Not Safe

Liora Ashwin

Two days of endless pain, caged like a bird and wanting nothing but to break free. I woke up to the now familiar curtains. The room smelled of him, but there was no sign of him. Kael Veyron. Every night, he would come back when I was asleep and leave before I woke up. I had learned we couldn’t stay in different rooms; the traditions and laws of the land forbid a Luna and her Alpha from not sharing the same space. But the truth between us wasn’t that simple.

I wasn’t some teenager who fell in love or met her mate on her eighteenth birthday and was claimed. No. I was a woman who had seen the darkest part of the world. I was tossed and thrown out, and now I was one without value, yet he was fighting wars to keep me… why?

My skin felt warm and ticklish at the thought of him, and my wolf… well, the traitor was basking in the glow like a newly ripened banana. In the back of my mind, she yawned, stretched, and smiled like we weren’t sitting in an enemy’s camp with no way of escaping, like we hadn’t been claimed out of our will. She felt content and happy and dared joke about how his pheromones were making her fur glow.

“I hate him,” I whispered to the empty room, and like always, my wolf did not agree. She moaned slowly like one in heat, raising her ass in expectation.

He could have everything but not me. However, that was the least of my thoughts. Pregnant wolves weren’t exempt from heat, while newly mated wolves had to go through the first heat cycle, which could be brutal and extremely dangerous without their fated partner.

I had yet to experience mine, and coupled with the pregnancy hormones, it was bound to happen soon. I had no experience, but from the books I’ve read and the little I saw in Silver Fang, it was certainly going to be hard holding it, and with the baby, suppressants were out the door.

Aah, I wanted to scream, to curse, but before the words could leave my throat, a sharp knock sounded on the door. Three times in a row, very coded, the same as Helene knocked every morning. I didn’t need to answer; she made her way in.

I picked myself up from the bed only to be faced with two unfamiliar faces. One carried a tray of freshly made breakfast, while the other carried bath supplements. Both ladies froze as their eyes landed on me. At first, they were shocked; then their gaze turned cold. The one with the tray sized me up as if I were filth picked from the gutters. Still, they bowed.

“Good morning, Luna. We were sent to prepare you for breakfast,” the first one said stiffly without missing a beat.

I blinked, then fear crept in without warning. “Breakfast?”

“Yes, Luna,” the second answered, and still the title never missed. Did they really see me as their Luna, or was it tradition to address me as one since their Alpha sank his teeth into me without permission?

“Don’t call me that,” I half hissed, then sat back down. I was expecting Helene. “Where is Helene?” I demanded, and they exchanged glances.

“The healer will no longer frequent the Alpha’s house unless you are not feeling fine,” the first answered coldly. The second placed the tray on the table, and the first walked into the bathroom without another word. They went about the room like I wasn’t there, doing things and picking out an outfit for me. The wardrobe still carried only Kael’s clothes. I had nothing there to wear and had been surviving on the little Helene had brought.

“She will need shopping… note that down,” the first maid said. The other nodded almost immediately. From their interactions, the clear difference in rank could be seen. The first, who came in carrying bath supplements, carried the scent of a beta, and the other an omega. She smelled of white roses, soft and delicate, but her eyes cut sharply like swords ready to devour me of any hidden information.

Once they were done, the omega walked up to me calmly. “You should eat, then we will assist you with your bath, Luna.” There came the title again. I felt exhausted, without words.

“I am not hungry,” I groaned, but my stomach groaned even louder, and behind the beta, soft, muffled laughter echoed. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was… pregnancy, they say, does wonders.

Another urgent knock echoed on the door, and then two more maids stepped in. “Good morning, Luna,” the one with a folded dress draped over her arm greeted politely. She was an omega, smelled of night lilies, and was calm and serene.

The fabric in her hands was elegant and expensive. I wasn’t born into poverty, so I knew class and nobility when I saw them, and so was pride, and the beta carried it; it oozed out of her head like an erupting volcano.

The newly arrived maids glanced around; their faces darkened at the sight of the opened food, me, and whatever I didn’t understand. “Why hasn’t she had her bath and eaten?” she half yelled.

“She said she isn’t hungry, so what do you want us to do, force the food down her throat?” the maid who had brought the tray hissed, her voice cutting through with venom and hate.

“Elise, it is the order of the Alpha that we see to it that she is well nourished and taken care of.”

“Yes, but she wouldn’t let us, and it’s not like she is one of his soldiers.”

The omega’s face didn’t change. “No, she is his Luna, and as such, she deserves the respect her title commands. You wouldn’t want to face the court, would you?”

Elise’s hands trembled, and her gaze darkened as she shook her head.

“Good. Now be nice and do as you ought to.”

They were different in ranks, but this one carried authority.

“Luna,” Elise bowed. “I am Elise, a beta and your head maid. With me are Mina,” she pointed to the maid who came in with the tray, “Nora,” she pointed to the one with the dress, “and lastly Bianca. Clara will join us by noon; she had to step out to run a few errands,” Nora added.

Nora finally lowered the dress onto the bed. “I will check on your bath.”

“No,” I cut her off. “I will have my bath, but I am not hungry.” Before they could answer, I walked off.

Their murmurs continued while I was gone, but by the time I came back, they were gone. The food and the clothes remained. My body trembled, and my stomach growled louder, but the tray could be a trap… everything felt like one. Yes, they were loyal to their Alpha, but not me. Not that I needed it, but what if the food was poisoned?

I held back the urge to mount it like a hungry beast. I got dressed, and my stomach growled loudly. “Traitor,” I hissed, and my wolf hummed in amusement. She seemed to be enjoying every bit of this. I hated her… well, hate was a big word, but I was certainly angry.

I don’t know how much time passed, but my eyes couldn’t leave the tray. The aroma of fresh honey, baked bread, and round, peckable grapes… why was my sense so sensitive and alert? I forced my body to relax.

I lay on the bed, my feelings stirring softly with his. Tears streamed down my face. At first, I quickly wiped them away, but seconds later, I was sobbing hard, my face buried in my palms.

“I hate this…” I murmured, my heart hurting. Just two weeks ago, I was the most favored, the envy of most girls in Silver Fang, and now a prisoner.

Then whispers echoed from the hall… hushed voices followed, and curiously, I stepped closer to the door. Their voices echoed through the giant oak door. With the bond, my ears were sharper than ever.

“The banished wolf,” one hissed.

“She is weak, and I heard she carries another’s baby.”

A cruel laugh erupted.

“She will be gone soon… There is no way our Alpha will settle for that.”

“I heard she trapped the Alpha with the bond. We all know how long he has waited for his fated mate.”

“Wait, the child isn’t his?” another cold voice asked, followed by gasps.

“Impossible,” another voice whispered.

“I heard the council rejected her and insisted on Lady Yella. She is the Luna we all know.”

At that point, I stopped listening. I heard enough. But I couldn’t bring myself to be angry. I was pregnant, I was weak, and I was banished. The child wasn’t his, so why wouldn’t he let me go?

And Yella. The name echoed in my head like warning bells. She had tried to claim my life once, and no consequences were allocated. I didn’t need to be told she wielded power even he could not defy, and now I was the one caught in between.

My hand moved protectively over my stomach. Even if it wasn’t for myself, I had to leave for my baby’s safety… for the rogues weren’t as dangerous. This pack was.