Chapter 5

Deandra's POV

Every fiber of my being was on alert as I stared at Hope.

Something felt off.

I was confused by the new turn of events, but I didn't want to read too much into it either.

"What's in it?" I asked, feigning interest, and she smiled.

“It's something I took before I got pregnant. I hear it's very good for pregnancy."

"Oh, you should have that instead. Lord knows you need it." Yolanda added eagerly, an insult buried somewhere in her words, and I sighed, looking to Daniel for help.

"Just take it." You never know what might be useful." He said his tone was innocent, and I almost cried. He wasn't aware of what these people around him were capable of.

"Go on," Hope urged, and my suspicion grew.

Why was she so eager for me to drink it?

"Look, I didn't put anything in it." She defended as she reached for another glass I hadn't noticed before. "I made a cup for myself just in case you had doubts."

Daniel frowned, and I sighed. She was trying to create a rift between Daniel and me again, and this time it'd work.

"Fine," I took a sip first to sample the taste and then downed the entire thing, regretting my actions immediately when I saw how big a grin Hope was wearing.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Daniel asked as we started eating, and I shook my head. Aside from the taste, Hope's mixture wasn't so bad.

But as I ate, I couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of my head.

****

Later that night as I crawled into bed, I was hit with a sharp pain in my abdomen.

Dread filled me as the pain increased, and I screamed, holding my stomach while praying for my child's safety.

I knew I should never have drunk Hope's mixture.

The door to my room was flung open, and Daniel burst into the room looking frantic. No doubt he had heard my scream.

Behind him, Hope was rubbing her eyes sleepily, looking thoroughly annoyed that I had woken her up, but she was the least of my worries.

The pain had increased, and I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness fast.

"My stomach hurts. I am…ah!!" I collapsed on the floor, tears trickling down my cheeks.

“She's bleeding," Daniel pointed out in a horrified voice, and I gasped, the sound weak and thin.

“Save my baby," I muttered desperately as I fought to stay conscious.

Daniel just stood there in shock at my announcement while Hope looked guilty.

"What's going on here?" Yolanda asked, walking in and then gasping when she saw my condition. "Oh dear, that doesn't look good. We need to get her to the clinic."

Her words snapped Daniel out of his thoughts, and I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

"My baby," I whispered before darkness took over. The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital gown lying on a hospital bed with tubes connected to my body and machines beeping around me.

I tried to sit up, but I couldn't; my whole body hurt.

"Please don't try to move, Luna; you need to remain flat on your back." I heard the head doctor's voice, and I felt a tear slip down.

"My baby?" I asked, my voice hoarse, and a sense of deep loss washed over me.

She shook her head sadly and sighed. "I'm sorry, but you lost the baby." If you hadn't been brought in when you were, then we'd have lost you too."

She checked my vitals and then made her way out of the room just as. Daniel and Hope walked in.

Immediately my eyes fell on her, and I lost control.

"You! You did this!" Daniel caught me before I could lift myself off the bed and lunge for her. He held me, begging me to be calm, but I was past that.

"Let me go." You did this too; both of you killed my child!" I pushed him away, past the point of reason.

"I didn't…" Hope started to say something in her defense, but Daniel stopped her.

“If there's anyone to blame for the loss of this child, then it's you!” Daniel yelled suddenly, and the room went silent save for the beeping from the machines.

“What?" I asked, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. He was blaming me?

Daniel continued talking, not giving me time to process his words. “If you had just told me or even Mother, then we'd have made sure you were well taken care of.”

He shook his head as I opened my mouth to speak. “I know I was wrong for cheating on you with Hope, but you were wrong to keep this child from me. It was my child!”

"Don't you dare yell at me!" You have no right to yell at me. What was in that drink you gave me, you witch?” I asked Hope, and she shivered, taking a step back at the ice in my tone.

He left afterwards with Hope, and I threw the pillow at them before breaking down in tears. I cried and cried and cried until I was reduced to hiccups.

****

“Are you sure you want to leave now?" The head doctor asked, frowning, and I nodded.

“I can't stay here anymore. There's nothing left for me here.” Daniel had been completely brainwashed by Hope, and he couldn't even see that she had deliberately tried to kill me to keep her secret hidden.

I had lost my child, so what reason did I have to stay?

“I understand you're grieving and want to run away, but can't you stay a while here at the clinic, just until you're healed a bit?” She added the last part quickly when I opened my mouth to protest, and I sighed, thinking long and hard about it.

In the end, my mind was made up. I just couldn't stay. I shook my head as he sighed, resigned.

I was left alone after that, and I cried some more. When the door opened much later, I didn't move, feeling too drained to do anything.

“If you want to leave, we have to go now."

Looking up, I stared into his eyes and felt emotional again.

"They killed my child,” I whispered, and he sighed.

“I know. "Come on." He led me out of my room and out of the hospital through the back door, where a car was running and waiting for us.

"I'll make them pay for this." They'll pay for killing my child.” I whispered as he drove us out of the pack border.

“Don't worry, they'll pay for everything," he promised me, and I leaned my head back, his words giving me some comfort.

He'd saved me once before, and now he was doing it again.

“My name is Ryder," he told me, and I looked up in confusion.

“If you're going to work with me, you should at least know my name." His name was the least of my concerns, but I stored that information away for later, focusing on my game plan.

“I'll be back.”