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My Alpha Betrayed Me, So I Took Everything
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
The night before Thalia Wyndefern was to take her vows, her mother died on a cliff. Moonlight washed the rocks in silver as Thalia stood trembling. Her betrothed, Drake Valecrown, held her close, eyes...
Chương (8)
第1章
The night before Thalia Wyndefern was to take her vows, her mother died on a cliff.
Moonlight washed the rocks in silver as Thalia stood trembling. Her betrothed, Drake Valecrown, held her close, eyes hard with grief and a promise to hunt down whoever had stolen a life from her.
Three years later, standing beneath the low lamps of the pack infirmary, Thalia read the faint double line that marked the beginning of a new life.
The pack medic murmured something about her father’s heart-source—a donor compatible with the blood of their line—and Thalia’s pulse quickened.
She rushed through the whitewashed corridors, only to find her Alpha folded in the arms of his first love, Naeryn Rothewyn, in a private ward.
“Don’t worry,” Naeryn said, her voice soft as a purr. “The pack medic found a compatible heart-source. I’ll speak with him and petition the Pack Council's medic board to prioritize Fiora—a request that, under Pack law, normally requires Council review unless the Alpha invokes an emergency override. Rothewyn first.”
“But that heart was promised to Thalia’s grandfather,” someone whispered nearby. “She’ll be furious if it’s reassigned.”
Drake’s tone was cold as winter. “So what? Three years ago, we took that pup’s heart and kidney to save your father. This time, we take another heart. It’s no different.”
“And don’t bother over her mother’s death,” Naeryn went on, voice steady. “I destroyed the trail for you. No one will trace it back.”
The words landed in Thalia like a claw. The truth trickled into place: they had been responsible—three years ago—for the deaths that had shattered her life.
Now Drake and Naeryn plotted to take her father’s heart for their own pup’s survival.
Thalia stepped away from the bed and called on a man who hated Drake—a rival pack-Alpha with an old grievance.
“I want to ruin Drake and Naeryn,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Will you help me?”
“You saw it finally,” the rival replied without hesitation. “I told you Drake was twisted. So—divorce him, take shelter with me. I always liked you.” His tone was practical, not kind.
She studied the pair in the ward: Drake gentle with Naeryn, the way his scent softened when he drew near her.
Thalia lowered her head and managed a bitter smile. “I’ll be your mate,” she said, “but only if you find a new heart-source. If you secure one today, I’ll be on the next moonflight.”
“Give me a week. Don’t forget to come.” The rival’s promise came quickly.
Before hanging the link, Thalia added in a whisper meant only for him, “I just found out. I’m one moon gone. I will leave him and keep this pup.”
There was no pause on the other end. “It’s only one pup. I can provide for it.”
She would rise from the ash of what she had been and claim her own crown. It was time for Drake and Naeryn to fall into the trap she would set.
She had taken the test three days before and had wanted to share the news with Drake.
He had been hurried—duty, he said. Now it was painfully plain where his loyalties lay: with Naeryn and the pup she carried.
Drake’s comm-throat buzzed at his belt, the pack medic was calling. He leaned down and brushed a kiss on Naeryn’s cheek.
“Wait here. I’m going to speak with the pack medic about my father’s heart.”
As he moved away, Naeryn smoothed the illusion of hurt from her features and turned toward the stairwell where Thalia watched.
“How pathetic,” Naeryn said, voice silk over steel. “Three years of being his mate and you lurk in the shadows, watching someone else take pleasure.”
Thalia laughed once, bitter. “Isn’t the real pity yours? You gave him a pup, yet you’ve won nothing but borrowed status. As long as I remain, the title of Luna Valecrown is mine.”
Her words cut. Naeryn’s face twisted. “Drake has always loved me. You stole my place.”
“Drake and I were one another’s first moon-mate. We swore to grow old together. Thalia—you were the interloper.”
A flare of pain lanced Thalia’s ribs. Instinctively she pressed a hand to her belly, the prenatal scroll slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the stone.
Naeryn stooped to pick it up. When she saw the inked symbol marking one month, triumph twisted her features further.
