I jolted awake, but no one was there.
Yet the voice continued.
“Either die yourself, or kill them!”
I covered my ears, tears streaming down my face as I shook my head.
“No, it can’t be. There must be a misunderstanding. They must have a reason.”
A soft sigh followed, and the whispers faded.
I lay alone in the bed, silent tears falling.
Only the pain in my body and heart reminded me I was still barely alive.
The oil lamp on the table had burned out, and no one came to check on me.
I had hemorrhaged after losing my pups, drenched in cold sweat, the sheets soaked beneath me.
I tried to call for help, but my lips were cracked, my throat dry, and no sound came out.
By midnight, faint footsteps echoed in the dark room.
I couldn’t see who it was, but I recognized the small, tender voice.
“Adelina, are you still alive?”
In my daze, I felt a warm little hand rest on mine.
I knew that voice instantly.
It was Inaya, the girl I’d met in the Shadow Forest behind the Green Pack’s territory.
Inaya was originally from a small healer family but had been forced into hiding after her family was attacked by rogues.
One day, she stumbled into a trap set by hunters and was injured.
When I brought her to the Green Pack, the others looked down on her for her low status and bullied her relentlessly.
She often hid in my room, too afraid to go outside.
A few days ago, after I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t protect her as much.
I had to take her back to the forest and leave her in a small cabin.
And now, she was the only one who still cared enough to come see me.
I let out a bitter laugh.
The people I’d lived with for eighteen years in the Green Pack were nothing compared to a girl I’d only known briefly.
She pulled a flask from her waist.
“Adelina, I brought you some healing herbs. Drink it.”
I was too weak to lift my hand, so Inaya carefully tilted the flask to my lips, letting the liquid trickle into my mouth.
The bitterness soothed my throat, and I felt a faint surge of energy.
I turned my head to look at her, my voice hoarse.
“Inaya, why did you come?”
Her face grew hesitant.
“I sneaked in to congratulate you, but… I overheard the pack talking. Ridge and Freya are holding their marking ceremony in three days.”
The news of Ridge and Freya’s ceremony wasn’t new to me. I’d already heard Ridge and my father discussing it earlier.
They’d taken my pups, allowed me to be tortured, all for Freya’s sake.
My lips twitched, but I said nothing.
What Inaya said next, however, cut deeper.
“They’re saying you conspired with rogues, that your pups were a rogue’s bloodline.
They’re accusing you of plotting to let the rogues invade our territory and slaughter the pack.
The Alpha Council plans to drag you to Redemption Cliff and punish you with eighty-one lashes.”
My face turned pale.
They’d already taken my pups, let me suffer unspeakable pain—why couldn’t they just let me go?
Now they were slandering my name, trying to take my life.
A surge of anger and despair rose in my chest, and I coughed up dark blood.
Inaya looked at me with worry.
“Adelina, let’s run away!”
I coughed weakly and shook my head.
“I don’t have long left. Don’t worry about me. Just go.
Don’t come back here. If they find you, they’ll kill you.”
Inaya’s eyes filled with tears, her voice choked.
“Adelina, you’ll be okay.
I’ll find a way to save you. Wait for me!”
With that, her small figure disappeared into the night.
Soon after, I drifted back into unconsciousness.
In my dreams, I found myself in a forest shrouded in mist.
The ground was littered with bones, sending a chill through me.
Suddenly, a sharp slap across my face jolted me awake.
I blinked, the room now bathed in daylight.
Freya stood over me, looking down with disdain.
“You worthless Omega. Your pups are gone. Why aren’t you dead yet?”
