Chapter 4

The infirmary smelled of antiseptic and dried herbs. Lana sat on the edge of the cold exam table, her fingers digging into the paper covering. Martha moved with a clinical slowness that made Lana’s skin crawl.

Martha pulled the ultrasound wand away from Lana’s stomach and stared at the monitor. Her face went bone white.

"What is it?" Lana whispered. "Am I sick?"

Martha looked at the door to make sure it was locked. She turned back to Lana, her eyes filled with a sudden, sharp pity.

"You are carrying a pup, Lana," Martha breathed. "You are nearly six weeks along."

Lana felt the world tilt. She knew it, she had felt it, but hearing it out loud made the terror real. "You can’t tell him. You can’t tell Duran."

"If he finds out you are carrying another Alpha’s heir, he will kill you," Martha whispered, her voice trembling. "Or worse, he will wait until the pup is born and then take it from you. This pack has a history of blood and steel. Duran is not a man who forgives."

"Please," Lana begged, grabbing the healer’s hand. "I have no one else. I am all this baby has. Please hide it in the records."

Martha looked at the door again, then back at Lana’s desperate face. She let out a long, shaky breath. "I will code it as a hormonal imbalance from the trauma of the rejection. But I cannot hide it forever. You need to find a way out of here before you start showing."

"Thank you," Lana sobbed. "Thank you."

The door suddenly rattled. A heavy fist slammed against the wood.

"Is she done yet?" Duran’s voice boomed through the door. "The Elders are waiting."

Martha quickly wiped Lana’s stomach and helped her pull her shirt down. "She is healthy, Alpha. Just exhausted."

The door was thrown open. Duran stood there, his eyes locked onto Lana, tracking the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Stop the leaking," Duran said, his voice cold and disgusted. "You have a ceremony to get through. Move it."

Lana was led to a grand dressing room. Three women she didn't know began draping her in a heavy, silk gown the color of dried blood. It was tight, molding to her body, and the neckline was low enough to expose the pale skin of her chest.

She was staring at her reflection when the door opened. She expected Duran, but instead, three identical faces appeared in the mirror behind her.

The triplets.

The one with the messy blonde hair, Ansel, leaned against the doorframe with a wicked smirk. The other two, Khett and Remy, flanked him like shadows.

"You look decent for a used Luna," Ansel said, his gaze raking over her body.

"What are you doing here?" Lana asked, her voice shaking as she clutched the silk of her skirt.

"Did your father tell you what he did to our family? Did he tell you how he betrayed our mother to the hunters just to save his own pathetic skin?"

Lana frowned, her heart racing. "My father is a businessman. He didn't... he wouldn't."

Ansel laughed, a harsh, jagged sound. "He left her to be slaughtered while he made off with our pack's treasury. We spent ten years in the dirt because of him. And now, you're the one who’s going to pay the interest on that debt."

"I am innocent," Lana cried, looking at the other two brothers. Khett just stared at her with a dark intensity, while Remy watched her with a faint, mocking smile. "I didn't even know your mother!"

"Innocence doesn't exist in our world, sweetheart," Remy chimed in. "Only blood. And yours is the only blood we have left to take."

"Enough," Duran’s voice echoed from the hall.

The triplets stepped back as Duran entered. He looked at them with a warning in his eyes, then turned to Lana.

"It is time for the Soul-Tethering," Duran said.

The ceremony took place in a dim, stone chamber. The Elders were ancient wolves with eyes that looked like yellow glass. They chanted in a language Lana didn't understand, the sound vibrating in her very bones.

Duran took her hand. His palm was hot, his grip tight enough to be a silent threat.

"With this blood, the tether is set," the lead Elder croaked.

Duran took a small silver blade and sliced his palm, then did the same to Lana’s. He pressed their bleeding hands together.

Lana gasped as a jolt of electricity shot up her arm. It wasn't the warm, soulful connection she had felt with San. It was cold. It was a chain being wrapped around her soul. She felt her wolf whimper deep inside her, sensing the darkness of the man she was now tied to.

"You are now property of the Northern Peak," the Elder declared.

Duran didn't wait for the celebrations. He practically dragged Lana out of the chamber and up the stairs toward the residential wing. He threw open the doors to a massive master suite and shoved her inside.

"Sit on the bed," Duran commanded.

Lana scrambled back, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Duran, please. You said this was just for the cameras. You said I was a fake Luna."

Duran began unbuttoning his vest, his movements slow and deliberate. "The cameras need to see a mark, Lana. And the tradition of my family is ancient. To fully tether a Luna to this pack, it is not just the Alpha who must claim her."

Lana’s breath hitched. "What are you saying?"

Duran looked toward the door. The triplets walked in, their expressions unreadable and predatory.

"My brothers and I share everything that belongs to the throne," Duran said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. "That includes you."

"No," Lana whispered, her hands flying to her stomach. She thought of the life growing inside her, the secret she was desperate to protect.

 "Please, Duran. Don't do this. I'll do anything else. I'll work, I'll be your slave, just don't let them touch me."

Duran walked toward her, his presence suffocating. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his grey eyes.

"You think you have a choice?" he sneered. "Your father sold you. Your husband discarded you. You are nothing but a vessel for my vengeance."

He pushed her down onto the silk sheets. He leaned over her, his teeth baring in a snarl as he moved toward the junction of her neck and shoulder.

"You want to know what your father did?" Duran whispered against her skin. "He didn't just kill my mother. He watched her die and laughed. Now, I’m going to make sure every time you look in the mirror, you see the marks of the men who own you."

He didn't wait for her to scream. He sank his teeth into her shoulder, the sharp pain of the Alpha mark burning through her entire body.

But as the mark settled, a strange look of confusion crossed Duran’s face. He pulled back, his eyes searching hers, his nose twitching as he caught a scent he hadn't noticed before.

He looked down at her stomach, his hand hovering just inches above her skin.

"What is that?" Duran hissed, his voice trembling with a new kind of rage. "Lana... what is inside you?"