Chapter 7

“Uh?!” A nervous, clueless sound slipped past Lois’ trembling lips as the ugly Lord stepped closer.

“What do you want?” she demanded wearily, dragging herself backward, her body instinctively recoiling from him. He didn’t look like a good man. The way he had just yelled at that poor woman earlier—it left an imprint, ugly and unsettling. Everything about him gave her a bad impression.

“You know,” he began, his voice laced with mischief, “when I first saw you lying there, cornered, and a soldier was chasing you… so many thoughts ran through my head. I couldn’t just let him catch you like that. But if I caught you first—maybe, when the king places a price on your head for whoever drags you back—I’d get paid handsomely.”

He grinned, a twisted, creepy smile that made Lois’ stomach knot. Her face stiffened with both paranoia at his ugliness and terror at the thought of Alpha Karl catching her again.

She couldn’t predict what would become of her if Karl reclaimed her. He was unpredictable. She knew the depths of his hostility toward her. If he got his hands on her again, his punishment would be nastier, more ruthless, more merciless than anything she had endured before.

“Who are you? And what do you want from me?” Lois spat, anger swirling inside her chest as he loomed closer. Her eyes darted around, but the bed offered no sanctuary. She was cornered.

“Don’t panic.” His voice darkened, his gaze sharp, predatory. “I’m Beta Barbara. The second-in-command of this town.” He looked at her the way a thief eyes something precious he intends to snatch.

Lois’ skin prickled. For some reason, she felt stripped bare in his presence. Vulnerable. A good man wouldn’t have humiliated that lady the way he did earlier. Everything about him was wrong.

“What do you want from me?” she repeated, her tone hardening, her jaw clenched.

“The physician who treated your injury…” He paused, his voice deliberate. “He said you’re two weeks pregnant. He checked your pulse and recognized a slippery rhythm, whatever that means. And—”

Before he could finish, Lois cut in, her mind exploding at the one word that pierced her.

“Pregnant?” Her voice cracked, horrified. “What do you mean—I’m pregnant?!”

“You do not speak while I am still speaking!” Beta Barbara growled, snapping at her. His sudden burst of authority left her frozen, stunned.

He continued, his words like a death sentence. “I’ll give you time to think. I can offer you shelter and discretion until the child is born. But when you give birth, the child is mine. The moment you deliver, I take the child as my own. Or… I drag you back to the palace.”

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving Lois with the shock of her life.

“Pregnant? No… When did I…?” Her mind spiraled in cluelessness.

The only man who had ever touched her—who had ever mated her—was Alpha Karl. Not with love, but with torture. Brutality. And she knew the attendants had always forced bitter contraceptives down her throat after every encounter. Bitter, toxic things meant to kill any chance of life.

So how could she possibly be pregnant?

She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging herself tight as tears streamed down. This wasn’t the life she wanted. She wasn’t ready to have a child. Her life was already in ruins, and now this? She was on the run, hunted like prey, and now she carried another weakness inside her.

What if her child grew up to be enslaved just as she had been?

What if he or she was forced to endure the same disdain, the same bullying, the same cruel spite?

She pressed her face into her knees and sobbed, her body trembling.

Then, unexpectedly, a gentle hand rested on her back. A woman’s soft voice followed.

“You are not alone. Tell me how you feel. I can comfort you.”

Lois lifted her tear-filled eyes to see Beta Barbara’s young wife. A woman with a face kind and sympathetic, reaching out to a stranger with simple generosity.

“Who are you to him?” Lois asked bluntly. Her eyes looked battered, like roses after a storm—still beautiful, but drenched in pain.

The woman flinched. Pain flickered in her blue eyes, as though Lois’ question had reopened an old wound.

Lois’ heart squeezed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

The woman shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “He is my husband. My arranged husband.” Her voice cracked. “I never wanted this. But I was forced into it.”

She sniffled, recalling her own torment. “I’ve endured insult after insult for not giving him an heir. But I’m not the problem—he is. Beta Barbara is infertile. I’m the eighteenth wife he’s taken. All the others were sent away, disgraced.”

Her face twisted with grief. “I wanted love. But all I got was a troll of a husband. Aggressive. Cruel.”

Lois’ heart ached for her. She reached out and hugged her tightly, offering what little comfort she could.

The woman trembled against her shoulder.

“Is that why he wants my child?” Lois asked suddenly, alarm flashing in her gaze.

The woman nodded. “Yes. He has tried before. He sought out vulnerable young women, tried to adopt their unborn children. But it never worked. Either the fathers came back to claim them… or the truth slipped out before he could announce it. That’s why he’s desperate now.”

“Then if I agree… my child becomes the lord of this house?” Lois whispered.

“Yes. But only if you accept his bargain.” The woman sighed. “I just pray you make the right decision.”

Lois’ brows furrowed, her chest heavy. She had never faced a choice this cruel. Either give her child away to a stranger… or walk back into the hellish palace, dragging her child into Karl’s wrath.

Her tears streamed without end.

ꁞ ꁞ ꁞ ꁞ

Hours later, Lois sat in the darkness, the curtains drawn, her body steeped in sadness. The silence suffocated her. Every thought clawed at her mind. Both choices before her felt like death sentences.

The door slammed open. Beta Barbara stormed in, flanked by maids.

“Have you made your decision?” he demanded.

Lois’ eyes widened. Her lips trembled. “Could you… give me more time?” she asked, her voice breaking, her eyes red and swollen.

“I’ve given you enough time.” His voice was a whip. “The palace soldiers are here. They’ve come to search my home. My influence only buys me minutes, not hours. Make your deal now—so I know whether risking myself for you is worth it!”

Her heart pounded in her chest. Her lashes fluttered as tears clung to them.

“You mean… the soldiers are here? For me?”

As if to confirm, heavy growls thundered from downstairs. “Beta Barbara! We begin the search now!” Soldiers’ boots echoed through the mansion, stomping across the floors.

Lois’ blood turned to ice.

“ANSWER ME!” Beta Barbara roared, his voice booming, his patience at its end.