LOGINRhea POVI stared at him blankly, not understanding a single word. “They’re typically administered to patients in critical condition during the final stages of life, especially front-line soldiers during the war.” He explained. “They don’t treat the illness at all. They simply suppress the pain and numb the body enough for the patient to appear functional. Production of these drugs was heavily restricted because one of their major side effects is prolonged unconsciousness. Most patients end up sleeping for hours at a time after taking them.”Each word landed like a physical blow.Pain suppressants?Military-grade?My legs almost gave out beneath me if it wasn’t for kale anchoring me from behind. The doctor lowered the chart in his hands before looking me up and down, his gaze lingering on my cheap clothes and my disheveled appearance.“I see what happened,” he said coldly. “You couldn’t afford the actual medication your mother needed to survive, so you settled for buying cheap black
Rhea POVMy hands trembled as I sat inside the small, cramped bathroom of the pharmacy I had hurried into.It was already past ten at night.Dorian had quietly dropped me off in my neighborhood, but instead of going straight home, my mind refused to rest until I could finally confirm the thought that had been tormenting me for days.I knew that the moment I stepped inside the house, I would have to come up with another excuse just to leave again. With how paranoid Mom was, there was no way that plan would work.So I had waited until the sound of Dorian’s car engine faded into the distance before quietly slipping away. Then I rushed to the farthest local pharmacy I could find, hoping to leave as little of a trail back to my neighborhood as possible. News spread incredibly fast around here, and this was the first time in my life I had ever bought a pregnancy test.Now, standing inside the dimly lit bathroom, the test stick lay face down on the edge of the tiny sink.My heart pounded so
Rhea POVThe question came out so suddenly that his entire body stiffened instantly.He froze completely, his breath catching as a heavy silence stretched between us. Then slowly, he turned his head, his gray eyes locking onto me as he asked carefully, “Are you pregnant?”My eyes widened in pure panic as I quickly shook my head, my hands lifting instinctively in denial.“No, no, no. Of course not.”I didn’t even want to get pregnant, at least not now, and definitely not under these chaotic circumstances with him. But the moment I saw Dorian visibly exhale in relief, a sharp, unexpected sting shot through my chest.It hurt more than I wanted to admit.Swallowing the bitterness, I forced myself to continue. “But just because I take those pills doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance I could still get pregnant. No birth control is a hundred percent foolproof, you know.”“That can’t happen,” Dorian suddenly snapped.I flinched at the force of his voice as he shot up from the bed and began pacin
Rhea POVWhen I opened my eyes again, I was back in the bedroom Dorian and I shared, but just like always, he wasn’t beside me. The sun was already high in the sky, streaming warmly through the large windows and illuminating the room.Thinking he was probably downstairs making breakfast, I forced myself to sit up, but my entire body groaned in protest.My mind immediately replayed the wonderful, exhilarating feeling of shifting, the pure freedom of running beneath the moonlight, right before the tragedy happened.Why had I been in pain? I wondered as I slowly pushed myself to my feet, only to stumble slightly when my knee buckled beneath me. After a moment, I finally regained my balance.Gripping the wall for support, I slowly made my way toward the door.But the moment I started walking down the stairs, my footsteps came to an abrupt stop.Angry, hushed voices echoed up from the bottom of the staircase.“You said there was nothing wrong with her.”The voice belonged to Dorian.Even t
Rhea POVFor a long moment, I remained frozen, just staring at him, completely unsure of what to do. Was I just supposed to close my eyes and shift? But then what would happen next? The whole thing was so frustrating.As if sensing my uneasiness, Dorian immediately shifted back into his human form in another seamless blur. Before I could even speak, he stepped closer and gently placed a warm hand over my eyes.“What do you see?” he whispered, his voice low and grounding right beside my ear.“Nothing,” I whispered back in disappointment. Was I supposed to see something? All I saw was darkness, and that was only because his palm was blocking out the moonlight.“Good…” he murmured.My brows knitted together. Good? How was this good?“Relax,” he added softly.Hearing the calm command in his voice, I instinctively exhaled, letting my shoulders drop as the tension slowly drained from my body.“Do you see a light?” he asked. “A small one, just ahead of you?”“I just said…” I began, about to
Rhea POVWe had gone at it for so long that the moon was now fully out in the sky, casting a brilliant silver glow over the open field.By the time we decided to end the session for the day, I had already gotten much more comfortable holding the gun and could actually shoot without flinching at the deafening sound.“You are quite a natural,” Dorian commented as we sat together on a small blanket in the open field, munching on a few snacks we had brought along.“You think so?” I replied, trying not to pay too much attention to how incredibly close he had gotten.He was sitting practically on top of me. I could literally feel his warm breath brushing against my neck, and his hand remained firmly around my waist, almost like he was worried I would be snatched away at any second, even though it was just the two of us for miles around.“Most people take about a week to even hold a gun properly,” he said, his voice dropping into that low, rumbling register.“And I only took a few hours,” I
Dorian POV“You are late…” I mentioned calmly as soon as my little mate walked into my chambers, though my mind was anything but calm. I had been desperately fighting the urge to crawl back to my medication; my head was begging for sleep but at the same time I still needed to put this to a test. It
Rhea POVKale didn’t smile. He just kept staring at me, his jaw tightening. Somehow, his silence pressed harder against my chest than his closeness ever did.I shifted on my feet, pretending to busy myself with the broken glass scattered on the floor — anything to keep from meeting his eyes. “I sho
Rhea POV“So you’re sleeping with my husband.”Those were the first words that left her lips after she led me into a private room and locked the door behind us. My eyes went wide, my breath caught in my throat, but before I could even stammer out a denial,Slap!Her palm cracked across my face so h
Rhea POVMutt. That nickname made my skin crawl. My stomach twisted so hard I thought I might throw up just from looking at him.Seeing I still wasn’t saying anything, he took a long drag from the cigarette and stepped closer. Instinctively, I stepped back, but that only made his grin widen.“Don’t







