Caught

Celia’s POV

I ran my fingers over the soft linen, testing the quality. It was decent at least. Definitely not the finest I had seen, but good enough for what I needed. The vendor watched me expectantly, waiting for my decision.

“How much for three yards?” I asked.

“Two silver pieces.”

I nodded, reached into my pouch, and handed him the coins. “I’ll take it.”

The Bravemont market had become familiar to me over the past few months. I had come here twice a week, selling the herbs I gathered and preserved, buying the supplies I needed. It was how I survived now. Trading, bartering, and making just enough to get by.

It was nothing like my life back home had been. And no one here knew who I was or where I had come from.

That night with Alpha Nikolai still remained fresh in my memory. I still remembered the panic that had gripped me as I slipped through the pack house corridors. How my heart had thudded vehemently as I walked past the guards till I had made it out. Past the service entrance, through the woods, beyond the pack borders. I had run for three days straight, barely stopping. Fear kept me moving. The fear that Nikolai would find me, that his trackers would catch my scent, that I would be dragged back and punished for daring to leave, hastened my pace.

By the time I finally stopped, I was far from home. So far enough that I could barely sense any pack territories nearby. I collapsed in a small cave, my body giving out. When I woke up, I was violently sick.At first, I assumed it was stress. But when it kept happening, day after day, dread began to creep in.

I then found a healer in a small village. She was an old an who didn’t ask questions. She examined me with a bland expression, looked at me and told me I was pregnant. I felt my entire being pause that second.

Pregnant?

I remembered just sitting there, stunned. It didn’t seem possible. It was just one time. One single, horrible, confusing, devastating time.But she was certain I was six weeks along.

I left her cottage with a messy mind. My hand instinctively went to my still-flat stomach. A life was growing inside me. Nikolai’s child. The Alpha’s heir.

Terror washed over me. How would I survive alone? How would I protect a child? What would happen if Nikolai ever found out? He had called me worthless. He threw coins at me and told me I was nothing.

But if he found out about his heir, he would hunt me down just to claim it. So I made a decision to disappear completely. The first two months were brutal. Morning sickness made work difficult, and I had barely any coin. I took whatever jobs I could find be it cleaning, cooking, or harvest work.

Then I remembered what my mother taught me long ago. How to identify herbs, preserve them, and make basic remedies. I began gathering plants from the forests around the towns I passed through. Drying them, bundling them, selling them at markets. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep moving. And definitely enough to stay hidden.

Now, five months later, I had a routine I kept to, was far from my hunters and always protecting my child.

The vendor wrapped the linen, and I tucked it gently into my bag. My stomach had started showing weeks ago, forcing me to buy looser dresses. It was getting harder to hide. I turned away from the fabric stall, adjusting my bag and resting a hand on my belly. The baby had started moving recently. And just then, he kicked again.

“You’re okay,” I whispered. “We’re okay.”

I headed toward the herb seller on the far side of the square. I had dried lavender to trade for—

I froze. A tall broad shouldered man stood near the leather merchant’s stall. And I knew that stance. My blood turned to ice.

No. No, it couldn’t be— He shifted slightly, and I saw his profile. It was Nikolai full flesh and bones. The bag slipped from my fingers, landing on the ground. He was here. In Bravemont. Standing less than thirty feet away.

How? How had he found me? I had been so careful. Oh fuck! My heart pounded so hard it hurt. My legs refused to move. Maybe he hadn’t seen me. Maybe if I turned away now- And just then, our eyes met.

“Run!” my mind screamed. I spun, dropping everything, shoving through the crowd.

“Excuse me—sorry—move—!”

If I reached the alley behind the baker’s stall, I might lose him. I knew the side streets. I had a chance—

A hand clamped around my arm, yanking me back. I slammed into a solid chest. Another heartbeat later I was dragged between two stalls, away from the crowd.

“No!” I struggled wildly. “Let me go!”

“Not a fucking chance.” Nikolai’s voice was low. He shoved me against the wall of the stall, blocking every escape route.

“Please,” I gasped, hand flying to my stomach. “Please, just let me go.”

“Let you go?” He let out a humorless laugh. “You disappear for five months and think I’ll just let you go?”

“I’m not part of your pack anymore,” I said, breath shaking. “You have no claim on me.”

“No claim?” His gaze dropped to my belly, then snapped back to my face. “You’re carrying my child, and you dare say I have no claim?”

I flinched, trying to shrink back, but drew closer. His hand slammed the wall beside my head. “It’s not—”

“Don’t.” His voice was a snarl. “Don’t lie to me. I can smell it. That’s my heir you’re hiding.”

Tears stung my eyes. “You called me worthless. You threw coins at me. You don’t get to care now.”

“I don’t give a damn what I said then.” His voice was harsh. “You stole from me. Took what was mine. And ran.”

“I’m not yours!” I shoved at him. He didn’t move. “And neither is this baby!”

“Yes, it is.” His grip closed around my wrist. “Both of you are mine. And you’re coming back to Bloodcrest.”

“No.” Panic engulfed me. “No, I won’t—”

“Marcus!” Nikolai barked.

His Beta appeared from the crowd, that instant. Oh fuck!

“She’s coming with us,” Nikolai said. “Restrain her.”

“You can’t do this!” I cried. “This is neutral territory! You have no authority here!”

“I have authority over what’s mine,” he said coldly. “And you are mine.”

“It’s not your child!” I screamed, desperate. “I was with someone else after I left!”

He went still, squinting his eyes, intensifying his gaze on me. Then he leaned closer. “You’ll prove it. In my court. In front of witnesses. And when everyone sees you lied, when they see you tried to steal my heir, you’ll face the consequences.”

“Please…” My voice broke. “Please don’t do this.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you ran.”

Marcus stepped forward with rope. I tried to flee. Nikolai caught me easily, his arms like iron.

“Stop fighting,” he growled. “You’re making this worse.”

“I hate you,” I sobbed. “I hate you.”

“Good,” he said. “You’ll need it.”

Marcus tied my wrists. Not painfully though. But just securely enough that escape was impossible. I didn’t know how people hadn’t noticed. Or maybe they did but just decided to mind their business. I stumbled forward, tears blurring everything. One hand was trapped. The other hovered protectively near my stomach.

This wasn’t happening. After everything, running, hiding, surviving, for five months, he still found me. And he was dragging me back to whatever punishment awaited.