hid in the shadows near the catering tables, trying to make myself as small as possible. Watching Cedric dance with Jayden was like having my chest cavity scooped out with a spoon.
"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."
I looked up. A man stood before me. He smelled of rot and old whiskey. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were expensive but unkempt. A Rogue who had managed to sneak in, or perhaps a guest who had fallen from grace.
"Excuse me," I said, trying to step around him.
He blocked my path. He inhaled deeply, a disgusting, wet sound. "You smell... interesting. Like rot, but underneath that... milk. And new blood."
My hand flew to my stomach. The nausea from this morning. The tightness. No. It couldn't be.
"Let me pass," I said, channeling what little authority I had left.
"Your shoes are dirty," the Rogue sneered. He pointed at his muddy boots. "Clean them. Maybe if you show you're good at serving, the Alpha will keep you as a maid."
"No," I said.
The Rogue grabbed my hair. Pain shot through my scalp. "I said, clean them!"
He forced me down. My knees hit the hard marble floor. The humiliation was a hot brand on my skin. People were watching. Whispering. No one stepped in. To them, an unmarked female without her Alpha's protection was fair game.
I reached for a napkin, my hands shaking. I wiped the mud from his boot. I had no pride left. I just wanted to survive the night.
Thud!
The Rogue went flying across the room, crashing into a table of champagne flutes.
Cedric stood over me, his chest heaving, his fists clenched. His eyes were glowing gold.
"Get up," he hissed at me, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.
He didn't ask if I was okay. He dragged me toward the exit, his grip bruising.
We got into the elevator. The doors closed, sealing us in.
"You are a disgrace," Cedric spat. "Kneeling for a Rogue? Have you no pride? You are wearing the Moon Pack name!"
"I have no pride because you took it all!" I screamed back, the dam finally breaking. "You gave my dress to your mistress! You gave my protection stone to her! You leave me defenseless and then blame me when I get attacked?"
"She is not my mistress! She is family!"
"She is a snake, Cedric! And you are blind!"
Suddenly, the elevator lurched to a halt. The lights flickered and died. An emergency alarm blared.
Mind-Link: Cedric! Help! They have me! The roof!
It was Jayden's voice, screaming in my head because the connection to the Alpha was open.
Cedric pried the elevator doors open with his bare hands. We were on the top floor. He sprinted toward the roof access, and I ran after him, my heart pounding.
On the windy rooftop, chaos reigned.
The Rogue from the ballroom-the one Cedric had hit-was there. But he wasn't alone. Three other men surrounded Jayden, holding her near the edge of the building.
"Back off, Alpha!" the leader shouted. He held a silver knife to Jayden's throat.
"Let her go," Cedric growled, his voice vibrating with the Alpha Command.
"Not a chance. We know about the Bloodstone," the Rogue laughed. "We can't hurt her easily with that rock around her neck. It repels the blade. But we need a hostage to get out of the city."
The Rogue looked at me. Then he looked at Cedric.
"A trade," the Rogue grinned. "The girl with the magic stone is too much trouble. Give us the wife. She's pregnant, isn't she? I can smell the pup on her. Double the prize."
The world stopped.
I froze. Pregnant?
I looked down at my flat stomach. The morning sickness. The scent changes I thought were just Jayden's perfume. A tiny, flickering spark of life, nestled deep within my womb. A pup. A miracle given my weak condition.
Cedric froze too. He looked at me, his eyes widening. He inhaled deeply, testing the air. He smelled it too. The subtle change in my scent.
"No," Cedric whispered.
"Choose, Alpha!" the Rogue shouted, pushing Jayden closer to the ledge. "The protected one, or the breeder? We take one, you get the other."
Jayden let out a sob. "Cedric! He's going to drop me! My heart... I can't breathe!"
Cedric looked at Jayden, panic flaring in his eyes. He looked at the Bloodstone around her neck. It offered protection, yes, but not from a fall.
Then he looked at me. At his pregnant wife.
"Kacie has the White Wolf blood," he muttered to himself, a frantic rationalization. "She heals faster. She's strong. Jayden is dying."
He made his choice.
"Take Kacie," Cedric said. His voice was cracked, broken, but clear.
"Cedric!" I screamed, stepping back. "I am carrying your child!"
"I will come for you," he said, avoiding my eyes. "I promise. Just... go with them. I have to save Jayden."
He grabbed my shoulder and shoved me toward the Rogues.
I stumbled forward. The Rogue grabbed me, his rough hands bruising my arms. He shoved Jayden toward Cedric.
Cedric caught Jayden, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck to comfort her.
The Rogue laughed. "Pleasure doing business."
Then, a gunshot rang out. A police sniper from the adjacent building.
The Rogue jerked. In his death spasm, he didn't hold onto me. He shoved me.
Hard.
I flew backward. Over the edge of the parapet.
"Cedric!" I screamed.
I saw him turn. I saw his hand reach out. But he didn't let go of Jayden to catch me.
The wind roared in my ears. The city lights blurred into streaks of neon. I fell into the darkness, my hands cradling my stomach, apologizing to the life that had barely begun.
