Heather’s POV
I stared at the sonogram in Olivia’s trembling hands.
Then without another word, I pushed my chair back so abruptly it scraped harshly against the floor.
My heart pounded violently as I rushed out of the dining room and made my way to the room.
“Heather, where are you going?” Austin called, but I ignored him.
I opened the hidden compartment behind the wardrobe, and I dropped to my knees when I noticed that the lock was shattered.
The sonogram was gone.
I shot to my feet and returned to the dining hall, fury burning through my veins, hotter than anything I had ever felt before.
Austin was already standing when I entered.
“Where did you go?” he demanded. “Why did you leave without notice?”
I did not answer him.
My gaze moved past him and locked onto Olivia.
“That sonogram report is mine!"
The council members exchanged stunned looks.
Austin frowned, disbelief flashing across his face. “That’s impossible.”
His eyes dropped briefly to my abdomen, then back to my face.
“You can no longer bear children. The healer confirmed it.”
My hands moved instinctively to my stomach, clutching it protectively.
“But I do, and that photo is mine. I’m pregnant, Austin.”
The room erupted into whispers.
Austin turned sharply to Olivia. “Where did you get that photo?”
Olivia’s lips trembled. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head.
“This is my report. I went to the healer’s clinic days ago. Don’t you know? I have been pregnant even before this.”
I looked at Austin, and he looked surprised himself, but also very pleased. "R-really?"
And here I was, needing to defend my own pup.
“So since when did this affair start?” I asked, my voice cutting through their silence.
I already knew the answer, but I wanted him to say it.
He did not, so I turned to the room instead.
“Since when did you all know? Since when did you know your Alpha was cheating on his Luna with her own servant in exchange for pleasure?”
Gasps filled the hall.
I pointed directly at Olivia.
“You’re a slut who murdered my previous pups. You poisoned my concoctions. You made me believe my body was weak. And now you stand there, proud that you’re carrying a child with him?”
Olivia’s face flushed red. She swayed slightly.
“Alpha… I think I will faint…”
She sat down quickly and drank water while clutching the sonogram tighter.
Before I could take another step, Austin grabbed my arm.
“Enough!"
He dragged me out of the hall, his grip bruising, his steps fast and merciless.
The door slammed shut behind us as he threw me onto the floor of a private room.
I gasped as pain shot through my body.
“What is this, Heather?” Austin demanded coldly. “Have you not learned your lesson from your imprisonment? And now you choose to disgrace me in front of the council?”
I stared at him in disbelief.
Now I was the disgrace?
A broken laugh escaped my lips.
“And now you call your own mate a disgrace, because she defended her dignity?”
I lifted my chin and glared at him.
“Understand the situation, Austin. You were cheating on me while mated to me. Who is the disgrace in this pack? Tell me.”
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze dropped slowly to my stomach.
“Are you really pregnant?”
My hand tightened over my belly.
I had never planned to reveal it, not after everything I had just learned days ago.
But now my child had already been dragged into this.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I’m pregnant. The sonogram Olivia showed everyone is mine.”
The door opened.
Olivia stepped in, her makeup slightly smudged.
“Oh, Luna. I know you’re angry at me. But what can I do? I just loved. And Alpha Austin is not hard to love. So please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to her,” Austin said sharply. “She just want attention.”
He looked down at me.
“Apologize to Olivia for the scandal you created.”
I wiped my tears, my hands trembling as I slowly stood.
“No,” I said. “Never, Austin.”
“I said apologize, or you will regret this, Heather.”
Olivia clutched his arm. “Don’t escalate this, Austin. She was just detained. Her emotions are unstable. It’s okay.”
“No,” Austin said coldly. “I already let her last wrongdoing pass. Not this one. It concerns the reputation of my future heir.”
His words crashed into my chest and twisted there, like he had reached inside me and torn something open with his bare hands.
Future heir.
He grabbed my arm again.
“Apologize!"
“No,” I cried. “Even if you kill me, I won’t. I did nothing wrong!"
Austin’s eyes flashed amber.
“Let’s see how far your pride goes for a simple apology.”
He dragged me out of the packhouse.
I struggled, cried, begged, but he did not stop.
Until we reached the healer’s cottage.
Fear crawled up my spine.
The next thing I knew, I was tied to a bed.
Ropes secured my wrists and ankles.
Healers surrounded me, their faces tense, waiting.
My breathing became uneven.
“What are you doing?” I cried. “Austin, please, let me go!"
He stood at the foot of the bed.
“You said you would not apologize even if I killed you, then I will have that pup inside you terminated.”
Horror flooded my eyes.
“No. No, please,” I begged, shaking violently. “Austin, this is your pup. Don’t kill your own child!”
“You’ll be blamed when it dies because of your stupid pride,” Austin said.
Then he lifted his gaze to the healers and said coldly, “Begin the operation. No anesthesia.”
The healers complied at once and tightened their grip on the tools in their hands.
I noticed the way their faces became pale and horrified.
But still obedient to their Alpha.
Then Olivia stepped into the room.
She looked shocked as her eyes moved from me to the blood on the bed, then to Austin.
“What are you all waiting for?” Austin snapped.
“I apologize!” I cried immediately.
“Say it clearly. Say it to Olivia.”
I choked on my tears.
“I’m sorry,” I forced out. “I apologize, Olivia.”
The healers looked at Austin, waiting for his command.
But then I saw Olivia’s face tighten when Austin softened at my apology.
She quickly spoke, “I heard a rumor that Luna Heather was getting close to one of the warriors. The one assigned to watch her during her detention.”
Austin’s expression darkened instantly.
He turned slowly to me.
“So you are cheating on me? Is that pup fathered by another man?”
I shook my head violently.
“No,” I cried. “Austin, this is your pup!”
His jaw tightened.
“Terminate it!"
The order fell like a death sentence.
“No—wait!” I screamed, panic tearing through my chest as I thrashed against the ropes. “Please, don’t do this!”
Hands grabbed me.
Then something sliced through my belly.
A scream ripped out of me.
My back arched, my fingers clawing uselessly at the restraints as tears streamed down my face.
“Austin!” I cried, my voice shaking, desperate. “Please! Please stop them!”
I looked at him through blurred vision.
His eyes were glowing amber, while Olivia stood beside him, one hand resting lightly on his arm.
And she was smiling.
My eyes burned as my wolf tried to surface.
For a moment, my sight sharpened. I knew my eyes had flashed, but I was too weak.
The wolfsbane in my system crushed my wolf down before she could rise.
Another wave of pain slammed into me, this time more intense.
I screamed again.
And then everything went dark.