“Thalia,” Naeryn said, with false pity. “I can’t believe you’re with pup again. You heard what Drake said—your first pup’s heart saved my father.”
“But there’s more,” Naeryn added, voice small with a practiced sorrow. “Drake promised me that even if he mated you, his bloodline would remain mine. Imagine what will happen if he learns you carry another brood.”
Thalia saw the wedge for what it was.
For a moment she did not care. She lifted her hand and struck Naeryn across the cheek.
The slap sounded sharp in the stairwell. Naeryn bit the lie as she fell, the practiced sob spilling out like water.
“Thalia—”
Thalia bristled at the name that had been forced on her by others, anger made her steadier than the waver of tears rising to her own eyes. She had almost mocked Naeryn’s show when Drake’s voice cut across them, flat and cold.
“Why are you here?” he demanded. “Why can’t you speak with dignity? Why strike someone? Thalia, what happened to you?”
Thalia opened her mouth, but Naeryn seized Drake’s arm. With a trembling that was all theater, she crooned, “Drake, Thalia must have reasons. I shouldn’t keep you. If she calms, she can strike me as she will.”
As rehearsed, Drake softened. “No one should be struck. This is Thalia’s fault. I’ll keep it straight.”
He stepped forward and gripped Thalia’s shoulder.
“Fight back,” he instructed Naeryn and then—as if to teach the lesson—he struck Thalia with his hand.
The blow knocked the breath from her. Her stomach slammed into the stair’s stone edge. Drake turned away without a backward glance, leading Naeryn away as if nothing mattered more than her fragile performance.
Thalia crumpled, palm pressed to her belly where a hot dark fleck spread across her hand. Blood stained the floor in a stark, unbearable mark.
“My pup…”
Light leaked away. The Moon’s face swam and then everything went black.
第2章
Thalia woke to the harsh light of the infirmary and found herself lying in a narrow bed. The memory of the stairwell and the blow returned in a rush and she sat up with a gasp.
A pack medic from the pack stepped inside, taking in her worried face and offering a gentle, professional smile. “Don’t worry, the pup is fine. But next time, be careful with your belly.”
Relief flooded her and she slid a hand to the soft swell beneath her blouse.
After what had happened three years before, when Drake’s choices had cost her a pup, she swore this one would be protected.
When she was well enough to leave, Thalia went straight to the Pack Registry. If she was going to break free, the divorce had to be final and formal—quickly.
She handed the registrar a stack of parchments. The clerk tapped at the console for a long moment, then looked up with a puzzled frown. “Lady Thalia, according to our records, your Bond-Severance was filed a month ago.”
Thalia’s heart lurched. “That can’t be right. I wasn’t here a month ago. I didn’t file anything.”
The clerk scrolled through the entries and his face went flat. “It shows the filing was processed by Alpha Drake Valecrown…and his mate is listed as Naeryn Rothewyn. Do you know her?”
The world narrowed to a ring in Thalia’s ears. A month ago had been her natal moon—her birthday. Drake had given her a large sum and said he would celebrate later, after the day’s pack duties. She had gone out shopping, thinking to surprise him.
Instead, a pack of drunken men had pushed her into a back alley. She had fumbled for her comm-thong, tried to call Drake, only to hear the line drop each time. If a passerby had not intervened, she did not want to imagine what might have happened.
When she finally made it home that night, Drake had claimed he’d been in a council meeting and his throat-loop had been muted. She had believed him.
Now the Registry clerk’s words slotted into place like hooked teeth: Drake had unmated her on her birthday and put Naeryn’s name in his stead.
She stepped out into the street to clear her head, but a gale came up and the sky opened. Rain drove against her until she was sodden.
No rider or carriage passed, the pack’s patrols were thin in the storm. Her umbrella snapped and she trudged on, tears indistinguishable from the rain.
By the time she reached the villa, she was soaked through and shivering. Pushing the door open, she was met by warm light and the sound of Drake’s voice—tender, the way it used to be for her.
“It’s pouring. Drink some ginger broth, or you’ll catch a chill,” he said.
Her hope fluttered, then died when she saw him kneel beside Naeryn’s bed while Fiora sat quietly at the head.
