I was ambushed on the day of my mating ceremony with my fiancé Rowan. A group of omegas attacked me, their eyes glaring with hatred.
They ripped the car door off its hinges, and the driver lost control. We swerved off the road, slamming into something solid.
Everything went black.
When I came to, I was disoriented and panicked.
I was lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by the pack's medical staff. But something was terribly wrong.
"Why is everywhere so dark?" I screamed, thrashing about in bed.
The pack nurses rushed to calm me down, speaking softly and trying to restrain me. But I didn't want to be consoled!
Then I heard the sounds of hurried footsteps and Rowan's worried voice. "Cora, oh goddess, Cora!"
"Rowan! You’re here!" I exclaimed as I licked my dry lips.
His warm large hands found mine. "Yes, honey, I'm here. I came as soon as I heard."
I clung to his hand, a relieved sigh escaping my lips. Rowan was here. Everything would be okay.
The pack doctor finally came and examined my eyes.
There was a long, uneasy silence before he spoke.
"I'm sorry, Alpha Cora. It appears you've gone blind from the impact of the accident. I removed the glass from your eyes, but...I feared this might happen."
This couldn’t even be real.
Blind? I would never see Rowan's face again? Never see our future children?
I burst into tears, shaking all over. Rowan wrapped his arms around me, trying to hush me.
"There has to be something we can do!" He yelled. "We need to call the pack healers, now! They have to be able to heal her."
The doctor sounded sympathetic. "I've never seen damage this extensive. Even with the healers...I'm not sure she'll ever see again."
"Rowan, I'm so scared," I cried, my fingers clutching at his shirt.
He pulled me even closer, stroking my arms.
"Cora, calm down. The wolves hurt you too. You need to be careful, not move around too much."
I stilled, feeling a big plaster around my side.
"The wolves came from nowhere! I couldn't even fight back. I don't know why."
Rowan replied immediately. "Maybe it's because you're in the first trimester of your pregnancy. Your senses might be a bit off."
My fingers immediately found my belly, and I felt that rush of panic.
"Wait. I hope my pup is safe?"
My voice was shaking and I feared the answer.
The doctor reassured me my baby was safe for now but they needed to examine me further.
Rowan’s soft lips touched the back of my hand gently. "As long as I'm here, Cora, I won't let any harm come to you or our unborn child."
As the nurse gave me the anesthesia, the last thing I remembered was the sound of his voice whispering "I love you" in my ear.
I lost consciousness.
When I regained my senses, my eyes were shut under the bandages.
But my hearing was sharper than ever, as if my body was compensating for the loss of my sight.
I could hear the doctor and Rowan’s voices from a separate wing of the hospital, perhaps 4-5 floors away from my room.
But their conversation was loud and clear, as if they were standing by my bedside.
"...she's still unconscious, isn't it best we treat her?" the doctor asked.
Rowan snapped. "Treat her for what? And risk her having another child?"
My heart skipped a beat. What did he mean?
The doctor's voice was hesitant. "But...the incomplete abortion was carried out as you instructed, and now she's developed sepsis. If we don't treat her, it could kill her."
Abortion? Sepsis? What was happening?
And then it hit me – I could no longer feel the life of my child in my belly. My pup was gone.
No, no, no. This couldn't be happening.
Rowan sounded colder. "We'll treat her, but only once her uterus is damaged. Wait a few days first."
The doctor protested, "But it's risky. She could –"
Rowan cut him off. "She won't die. She's a female alpha, strong enough to withstand the pain."
I felt like throwing up. What kind of monster was Rowan?
The doctor asked, "And what about her blindness?"
Rowan's response sent chills down my spine. "It's a blessing in disguise. I wanted her to be paralyzed, but this is even better. Now I can push her around, and she still won’t see anything."
I felt hot tears slipping from my eyes, soaking into the bandages.
The doctor asked, "What if she finds out?"
"She won't," Rowan growled. "And if you dare to tell her, I'll kill your entire family. You know the price you must pay for the money I've given you."
"Of course, Beta Rowan," the doctor said, terrified. "I would never betray you."
Rowan's tone turned almost jovial. "Even the driver is on a ship out of the city with the money he's been given. Everything should be alright."
He paused, and I could sense his smile. "And then the omegas who attacked Cora will be greatly rewarded and ranked higher when I become Alpha, just like I promised them."
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
And then I suddenly remembered the wine he gave me before the ceremony, the one he said was for good luck.
It must have been spiked, which explained why I was so weak and unable to fight back.
Rowan's voice cut through my thoughts, speaking to the doctor. "I need Cora to be more cooperative, especially now that I'm about to take over as Alpha and bring in my true Luna, Odessa."
Odessa? The one who was supposedly just a childhood friend?
What he said next blew my mind. Odessa was carrying his child, his true heir.
He literally planned everything!
All he did was to pave the way for his true mate, Odessa, and their child. And to take over as Alpha.
Rowan sighed finally. "Go give her the wolfsbane right now. We need to ensure everything goes according to plan."
