CHAPTER SIX

~ELARA~

"THE SINS OF the father shall visit the children," I muttered these words under my breath as I sat in my dejected cell. The ground was hard and cold, the air was damp, and the cell was black as night.

The outcome of the meeting had been passed to me by a maid. Alpha Marcel had sentenced me to death for the crimes of my grandfather.

I laughed bitterly. If this was how I would die, why had the Moon Goddess given me another chance at life? I asked myself.

I spent the past two days without seeing anyone except the small maid girl that brought my meals to me, but she did not exchange any words with me. I had lost track of time, but the feeling of impending doom was in my heart, so I knew my time was drawing nearer.

Freya, I called for my wolf.

"I'm here, " she replied, her voice weaker than before.

“I love you,” I told her. “In this life and the next, if the Moon Goddess will...” My voice choked, unable to finish my sentence.

Then the door grated open, and a sliver of torchlight cut across the floor. Alpha Marcel stood in it. I had not heard him approach. I scrambled to my feet but kept my head held high. If he was going to kill me, I would die as a Luna standing proud, not a weak, shamed Omega.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" He asked me. This was the first time I had seen him since he knew my name.

"Will my words have any effect on your decision?" I asked.

He hesitated for a second before saying, "No."

"I thought as much." I muttered. "If it doesn't make any difference to you, I would rather spend my last few hours alone."

"Your grandfather did not give that option to my people when he massacred them."

"You are behaving so much like him," I snarled. "I did not know the man, but I am certain—"

His eyes flared amber in the dark. “I am nothing like your grandfather.” His growl rolled off the cave walls. “He was a monster.”

"And yet you will have me killed for something that happened before my parents were born, and all for what? A show of power?" I asked.

"Revenge!"

I did not flinch. “Then call it what it is.” I lifted my chin. “When it is time, come and take me. But if you expect me to beg, you will be disappointed.” I held his gaze, hoping my strong demeanor hid the fear in me.

None of us moved for the next minute.

Then, out of nowhere, the nausea hit me like a wave. It came without warning. One moment, I was standing, holding his stare, and the next, my stomach clenched and rolled. My mouth flooded, and the little food I had managed to eat that morning came up my throat.

I turned my head, but it was too late. I decorated his expensive looking shoes with my vomit.

The sound was ugly in the silence. I doubled over, one hand braced against the wall, and heaved until there was nothing left until my body shook and my eyes streamed.

When it was over, I straightened slowly and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Marcel had not moved.

He was staring at me with an expression I could not read.

"I..." I started. "I did not..." but I did not get the chance to finish. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the cell. The door slammed behind him. I stood there in the darkness, shaking, my mouth still tasting of bile.

Then the door opened again, and two maids came in. One took me by the arm and pulled me out of the cell, and the other walked behind me.

I thought this was it. I thought they were leading me to my execution, but to my surprise, we were at the clinic. I was pushed inside, and when I turned to ask a question, the maids were already gone. I stood there alone for a long moment, and then a woman came in. I recognized her red hair. Jane, Marcel's sister. She was the one who had treated me before.

She gave me a tight smile as she gestured me to sit. Then she took my pulse and went about running the familiar tests on me. I knew my secret was about to be undone,

She had been pressing her fingers to my lower belly, and then she froze. She placed the stethoscope against my belly and closed her eyes. Then she sat back on her heels and looked at me. "You are pregnant," she said.

I sighed and buried my head in my hands.

"You do not look surprised," she said. "Did you know?"

I nodded once, looking away. The child who had done nothing to be deserving of this fate. In my past life, we had both been killed by Silas and Iris, and in this life, we will be killed again by Marcel and his elders. I brushed a tear from my face angrily.

"Why did you not say anything?" She asked me softly.

"What would it change?" I said. My voice was flat. "Your brother has already decided I am going to die. A baby will not change that."

Jane was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "You do not know my brother."

"I know enough."

"Who is the father?" She asked after a beat.

"My mate," I replied and corrected myself. "My ex-mate."

"The Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack?"

I nodded.

She sat down on the edge of the cot beside me. "Elara," she said quietly. "If the pack learns of this, it will change things. A pregnant Luna is not just a prisoner. She carries a life. Some of the elders would not care. But some would. My brother..." She paused. "Alpha Marcel would have to decide."