Drake’s attention was for them, his words were for them.
When he noticed Thalia at the doorway, panic flickered across his face, then smoothed.
“Fiora’s heart is fragile. If anything happens, I can help straightaway. Naeryn will stay with her.”
Thalia let a mirthless laugh escape. “Rescue? You think you can stand in for a pack medic? Keeping someone here instead of sending them to the infirmary—is that your plan?”
Drake’s expression hardened in an instant. “How dare you speak like that! This is my house. If you object, I can remove your name from the deed.”
When they were mated, he had insisted she be added to the property so she would feel safe. That security, he now threatened to strip away for the sake of another she-wolf.
If he would dispose of her so casually, Thalia decided she could discard the rest of what bound them. She stepped into the warm room, hands clenched and resolved that nothing of hers would remain for him to claim.
第3章
After Drake finished speaking, he led Naeryn and Fiora upstairs without once looking back at her. The warmth of the lodge felt meaningless, the rain still clung to her hair.
Thalia moved through the motions of a hurried shower and crawled into bed, heavy with exhaustion and the ache in her belly.
How long she slept she could not tell. When she woke, her throat felt raw, as if she had been screaming into the wind. She called Drake’s name a few times, but the only answer was the muffled cadence of a story drifting through the wall.
“Fiora is so much like you,” Naeryn’s voice chimed, bright and proud. “Even when she’s upset, she copies you and tries to comfort me.”
“Of course,” Drake replied, the pride in his tone unmistakable. “I raised her right. She’ll look after you when I’m gone.”
The image of Naeryn’s smile was vivid even through plaster and timber.
Thalia listened as Drake patted Fiora’s small back. “Alright, get some sleep. I’ll tell you both a bedtime tale.”
A few moments later his measured voice floated through the partition. “In a distant valley, there lived an Alpha and a Luna…”
Staring up at the plain, white ceiling, Thalia could only offer a bitter smile.
Three years of their bond and Drake and Naeryn shared the easy intimacy of a true pair—and the pup they tucked in together belonged to them in every way that mattered.
She tried to sit up for water and knocked a framed portrait from the bedside. The glass shattered and the photograph of her and Drake skittered across the floor, scuffed and misaligned.
She rose despite the dizziness, barefoot into the dark and stepped on shards.
Pain lanced across her foot as she reached for the switch, swept the mess and poured herself a drink.
All the while, the story from the next room continued on—soft, steady, another life being described for a pup who was not hers.
Bandaged and back beneath the covers, a memory stabbed through her: a time when Drake had cancelled council duties to infirmary attendants a fever she’d barely had.
“Don’t worry,” he had murmured then, “I’ll stay with you. I ache worse than you do.”
That gentleness felt like a relic now. Tonight, he had handed the ginger broth to Naeryn.
Tears tracked silently down Thalia’s face as dawn pinked the sky.
Laughter from below roused her the next morning. She opened the door and found Naeryn and Drake’s mother in the parlor, whispering and smiling.
When Naeryn spotted her, a smug expression crossed her face.
“Aunt Rabiya,” she cooed to the elder woman. “Don’t worry. Drake only allows us to stay for a few days because of Fiora’s heart. Once the pack medic tends to her, we’ll leave. Besides, Thalia might grow overemotional.”
Rabiya Valecrown held Fiora with a practiced air of adoration.
“Why would she be upset?” then she said coolly, “They’ve been mated three years without pups. Our little Fiora is perfect. Call me Grandmother.”
Fiora peered up and chimed, “Grandmother.”
Rabiya’s face brightened. She patted Naeryn’s hand.
“Naeryn, one daughter isn’t enough. When you bear a son, I’ll make sure Drake will make you as his Luna.”
Thalia’s stomach turned. She moved toward the doorway, but Rabiya’s voice snapped like a whip, “Stop right there!”
Two attendants—pack attendants, accustomed to carrying orders as easily as trays—materialized and seized Thalia’s wrists, not allowing her to step forward.
“You’ve grown insolent,” Rabiya declared with theatrical disdain. “You do not even come downstairs to serve me tea. Bring her here.”
