Chapter 4: A Mother’s Last Stand

Lunessa's POV

And just like that I was thrown into the dungeon and locked away like a criminal.

I didn’t even understand why Kallen was so angry. He was the one who rejected me, and now because I was pregnant I was the disgrace?

I pounded on the bars with everything I had left, calling for anyone to hear me.

“Kallen!” I cried. “Please! Let me out!”

But no voice answered, no footsteps came. Only the cruel silence of a world that had turned its back on me. I collapsed to the floor, sobbing until my body trembled with exhaustion.

My heart ached for my mother. She was sick and alone. I reached her through the mindlink and told her, reassuring her I'll be home soon.

‘Kallen is heartless!’ Due growled in my mind. ‘When we get out of here, I’ll shred him to pieces!’

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. My throat burned from screaming. My body ached, and the child within me, added to the hunger clawing at my insides.

A day passed. No food or water. No one came. My head pounded, my lips were dry. The hunger was unbearable.

Another day crawled by. I could no longer cry. I didn’t even have the strength to beg anymore. I curled into myself, shivering on the cold stone floor, my arms wrapped protectively around my belly, the only warmth I had left.

On the night of the second day, delirious and hollowed out, I whispered to the only thing I had left to believe in.

“Moon… goddess… please…”

And in that silence, hate crept in. Azrik. I hated him for vanishing, for leaving me pregnant. For making me believe I was wanted, only to disappear without a trace, because of him, I was locked in this cell, because of him, my mother was alone, dying.

‘Hating him won’t change anything,’ Due said softly, her strength fading with mine.

‘I know,’ I answered. ‘But I still hate him.’

‘I smell Mother,’ Due whispered, and I jolted upright.

She was right. That scent, warm, and comforting filled the cold, damp air. Then, the heavy door burst open, and there she was.

“My daughter,” she rushed to me, and hugged me tightly.

“I didn’t do anything,” I sobbed, burying my face in her shoulder.

“I know,” she whispered, running her fingers through my hair. “I know, my baby.”

She handed me a small crumpled paper bag, the scent of food made my stomach growl violently. I devoured the snacks without thinking. Then I saw red streaks on her sleeve, blood.

“Mother… are you hurt?” I asked, panic rising in my throat.

She shook her head quickly, forcing a smile. “It’s just a cut. Nothing serious.”

But her eyes told a different story. I gulped down the water she brought, feeling strength slowly return to my limbs. She helped me stand, holding me like I was made of glass.

“You have to run, Lunessa,” she said urgently. “As far away from here as you can. You’re not safe here, not anymore, and neither is the child.”

“What? What are you saying?”

Her eyes shimmered with pain. “Kallen is planning to kill you.”

My heart stopped. “No… that can’t be…”

“You must listen to me,” she interrupted. “What’s happening is bigger than you think. The mark and pregnancy has stirred something. There's no time to explain, but Kallen sees you as a threat now.”

I shook my head, trying to process it all.

“Promise me, Lunessa,” she pleaded, gripping my shoulders. “Promise me you’ll run, and protect that child. No matter what happens to me, you must live.”

“Mother, I can’t just leave you…”

“Promise me!” she cried, voice cracking.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I promise.”

She leaned in, pressing her forehead to mine. Her breath was shaky.

“Be careful, my child,” she whispered. “Be brave.”

“I will,” I murmured.

I could feel it, there was so much more my mother wanted to tell me. Her voice held a heaviness, like she was carrying secrets too painful to speak aloud, but now wasn’t the time. Once we escaped she would tell me everything.

We slipped quietly out of the dungeon, my mother’s arm supporting me, but the moment we stepped outside, I froze.

Liora’s scent was close. I turned to my left, and there she was, standing just a few feet away, surrounded by guards. I gasped.

My mother’s voice rang out, firm and commanding. “Due, come out now. Get her out of here.”

My wolf didn’t hesitate. I shifted instantly, bones cracking, as Due took control. My mother shifted too, but instead of following me, her wolf charged toward the guards.

No…

‘Due, we have to help her!’ I pleaded through the mindlink, panic surging in my chest.

But Due didn’t listen. She never did, not when it came to my mother, she always obeyed her. My heart was screaming.

“I love you, Lunessa,” my mother’s voice echoed in the mindlink.

“I love you too, Mother…” I whispered, my voice fracturing as pain swallowed me whole.

Due ran, but I could hear the growls behind us. The clash of claws, the sound of her body hitting the ground and rising again. Even weakened and ill, she fought, she fought for me.

Before we could get far, I heard a howl. Loud, and agonizing. It tore through the night like a blade. Due froze mid-stride. She turned her head, and my heart shattered.

My mother’s wolf was on the ground, whimpering in pain, blood pooling beneath her. Her flanks heaved with effort, her body trembled.

‘Mother…’ I gasped through the mindlink.

But her voice didn’t come, she was too weak. I watched, helpless, as her eyes fluttered, and then closed.

‘No, no!’

I felt it, her pain, like a knife twisting inside me. Due didn’t stop. She ran, faster than I ever knew she could, forcing our body forward even as my soul begged to go back.

We leapt over a low fence and into the thick woods. Behind us, the guards’ wolves gave chase, howling, snarling, but Due didn’t slow.

She darted between trees, through shadows, over rocks and roots until the forest swallowed us whole. And then, finally, the sound of pursuit vanished, she collapsed, breath heaving.

I shifted back, falling to my knees. Tears spilled freely, and I clutched my chest as though I could hold my heart together, but I couldn’t.

My cries echoed through the trees, wild, broken, and full of rage. Liora and Kallen killed my mother, and I couldn’t go back. Not now. All I could do was survive, for my child.

But one thing was certain, this pain would not be forgotten, sooner or later I would return.

And I would have my revenge.