"I have been too lenient with you!" his voice thundered. "It allowed this venomous jealousy to fester!"
Before I could react, his hand clamped around my wrist like a steel vise.
A sickening crack echoed through the square.
White-hot agony exploded from my wrist, tearing a scream from my throat.
"Lock this vicious woman in the ice dungeon!" Lucian commanded, his face a cold, hard mask. "Until she confesses!"
Two guards seized my arms, their grip rough.
I fought to look back at him, tears of disbelief blurring my vision.
"Lucian… last night you said you’d forge a soul bond with me…"
His body tensed for a split second before he looked away.
As I was dragged toward the dungeon, the last thing I saw was Lucian, gently wiping Michelle’s tears and stroking her hair.
"It's all right now. I won't let her hurt you again."
I finally understood. My innocence was worthless compared to the theatrics of his fiancée.
The icy water of the dungeon crept past my chest, a bone-deep cold that felt like it was freezing the blood in my veins.
I curled into a corner of the cell, sharp pains pulsing from my shattered wrist. The stone walls were slick with frost, and every breath was like swallowing shards of ice.
This was the cruelest punishment in the Dark Moon Pack. Legend had it no wolf could survive in here for more than three days.
I closed my eyes, letting despair wash over me.
Better to die here, I thought. At least I'd never have to see that hypocrite's face again.
Just as my body was giving up, a flicker of warmth stirred deep within me.
That feeling...
My eyes shot open. My hand trembled as I pressed it to my lower abdomen.
A strange warmth was flowing through me. It was faint but tenacious, fighting desperately against the numbing cold.
I was pregnant.
The realization exploded in my mind.
It was Lucian's child. Just last night, he had caressed my body, whispering promises of forever.
The pup was using its own fragile life force to shield its mother.
"No... I can't die," I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to my feet.
As long as this child was alive, I couldn't give up.
Agony stretched time into an eternity. I don't know how long passed before footsteps finally echoed in the corridor.
Was it the changing of the guard?
The footsteps stopped outside my cell.
A key grated in the lock, and the heavy iron door creaked open.
A tall figure was silhouetted in the doorway, blocking the light. I couldn't see his face.
But that unmistakable Alpha presence... I would know it anywhere.
Lucian.
He had snuck past the guards into the dungeon in the dead of night.