They hauled Thalia to the landing.
She fought, but their grips were iron.
Rabiya, face alight with superiority, directed them with a delicate cruelty. “Make me a cup of tea—ninety-nine degrees. Do not fail.”
Thalia stood, jaw clenched and pretended not to hear.
Naeryn’s voice slid forward like honey. “Auntie, please. Let me handle this. I’m used to doing heavy work like that.”
Rabiya placed her hand in Naeryn’s, indulgent. “You are the future Luna. How could you stoop to chores? Let her do it.”
Thalia watched the tableau as if seeing herself from a distance—the way Naeryn tried to step away, then froze under Thalia’s stare. Annoyance creased Naeryn’s features.
“What use is she here? She cannot bear pups and now she won’t even serve tea. Lock her away. I do not want to see her about the lodge.”
Two attendants tightened their hold to take her away.
At that moment Drake emerged from the study, frowning. “Mother, that’s enough.”
第4章
Drake’s glare cut through the parlor like winter wind. “Enough. Thalia is my mate,” he snapped, stepping between his mother and Thalia.
“You will not treat her this way.”
Rabiya blinked, incredulous. “Drake, you defend an outsider over your own mother? Three years you mated her and still no pups—she’s less than a hen! Worthless.”
Her voice dripped with the old breeding-house contempt of pack aristocracy.
Drake opened his mouth, then closed it. Thalia already knew the truth he could not say aloud: the pup she had lost, the sickness in that night—Drake’s complicity. She felt the old wound flare.
“Regardless,” Drake said finally, voice hard, “you will not humiliate her.”
He reached for Thalia’s hand. She yanked it away. “If you wanted a wolf who could give you pups, you should have taken one already.”
Her words landed like stones. Without meeting his mother’s eyes, Thalia turned and went upstairs.
Alarm flickered in Drake’s features, he hesitated, then started after her.
A sudden cry from Fiora halted him. Naeryn scooped the pup up with an expertly performed gasp of alarm. “Fiora! Are you hurt? Is your heart—”
“Drake, she startled Fiora. Will you come see?” Naeryn’s voice trembled with practiced concern.
Drake spun toward them, worry written across his face. He called for the family pack medic and knelt beside Fiora, searching the pup’s small features for any sign of distress. He looked back once at the stairwell, torn, Thalia had already seen too much.
What Thalia could not know in the moment was the small, cruel pinch Naeryn had delivered to Fiora’s arm as Drake turned—an instant that would never register in his eyes as anything but genuine concern.
Even if Thalia had tried to tell him, he would have refused to believe it.
On the landing, Thalia watched his concern for Fiora and felt the last thread of something like faith splinter. Back in their bedchamber she pulled every remnant of their life apart. Photographs, letters—three years of coiled promises—were swept into piles and tossed. Where he had once filled the world with vows, there was now only the echo of their old life.
She had barely begun to sit when Drake’s hand forced the door. He stepped in and froze at the sight of the emptied shelves. “Thalia, what have you done?”
“Nothing,” she said, steady when her voice could have rattled. “Just taking away what isn’t mine.”
His expression was flat. “Bring tea to my mother. I made it. Go down.”
He shepherded her downstairs and shoved a steaming cup into her hands. Thalia moved through the motion as if under water. Just as she reached for the tray, Naeryn slid forward with the grace of a wolf who knows how to use attention as a knife.
“Allow me,” Naeryn murmured, all sugar and predatory ease. “I’ll fetch it for her.”
Her smile was a blade. Thalia stepped to intercept, their hands collided over the cup. The ceramic tipped. Tea sloshed and struck the floor.
Naeryn shrieked, clutching her arm as if struck, as if the silvered porcelain had left wounds. Instantly the room filled with a chorus that sided with the show: Rabiya gasped, attendants clustered, Drake’s jaw tightened.
“Thalia, you’ve gone too far,” he said, voice rising. “Naeryn was trying to help and you attacked her.”
Before Thalia could explain, his hand flashed and struck her—quick, brutal judgment from the pack’s leader where mercy should have been. The sting sent her backward, her back hit the stair rail and she tasted copper. Rabiya’s thin smile widened into triumph.
