Revelation

I dragged myself after her, willing to get to the Alpha and give him the information Ianthe had just revealed to me.

He needed to hear this, and he had to believe me. I had to make him. It was my only chance.

With great pain and difficulty, I pushed myself out the door of my room, not minding or caring about the blood trails I was leaving behind me and the blood dripping rapidly onto my shirt from my mouth.

I heard Alpha Roman's voice from his study and pulled myself towards that direction. I tried to stand up many times, but it was as if I had lost the ability to. My legs felt like they had never walked before. Eventually, I gave up trying to stand and continued pulling myself on the floor, ignoring the stares of the maids and guards looking at me.

I pushed the door to the study open, and Ianthe and Alpha Roman stopped talking as soon as they sighted me.

The Alpha's face contorted with murderous rage.

“You bloody filth,” he said, his voice low and filled with danger. “How dare you show your face here?! Do you have a death wish?!” he roared.

I managed to shove the terror of the threats he threw at me and tried to open my mouth.

“I-It w-w-was Ianthe,” I began, hoping wildly and hoping desperately that he would believe me, that he would take my word. “I-I-It was her,”

Ianthe smirked from where she sat, but she said no word.

I continued, “S-s-she fr-framed me a-a-and r-ran b-back h-home,”

Ianthe smirked again. And this time, she spoke, “Has something gone loose in your head, Serena? Has it?”

I ignored her and focused on the one person whose words mattered in all of these.

“Y-y-you h-have t-to b-believe me. I-Ianthe set m-me u-up w-w-with t-t-those m-men,”

“You still have the audacity to try and blame someone else for your madness?!” Alpha Roman roared. “How dare you?!”

I began to cry uncontrollably now. “Y-you h-have t-to b-believe me. P-please, I w-w-would n-never d-do s-such a t-thing. I s-s-swear o-o-on t-the m-m-moon g-goddess,”

“Mention the goddess's name in vain again, and you'll be dead on the floor before you know what hit you! Fucccck!” He punctuated the word by throwing a wine glass on the gloor, making it shatter loudly, glass shards scattering everywhere.

“I can't believe I have to go to a duel because of her!” He said, pacing the room in anger. “I can't believe I have to fight to retain my hold on this filth,” he continued on, then suddenly whirled towards me. “Oh, I will fight. When I finish snapping that little bastard's neck, yours will be next. Oh, you're going nowhere. You better believe that. Nothing on earth and in hell can save you from me.”

“I'm p-pregnant,” I blurted out, and silence suddenly descended in the room.

There was no other choice for me. This was my only chance of surviving.

Ianthe looked frozen while Alpha Roman turned slowly to me. “What did you say?”

“I'm p-pregnant w-w-with y-your ch-child,”

“Stop that fucking stuttering or else I'll rip out your tongue for you. Now repeat those words you just said,”

I told myself to push back my tears and keep the stuttering at bay. “I'm p-pregant with your child,”

He paused a minute, then suddenly smile a twisted devilish smile.

“A ploy,”

I shook my head silently. No.

He ignored me and went on. “Oh, I know it's a ploy. You think lying about being pregnant will save your life?”

“I-I'm not lying,” I wept. “I swear I'm not lying.” Desperation and fear now stretched their withered hands towards me. He had to believe me. If he didn't, I was done.

Ianthe suddenly growled. “Shut your lying mouth. You're not pregnant. If you are, then it's a bastard child you're carrying. Who knows how long you've been sneaking around behind the Alpha.” She turned to Alpha Roman. “Don't let her decieve you. She's just trying to find a way to save herself.” She turned back to me. “I'm sure that stinkhole you call a womb can't even hold a child.”

“P-please, you h-have to b-believe me,”

“Shut your mouth!” yelled Ianthe.

“You c-can carry out a t-test. Please,”

There was silence for a long time and I could feel my heart about to rip out of its confines.

“Do you — do you believe her?” Ianthe asked him.

He finally spoke. “I'll grant you your wish. A test will be carried out. If it turns out that you're not pregnant, you will die by dismemberment. If you're pregnant and the child isn't mine, I will drown that child in your presence and make you watch. And even if the child were to be mine, you will be killed in its presence after five years. So he or she can realize how much of a whore its mother was and what the punishments for whores are.”

I whimpered. “No,”

Five years. I would only have five years with my child.

“Do you accept?” he asked softly, danger shrouded in his every word.

“Y-yes, I a-accept” I replied, voice shaking, fear holding my heart in its hands.

He grabbed a knife from the table and made his way towards me. I tried to scoot back on my bottom but it was futile. He caught up to me and bent to my level, winding a lock of my hair round his finger.

“Oh, how I'm so tempted to carve you open right now with this knife —” slowly, he dragged the tip of the knife gently down my face — “carve you open and leave my scars on you for the whole world to see. But I'll wait. I'll wait.”

He stood up, moved away from me and rang the bell that summoned the maids.

One appeared silently, hands folded, head bowed.

Without taking his eyes off me, the Alpha ordered, “Get me the royal physician.”