Chapter 2

FREYA'S POV

"Urgh!" I gasped for air, my eyes bulging, the veins at the side of my head popping out.

That familiar sharp pain coursed through my body, and the adrenaline shot up to my head with so much force that my knees couldn't take it anymore.

They buckled, connecting with the cold floor, and my vision began to blur, but I kept blinking my eyes.

"Freya!" I heard the scream and the steps thudding against the floor as my head bashed against the floor, tears still spilling from my eyes.

The world around me began to fade, and I could feel the dampness slowly slipping out from my legs.

The scent of blood hung thick in the air. It carried a sharp, metallic edge—like iron left out in the rain.

It sunk into the fabric of my dress, saturating the atmosphere like a warning.

"No, I can't lose my baby," I chanted like a prayer inside my head.

The heaviness dragged me under, like I was drowning in a sea, and my eyelids fluttered closed.

But then, in that moment, I felt a hand yanking me upwards. My body slammed against his chest as the thick, musky scent filled my nostrils.

His grip on my shoulders tightened as he cradled me, ears pressed against his chest. For a moment, I caught the faint sound of his heartbeat—quicker than my own.

Instinctively, I clung to his shirt, squeezing hard, with desperation.

"Brayden... Help... me."

My head dropped into a slumber, and it all went dark.

******

Cold.

That was the first thing I felt—a sharp sting as water smacked against my face, yanking me out of the darkness.

I gasped, instinctively turning my head, but the chill clung to me, soaking into my skin and dripping down my neck.

My eyes flickered open, but my lashes were still thick with droplets of water that blurred my vision.

"Oh, good. Look who's awake," Lilith's voice snickered inside my head.

What was she doing here? I shivered slightly from the cold slipping inside my bones.

"Luna!" I heard Jenny, my personal maid, sigh with relief.

I turned my gaze toward her as she curled her hands over my back, pulling me to sit upright. "Gentle, Luna. You just got out of labor."

My body froze, and I snapped my head toward Jenny. My nails dug into her arm.

"What do you mean, labor? My baby is not even up to a month old..."

The words tasted bitter against my tongue as I swallowed hard. My shoulders threatened to slump again, but Jenny held me back.

Lilith's presence hovered as she stood in front of me, arms crossed with a smirk on her face. "I think you mean babies."

"Babies?" My gaze flickered from Lilith to Jenny, tugging against her arm.

"What is she saying?"

Jenny's head tilted toward the floor as she heaved a deep sigh. My hand clutched over my stomach, but my eyes widened.

I felt nothing within, like I normally did since I got pregnant.

What the hell happened when I was unconscious?

"The stress from the trial made you go into labor. You were carrying twins, but the healer's magic could only save one of the children."

Tears filled my eyes, and my chest heaved fast. "Where are they?" I demanded sharply.

Lilith grabbed my chin, tilting my face toward hers, the edge of her lips tagged with a smirk.

"Do you mean the dead one? It's probably in the kennels of the pack hounds. Brayden let me feed it to them."

Blood rushed up inside my head as my teeth gritted. My hand clamped over her wrist. "Why?"

Lilith hissed, tossing her hand away from my face. "It's because I hate you."

She leaned over toward my ear, her breath tickling against my earlobe.

"Since you came into this family, everyone's attention has been fixated on you... the precious Luna." She giggled, then sighed.

"Too bad I had to take matters into my own hands, and I must say I am really surprised by just how far the results went."

My eyes widened in shock. No, it couldn't be...

Did she plan all this? Everything?

"Lilith, how could you? Did you kill...."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. If you hadn't come into this family, then things wouldn't be this way."

She was giggling, but I could see traces of tears in her eyes that almost made me feel sorry for her.

"Why would you do something like this?"

"It's because I love Brayden, and he's mine. You don't deserve him." She snickered as she stood up.

"You took everything from me. It's only fair that I did the same."

I shook my head from side to side. I could not believe what I was hearing, but one thing was certain.

She was a damn psychopath.

"Don't bother looking for your child. Alpha Brayden took her away. You will never see her again. This time, I will take everything that belongs to you."

Hot tears pooled at the corners of my eyes as my hands curled against the bed.

"You're a monster. I'll make sure Brayden sees what kind of person you truly are."

She crossed her arms and then sighed casually. "Go on then. Tell him, you are nothing but the woman who murdered his father. I'm sure he's really going to care about the trash you're going to say."

Lilith winked one last time before she swayed her hips away. Her sociopathic hum lingered inside my head even after the door closed.

"Luna..." Jenny started as she placed a hand behind my back.

I flinched but grabbed her arm. "What she said about my children..." I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

I gave birth to two children.

One dead, and the other was with my bastard husband.

"I have to see my Daughter," I mumbled with determination, but Jenny held me back.

"Luna, you shouldn't be moving. The procedure the healers used was a very risky one. Your life will be in danger if you don't rest."

How could I possibly rest when my whole life fell apart in just a single day?

I tried to swing my legs off the bed but the pain struck like lightning through my abdomen. My vision swam.

I took a step and then the other.

The cold floor boards bit into my feet but I kept going.

Sweat dripped through my body as Jenny walked me through Brayden's estate.

Everyone's eyes were on me, whispering, casting the glances I had been familiar with once before I became a Luna.

Disgust.

Hate.

I was a weak Omega who was basically human because my wolf was dormant most of the time.

I could feel her, but it was faint—like I was walking through the clouds.

Imagine living in a pack where strength and power were a criterion for authority and respect. No wonder my mate detested me.

As the door flung open, I saw Brayden at the end of his office, the elders rounded about his table. Apparently, they were in the middle of something, but it was none of my concern.

"Where is she?" I groaned, my palm leaning against the wall, my nails digging into the wood.

Brayden jolted upright. His eyes met mine— and something flickered behind them. Guilt? Regret? Fear?

But in the next blink, it was gone, buried beneath the cold mask of an Alpha.

He stood still, jaw clenched. "Freya.."

I didn't know or care.

I wanted answers, and I was going to get them.

"Where is my daughter, or else I will rain fire and brimstone on the East End pack," I groaned, a faint surge of energy clutching my chest, and then I snarled.

******