“I warned you,” the matriarch intoned. “Lock her away before she disgraces us further.”
Two attendants seized Thalia again, their grips trained and cold. They hauled her toward the basement storeroom as if moving a trapped cur. Drake watched, the lines in his face closing like a snarl. He said nothing.
“Drake,” Thalia called, voice small under the weight of the cellar door, “you know I fear the dark. Will you truly let them lock me away?”
He paused at the threshold, conflict visible only for a breath, then turned his face away.
“You hurt Naeryn,” he said, voice clipped. “This is for order. A small punishment.”
The door thudded shut. Cold swallowed the storage room.
Thalia pounded until the hollowness around her took on the rhythm of a heartbeat. She curled in a corner, the world narrowing to the smell of old cedar and the distant murmur of the hearth above.
Memories rose—how Drake, once gentle in storms, had promised never to leave her in darkness. He had known. He had still let them do this.
With each sob that shook her, something inside Thalia unlatched and fell away.
第5章
When Thalia woke, she found herself lying in her own bed.
She turned her head and saw Drake beside her. Noticing her gaze, he opened his eyes and pulled her into his arms, his voice soft with a guilty timbre.
“Thalia, you’re awake. Do you want to sleep a little longer?”
Feeling the warmth of his chest—the steady, familiar heat of a mate and pack-bond—a sharp ache cut through her and she pushed him away.
“Drake, what are you pretending for?”
He froze, then answered, “I’m sorry. I thought Mother was only trying to scare you. I didn’t think those two retainers would actually lock you in the cellar.”
“Mother went too far this time, but you were the one who hurt Naeryn.”
Even now he made excuses. Thalia let out a cold, humorless laugh. “If you hadn’t said what you did, would they have dared to lock me up?”
She paused, then added, “Since your mother already treats Naeryn like her real daughter-in-law, why don’t I just leave? Then you and her can be together and your mother won’t be upset every time she sees me.”
With that, she rose and started to walk away.
Drake moved quickly and pulled her into a hug, his voice shaking. “Thalia, after three years together, I won’t let you go.”
“Are you still upset about Naeryn? Then I’ll ask her to move out. I won’t see her again.”
His words might have fooled a naive girl, Thalia would not fall for them again. She shoved him away.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the bedroom door burst open and Naeryn stood in the doorway, frozen, eyes wide, tears welling.
“No need to kick me out. I’ll take Fiora and leave right now.”
With that, she turned and hurried away. Drake sprang from the bed in a panic and chased after her, not even glancing at Thalia.
Thalia followed him down the hall.
Naeryn waited on the second-floor balcony, staring down at the two-meter-deep swimming pool below. Her eyes were rimmed red as she faced Drake, voice trembling. “Drake, if even you don’t want me anymore, then I’ll just jump. I know you and Thalia are the real couple, but I can’t stop feeling jealous.”
“Please take care of Fiora after I’m gone. Don’t try to stop me.”
She stepped toward the railing.
Drake lunged and wrapped his arms tightly around Naeryn, eyes full of anguish. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have said those things. The one I truly love is you. We still have Fiora. If you really jump, what will happen to her? What about me?”
He looked at Naeryn with an affection that made Thalia’s skin crawl. Watching their little spectacle unfold, Thalia stepped from the shadows and slowly began to clap.
When Drake saw her, his face went numb. He opened his mouth, then finally said with difficulty, “Thalia, I’ll explain everything tonight, okay?”
She shook her head and met him coolly. “No need. I’ll leave on my own soon. I won’t get in the way of your love.”
She turned to go, but Drake reached out as if to stop her. Before he could touch her, Naeryn stepped between them.
“Thalia, please don’t leave Drake because of me. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have brought Fiora here and I shouldn’t have gotten so close to Drake. I should be the one to leave.”
Naeryn’s false contrition made Thalia sick.
“Are you done? If so, move aside.”
Instead of stepping back, Naeryn grabbed Thalia’s arm. “Thalia, you and Drake have to stay well. That way I’ll feel better even if I leave…”
Thalia gave a mocking smile and wrenched her arm free.
