Chapter 004

Valeria POV

“Do you wish to get yourself killed, or have you lost your mind?”

The voice crashed into me just as strong hands yanked me back from the ledge. I stumbled, stunned, my breath tearing out of my chest as I turned to face him.

He wasn’t familiar. I was sure of it. I would have remembered a face like his.

His gray eyes held both storm and silence pale like winter steel, darkening when his gaze sharpened. They missed nothing. When they locked onto me, it felt like being stripped bare, measured, and somehow understood.

His jaw was sharp and firm, softened by a mouth that knew control as much as command. A thin scar cut through his brow, not threatening, but telling a story he never shared. His dark hair fell in careless disorder, as if rules simply bent around him. He smelled like clean wind and smoke.

“I’m talking to you,” he snapped. “Do you have a death wish?”

His grip tightened around my left arm. Pain shot through me, and a broken moan slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

That snapped me back to myself.

I tore free from his hold and stumbled backward, putting distance between us. When he stepped closer, panic surged through me. I threw my hands out.

“Don’t come closer,” I whispered.

Then I felt it.

Something unfamiliar. Powerful. Like an electric pull dragging me toward him, sinking beneath my skin and settling deep in my chest. It terrified me.

“I can help you,” he said calmly. “My name is Alpha Xarvier.”

He moved closer again, reaching into his pocket. My breath caught as he pulled out a key and let it dangle before my eyes. Then he held out his hand steady, patient.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

No one had ever offered me freedom before. Not like this.

My hand trembled as I placed it in his. He unlocked the chains binding my wrists and ankles. When the metal fell away, relief crashed over me so hard my knees nearly gave out. I felt lighter. Free if only for a moment.

Then a familiar voice cut through the air.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Xavier."

Alpha Sebastian stepped toward us, his presence heavy and cold. My heart sank.

For a brief, foolish second, I wanted to believe this man, Xarvier was nothing like him. But as I looked again, I saw it.

The same sharp features.the same dominance,the same darkness.

She was about to kill herself. I had to free her. Besides, I think I like her too.

Alpha Xarvier’s words echoed in my head as his gaze stayed fixed on me. Tension thickened the air, heavy enough to choke on. Even though my heart burned with hatred for Alpha Sebastian, for my sister, for my parents, I knew then that Xarvier could be the key to my revenge.

As the two Alphas spoke, my thoughts spiraled wildly.

“She’s mine, Xarvier,” Alpha Sebastian said coldly.

He smirked as he turned toward me. Our eyes met, and the cruel curve of his lips widened, sending a chill down my spine.

“You already have a mate, Sebastian,” Xarvier replied. “You and I both know she means nothing to you. So let me take her.”

He turned toward me and tightened his grip around my arm.

Humiliation burned through me. They spoke about me like I was an object a prize claimed after war. Fate could be so cruel. Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I brushed them away with shaking fingers.

“Get your hand off her,” Sebastian growled, charging toward Xavier.

Xarvier didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. Instead, a faint smile touched his lips. From what I could see, these two weren’t friends, they were rivals.

“And if I don’t,” Xarvier said calmly, “what will you do about it?”

He lifted my bruised hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. Without warning, Alpha Sebastian struck him. The blow sent Xarvier crashing to the ground.

Fear flooded me. My vision blurred as panic clawed its way through my chest. I knew what would happen if Sebastian turned his anger on me. The little strength I had left drained away, and darkness pulled me under.

I collapsed, slipping into unconsciousness.

I didn’t know how long I slept. When I woke, everything felt wrong. The sharp, sterile smell of the clinic burned my nose, making my stomach churn. I fought the urge to vomit.

An elderly man approached me quietly.

“Here,” he whispered, holding out medicine. “This will help.”

I hesitated, suspicion knotting my stomach. I didn’t drink it. When he noticed, he smiled gently.

“My lady, you will need a lot of rest,” he said. “No stress. No hard work. Alpha Sebastian said you’re quite a handful.”

He adjusted his glasses and picked up a paper. Then he looked at me again, smiling softly before delivering words that shattered me completely.

“You are pregnant.”

Everything around me began to spin. I burst into tears,not tears of joy, but of pain, rejection, and betrayal. Worst of all, I was carrying the child of the man who had enslaved me.

The physician turned to leave, but panic surged through me. I grabbed his hand tightly.

“Please,” I whispered. “May I ask you for a favor?”

I didn’t fully know what I was doing anymore, but I had to think fast. I couldn’t have this child,not here, not in this pack mansion. Helen would come for it. She wouldn’t hesitate. She would kill my baby.

“What is it, miss?” he asked gently, adjusting his glasses.

“Please don’t tell Alpha Sebastian about my pregnancy,” I said. “I’ll tell him myself.”

The room fell silent.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door swung open.

“How is she, Damien?” Alpha Sebastian asked. He didn’t even look at me.

My heart pounded as I silently begged the physician to stay quiet.

Damien glanced at me. Our eyes met, and I squeezed them shut, bracing myself for the truth to spill.

“She’s fine, my lord,” he said calmly. “She only needs rest and proper meals. She’ll recover in a few days.”My eyes flew open.

Relief hit me so hard I nearly collapsed. I released a shaky breath and sank back onto the bed. Alpha Sebastian said nothing. He only nodded once and walked out of the room, the moment he was gone, my thoughts raced. I had to escape this place. I had to disappear, before it was too late.

Then the door opened again,Xarvier stepped inside.

“I didn’t expect you to be awake so soon,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”

A small smile touched his lips as he leaned closer, reaching to check my forehead. I grabbed his hand before he could pull away, holding it tightly as fear spilled out of me.

“Help me escape this place,” I whispered. “I promise, I’ll do whatever you want.”