Three

Chapter Three

Kira’s POV

A knock on my door made me look up.

“Come in,” I said, wiping my face.

The door opened, and Silas walked in.

Silas was my best friend and the second-in-command of the pack, Nikolai’s Beta. We had known each other for years, and he had always been someone I could turn to whenever I needed help.

“I haven’t seen you come downstairs to eat,” he said. “Are you okay?”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“Do I look okay to you, Silas?”

He looked at my face.

“I heard what happened.”

“Of course you did.” I looked away. “Tell me something, Silas. Did you know about Nikolai and Bella?”

He went quiet. That was enough to make my heart sink.

“Silas, I’m asking you a question.”

“I knew something was wrong between them,” he admitted. “But I didn’t know Nikolai would go this far.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“You knew something was wrong, and you said nothing to me?”

“Kira, I…”

“Don’t.” I raised my hand. “Please, don’t tell me you were trying to protect me. I don’t need your excuses.”

He lowered his head.

I turned away from him, struggling to hold back my tears. I had lost my husband, and now I was beginning to wonder if I had ever truly known my best friend either.

“I came here to tell Bella I was pregnant,” I whispered. “I was so happy, Silas. I thought she would be happy for me, too.”

My voice broke.

“Instead, I found out that she had been sleeping with my husband for years.”

Silas said nothing.

I wiped my tears and took a deep breath.

“Is there anything else I should know? Anything else you and Nikolai have been hiding from me?”

Silas hesitated.

My heart began to pound.

“What is it?”

He looked toward the door before turning back to me.

“Nikolai has been taking your blood.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

“It’s been happening for months. He has been ordering your blood to be collected and sent away for experiments.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

My blood?

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know everything, Kira. But I know he’s been investigating your wolfless condition.”

I remembered the medical examinations Nikolai had insisted I undergo. Every time I questioned him, he told me he wanted to find out why I hadn’t become pregnant.

I had believed him. I had allowed the healers to draw my blood because I thought my husband wanted to help me, but he had been doing it behind my back.

“He was never trying to help me, was he?” I whispered.

Silas looked at me but didn’t answer.

I laughed bitterly as tears filled my eyes.

“Five years, Silas. I spent five years thinking that if I loved him enough, he would eventually love me back. I trusted him with everything, and this is what I get.”

“Kira, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry won’t change anything.”

I walked away from him and sat on the edge of the bed.

Nikolai had betrayed me with my sister. He had threatened to ruin my reputation if I left him. He wanted to use my body to give Bella a son, and now I had learned that he had been secretly taking my blood.

What else had he done without my knowledge?

I couldn’t stay there.

I had to leave before things got worse.

“I’m leaving tonight,” I said.

Silas immediately looked at me.

“What? Kira, you can’t just leave. The guards…”

“I don’t care about the guards.”

“Nikolai won’t let you go.”

I turned to him.

“Then what do you expect me to do? Stay here and let them use me? Wait until Nikolai decides what else he wants to take from me?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“Then let me leave!”

He fell silent.

I stood up and walked toward the door.

“I can’t stay here anymore, Silas. I can’t breathe in this house. Every corner reminds me of the man I thought loved me.”

“Kira, please think about this carefully.”

“I’ve thought about it enough.”

I left him standing in the room.

I wasn’t going to pack my clothes or take anything valuable. If Nikolai discovered that I was leaving, he would stop me before I reached the Pack Lands’ boundary.

I would leave quietly, and by the time he realized I was gone, I would be far away.

I waited until the house became quiet.

Then I slipped out of my bedroom and made my way through the corridor. My heart pounded with every step, but I kept going.

I passed the guards without attracting their attention and headed toward the back of the house.

The night air touched my face as I stepped outside.

For the first time in hours, I could breathe.

I walked faster, keeping my eyes on the path ahead. I didn’t have a plan for where I would go after leaving the pack, but anywhere was better than staying with Nikolai.

I would find a way to survive, I would protect my child, and I would never allow them to use me.

Soon, the Pack Lands’ boundary came into view.

My heart filled with hope.

I was almost free.

I took another step.

Then I heard a voice behind me.

“Where are you going, Kira?”

The coldness in that voice sent a chill down my spine.

I stopped breathing. I knew that voice.

Slowly, I turned around.