The next instant Naeryn screamed, flung up an arm and stumbled backward.
Drake, panic-stricken, shoved Thalia aside and lunged to catch her. He held Naeryn at the waist, voice trembling with relief.
“Thank goodness you’re okay. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
He did not see Thalia slip from the balcony, she fell into the pool below.
第6章
The pool water rushed into her nose, choking Thalia instantly.
She flailed her arms and shouted up toward the second-floor balcony.
“Drake! Help me!”
She saw Drake rush down in a panic, but he stopped at the edge of the pool. Then he pulled Naeryn into his arms.
“You’ve suffered because of Thalia. Now it’s her turn to learn a lesson.”
He looked down at Thalia as she struggled, eyes full of something that might once have been concern but now read as cold calculation and he did not move.
Thalia stared at him in stunned disbelief, the world narrowed to the sharp, desperate rhythm of her breath. Everything went black as she weakened from lack of air.
Right before she lost consciousness, Drake shrugged off his jacket, dove in and hauled her out. His touch was efficient, his face hard.
“Thalia, this is just a warning. If you hurt Naeryn again, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
When she woke, raised voices downstairs pulled her back. She opened the bedroom door and saw Drake and Naeryn arguing. Naeryn clutched a suitcase in one hand and kept hold of Fiora with the other, making a show of trembling tears.
“Drake, let go. Instead of waiting for Thalia to force us out, I’d rather take Fiora and leave now.”
With that she shook off Drake’s hand and moved to go. Drake’s eyes were full of pity and pain, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Naeryn’s waist.
“No. As long as I’m here, no one will chase you away. You and Fiora can stay. What happened yesterday was Thalia’s fault. I already punished her. She won’t touch you again.”
Thalia walked down the stairs slowly, blade-cold smile aimed at Naeryn. “If you truly wanted to leave, you would’ve left last night while Drake slept.”
Naeryn hesitated, bit her lip and then dropped to her knees. “Thalia, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come between you and Drake. If you two are okay, I’ll go.”
She stood, opened the villa door and began to walk out. Drake grabbed her arm and shouted, “Enough!”
He whirled to Thalia, anger burning in his eyes.
“Thalia, don’t you think this house has had enough chaos? Naeryn never tried to hurt you. Why do you keep going after her?” His voice carried the disappointment of a packmate who expected loyalty.
“We’ve been bound three years. When did you become so jealous? I barely recognize you.”
Thalia lowered her head and stepped closer, the words cutting. “You don’t recognize me because your heart was never with me. All you care about is Naeryn.”
“If you’ve chosen to let her stay, then I’ll go.”
The villa reeked of Drake’s scent, a constant reminder of a bond twisted into betrayal. Thalia did not want any of it, she left everything behind.
As she stepped out the door, Drake’s voice followed her, angry and final. “Thalia, there’s a limit to jealousy. If you walk out today, don’t bother coming back!”
She did not turn. In her mind she repeated it like a vow: fine, I won’t return.
Outside, she took out her phone and sent a message.
[When will the heart-source be found?]
The reply came quickly: [We’ve got news. Just wait two more days.]
In two days, she would be able to leave this place for good.
第7章
The next night, Thalia arrived at the pack celebration in formal dress.
It was held for the Swift Pack’s eldest daughter’s coming-of-age rite, a promise made long ago, so she had to attend. She sat quietly in a shadowed corner, nursing a drink.
As expected, it wasn’t long before Drake and Naeryn made a grand entrance. Naeryn linked her arm with Drake’s, smiling politely. The others assumed Naeryn was his mate and began praising them.
“Drake and his mate have such a sweet bond! We’re so jealous.”
Drake smiled softly, accepting the compliments as if they were true.
Not wanting to watch them any longer, Thalia took her glass and stepped out onto the lodge balcony for air. Her champagne was nearly finished when Naeryn came up beside her.
“Thalia, you’ve already lost. Drake loves me now. Can you really leave little Fiora without a father?” Naeryn said.
Thalia answered with a cold smile. “What exactly are you saying?”
“I want you to leave right now. I want to be the new Luna Valecrown.”
