I spin on my heels, rushing away before I embarrass myself further. Before Simond sees me and makes a scene. I can feel the Alpha’s eyes on my back, lingering, assessing. Is he suspicious? It doesn’t matter. I did what Tati asked.
I leave the mansion in haste and send Tati a message: It’s done.
I force myself into bed, but sleep refuses to come. Guilt gnaws at me, twisting my stomach. Something feels off, as if telling me something bad is coming.
Midnight strikes. Just as I reach for a sleeping pill, a commotion outside startles me. Heavy footsteps. Voices. Before I can react, my door bursts open.
A swarm of councilmen floods in, led by a man with a deep scar across his cheek. His presence alone sends a chill down my spine. He screams danger.
“What do you want?” My voice cracks as he grabs me roughly.
“The Alpha is dead!” he bellows. “You killed him. You killed my brother!”
My vision blurs. What? No! this isn’t happening.
“I didn’t—” My words die on my tongue when I see them.
Simond. Nalla. And Tati.
They stand at the threshold, faces void of any emotion as if all of them joined hands on betraying me.
Tati comes to me to taint me more. “I told her not to go. But she insisted. She even threatened to take her own life if I didn’t give her an invitation—”
“No!” My voice cracks as I turn to her. “You told me to drug him for you—”
A sharp slap cuts me off.
Alpha’s brother glares down at me. He was once a man who refused the throne, but now, with Alpha Rome dead, he is next in line.
I fall to my knees to beg more.
“I didn’t kill him, please,” I whisper. My trembling hand points at Tati. “She planned this—”
A slow, deliberate cough intervened.
Simond.
He steps forward, gaze void of warmth. I plead with my eyes, silently begging for him to save me. But then—
“I know my wife resents me but I never thought she’d go this far to ruin my reputation. Please, my lord, forgive me… and punish her for her crime.”
He pinned me more so I’d be punished death.
Pain shoots through me as hands seize me, dragging me away. My body scrapes against the ground, and I feel a searing pain in my stomach—something tearing inside me.
“No! My baby!” I cry out, clutching my abdomen. “Please, help my baby!”
They didn’t care at all.