Chapter Five – The Womb and the Warning

Elara's POV

I lay staring at the ceiling long after he left, feeling the warmth of his touch still burning across my skin even though it had turned cold. My wolf lay silent inside me, her presence a faint flicker of exhausted light in the darkness of my chest. She didn’t snarl or whimper or claw at the walls of my mind like I expected her to. Instead, she just lay there quietly, watching the broken pieces of me scatter like glass across the floor of my soul.

Why are you calm? I whispered to her in the quiet of my mind, but she didn’t answer. She just curled tighter around herself, her silence louder than any words she could have spoken.

I pulled the sheets over my body and turned my face into the pillow, letting silent tears soak the fabric as I bit down on my lip to keep from sobbing out loud. I didn’t want them to hear me. I didn’t want them to know how broken I truly was.

When the tears finally stopped, I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the ache in my hips and the bruises blooming across my thighs. I swung my legs off the bed and stood shakily, grabbing the wall for support as the room spun around me.

I can’t stay here, I thought, panic rising like bile in my throat. I need to leave. I need to get out.

I stumbled to the door and pressed my ear against the cold wood. I could hear the faint shuffle of guards outside, their quiet murmurs drifting through the crack beneath the door.

“…Alpha said she’s not to leave under any circumstances.”

“Doesn’t look like she’d even try. They never do after the first night.”

Their laughter sent a cold chill down my spine. I stepped back quickly, my breath hitching in my chest as fear coiled tight around my ribs.

I turned away from the door and scanned the room desperately, looking for another way out. But there was nothing. No windows. No vents large enough to crawl through. Just four solid stone walls and a locked wooden door guarded by men who would drag me back screaming if I tried to run.

Hopelessness pressed down on me until I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

The door opened suddenly, making me flinch back against the wall. Leah stepped inside, carrying a small tray with steaming tea and a folded cloth. Her eyes widened when she saw me standing there, shaking and half-naked in my torn dress.

“Oh, Elara…” she whispered, closing the door quickly behind her. “Come. Sit down.”

She helped me back to the bed, her hands gentle as she wrapped the cloth around my shoulders to cover me. She set the tray down on the table and poured the tea into a small ceramic cup, holding it out to me.

“Drink,” she urged softly. “You need your strength.”

I stared at the cup, my hands trembling as I reached for it. “Why?” I asked, my voice hoarse and broken. “Why do I need my strength?”

Her eyes darted to the door before flicking back to me. She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Because… you’ll need it soon. For what’s coming.”

Fear prickled across my skin like ice. “What do you mean?” I asked, but she shook her head quickly.

“I’ve said too much already,” she whispered. “Please, just drink.”

I sipped the tea slowly, feeling its warmth spread through my chest and chase away some of the cold that had settled there. Leah cleaned the spilled sheets around me and picked up my discarded dress, folding it neatly despite its torn hem.

“Do you… do you think he’ll come back tonight?” I asked, my voice trembling.

She paused, her hands tightening around the fabric before she forced herself to relax. “I don’t know,” she said softly. “Rest while you can.”

When she left, locking the door behind her, I crawled under the sheets again and curled up on my side, pulling my knees to my chest. My wolf pressed against me from the inside, still silent, but her warmth wrapped around me like a thin blanket.

Hours passed. I didn’t know if I slept or simply drifted into some numb, grey place where time didn’t exist. But when I finally sat up, my stomach twisted sharply with nausea. I pressed a hand to my mouth and stumbled to the small washbasin in the corner, retching until my throat burned and tears streamed down my cheeks.

I sat there for a long time, shaking and breathless, staring at the pale skin of my arms as a cold realisation slithered down my spine.

No… it’s too soon… it has to be too soon.

But my wolf stirred faintly, pressing her nose against my belly with a soft, mournful whine.

I crawled back to the bed and sat with my back against the headboard, pulling the sheets around my shoulders as I stared down at my trembling hands.

“It’s too early,” I whispered to myself, my voice shaking. “It’s too early to know anything.”

But even as I spoke, I felt it – a strange heaviness in my womb, a flicker of warmth deep inside me that didn’t belong to just me alone. My wolf nuzzled closer to it, her presence suddenly protective and calm.

That night, I fell into a restless sleep, and the dreams came quickly.

I stood in a clearing under a silver moon, the grass cold and damp beneath my bare feet. In front of me stood a child with black hair and stormy blue eyes, staring up at me with a soft, solemn gaze. His small hands reached out to me, and when his fingers touched mine, a jolt of warmth shot through my entire body.

“Don’t leave me,” he whispered, his voice echoing with something ancient and powerful.

I woke with a gasp, sweat dripping down my neck as my hands flew to my stomach. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I pressed my palms flat against my lower belly, feeling the faint warmth there pulse softly against my skin.

“No,” I whispered, choking on a sob. “No, please… not this…”

But my wolf pressed closer, her warmth wrapping around the small flicker of life growing inside me.

Mine, she whispered faintly.

I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against my knees as tears dripped onto the sheets below.

I was carrying his child.