Thalia nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll go. I gave up on Drake long ago.”
She turned to leave, but Naeryn grabbed her arm.
Before Thalia could ask what she meant, someone came up behind and pressed a damp cloth—drugged—over her nose and mouth. Everything blurred.
Just before the world went black, she saw Naeryn’s smirk.
When she opened her eyes again, she was tied to a chair, unable to move.
Naeryn sat bound beside her, wearing a smug expression. “Thalia, if Drake knew we were both captured and could only be saved one at a time, who do you think he’d choose?”
Thalia stared at her. “This was your doing?”
Naeryn laughed. “So what if it was? I only want Drake. Is that wrong?”
A voice at the door announced, “Boss, Alpha Drake is here.”
Two men in black stood behind them, knives glinting.
As Drake stepped in, the leader grinned. “Alpha Drake, lucky man. Two beautiful wolves, but you can only pick one. Choose now, or both die.”
He began the countdown. “Three…two…”
Before he reached one, Drake pointed at Naeryn. “Her. Let her go.”
The man smirked. “Drake doesn’t hesitate. Fine. Deal with the other one.”
He ordered someone to untie Thalia, then shoved her to the floor. In seconds, blows rained down on her.
Thalia clutched her belly, trying to shield the life within. A brutal kick landed. The man laughed at her pain.
“Drake, leave now. If I change my mind, she won’t survive.”
Through the chaos she searched for Drake’s face and begged, “Please…save me, save our pup…”
But Drake did not turn. He took Naeryn’s hand and walked away without looking back.
Tears tracked down Thalia’s face and fell onto the floor as she pressed both hands over her stomach, feeling the tiny life slipping away. She closed her eyes, filled with pain and despair.
第8章
When Thalia woke, she found herself in the pack infirmary, lying on a narrow cot beneath a woolen blanket.
A pack medic stood at her side, face heavy with regret. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “You’ve lost the pup.”
Tears filled her eyes before she could speak.
Because of Naeryn and Drake, she had lost her pup again.
Outside the infirmary corridor, she could hear the murmur of the medics and pack attendants.
“Did you hear? The Alpha’s mate scratched her wrist with a rope and he reserved the whole ward.”
“Which Alpha?”
“Who else? Drake Valecrown. I wish I had a bond like that.”
From the moment she had been taken to the lair to the moment she lost the pup, Drake had not once called her, not a single message.
Naeryn, on the other hand, only bore a small scratch—and Drake had commandeered an entire floor of the infirmary for her.
Thalia let out a bitter smile as fresh tears came to her eyes.
Her communicator on the bedside table buzzed. She picked it up.
[You found a compatible heart-source donor, right? Can you fly over now?] came the message.
She nodded to herself. “I’ve already booked the passage,” she told the pack medic.
At that moment Drake walked into the room. “What passage? Where are you going?” he asked.
Thalia didn’t turn to him. Calmly, she said, “I bought it for a friend, his mark didn’t go through.”
He set a sheaf of lilies on the small table. They were Naeryn’s favorite flowers.
“I’m sorry about last night. Things moved fast and I had no choice,” he offered.
She gave him a cold look. “So your choice was Naeryn. You left your mate of three years with those savages?”
He opened his mouth to answer, but his communicator buzzed. Naeryn’s name flashed. His face shifted immediately.
“Didn’t I pick Naeryn because you staged all of this, Thalia?” he said, voice tight. “Aren’t you doing this to get my attention? Have you thought how much this hurts Naeryn?”
“She needs me now. Take care of her,” she replied.
He slammed the infirmary door and left without another glance.
So Naeryn had told him she’d fabricated the whole thing—he trusted her implicitly.
Her communicator chimed again: a blunt command from Drake.
[Come to the eighth ward and apologize to Naeryn right now, or I’ll never forgive you!]
Thalia let out a cold laugh and blocked his mark.
What Naeryn did not know was that Thalia had already recorded everything Naeryn had said to her at the celebration—the entire conversation saved, word for word.
Before she left the cot, she placed the recorder and the pack medic’s report about the miscarriage on the bedside table.
Then she rose, took her father’s hand and walked away without looking back.