Chapter 2

The moment the door opened, the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Killian Blackwood strode in.

His broad shoulders looked even more imposing in his tailored suit.

His deep-set gray eyes scanned every corner of the room, like a predator searching for prey.

Every move he made screamed absolute authority. The world was built to bend to his will.

Four bodyguards followed him, all in black suits, their faces blank.

I saw their hands resting near their waists.

Guns.

They were all carrying guns.

"Where is the child?" Killian’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Thank god I’d shoved the pups into a medical waste bag...

The air was thick with the smell of blood, antiseptic, and something else... something wild.

It was a strange scent. Like a deep forest. Like wild musk.

I forced myself to look weak and helpless, my voice trembling.

"What child?"

His eyes immediately turned dangerous.

I'd seen that look before.

In a zoo, right before a lion lunges for its prey.

"Don't play dumb with me, Chloe," he said, his voice dropping lower. "It's been ten months. Where is my heir?"

My mind raced.

I needed a story. A good one. Something he might believe.

But what could possibly explain a woman being pregnant for ten months and suddenly having no baby?

I pointed a shaky finger at the unconscious midwife on the floor. "She said… she said I was never pregnant."

"What?"

The tension in the room ratcheted up. One of the bodyguards’ hands moved toward his gun.

"It was a phantom pregnancy," I blurted out, my brain scrambling to build the ridiculous lie. "My belly was so big because of a severe fluid buildup. Just now… all that came out was the fluid."

I didn't even believe it myself.

But I had no other choice.

Killian’s face was terrifyingly dark.

His jaw was clenched tight, a vein pulsing at his temple.

"Fluid buildup?" he snarled, walking slowly toward my bed. "You take me for a fool?"

"It's true!" I said, my voice sharp with fear. "The midwife fainted after she examined me. She realized she’d misdiagnosed me for ten months! It's massive medical malpractice!"

I pointed at the midwife again. "Look at her! She was so shocked by the discovery she passed out! A ten-month misdiagnosis, it's unheard of!"

The bodyguards exchanged a look.

The younger one frowned. He was actually considering it.

But an older one was clearly not buying it.

His hand went to his gun.

My heart was about to pound out of my chest.

The medical waste bag was on a cart right next to the bed. Only three feet from Killian.

If those little things made a sound right now...

If they smelled anything...

I remembered Killian once saying his sense of smell was inhumanly sharp. "Business is a hunt," he'd said. "I can smell betrayal and lies."

I thought it was just a metaphor.

Now, I wasn't so sure.

"Martha." Killian didn’t turn, but the housekeeper immediately stood ramrod straight. "Explain."

Martha's face was chalk-white, sweat beading on her forehead. Her hands trembled slightly, but she fought to keep her voice steady.

"Yes… Yes, sir. Miss Chloe did not… give birth. It was just a large expulsion of fluid. The delivery room is covered in… fluid."

She was lying for me.

Why?

She barely knew me.

Why would she risk her life for a total stranger?

Killian's gray eyes bored into me, trying to see right through me.

His gaze was like an X-ray, peeling back skin and bone, looking for my soul.

He leaned down slowly, his face getting closer and closer to mine.

I could smell him. That wild, primal scent.

"Do you know the price for lying?" His voice was a devil's whisper in my ear. "In my house, people who lie to me..."

"I'm not lying," I forced out, my throat as dry as a desert.

He suddenly shot his hand out and gripped my chin.

The pressure was light, but it held me in place.

His hand was warm, but that warmth only made me more terrified.

Then he did something I never expected.

He took a deep, deliberate sniff of the air around me.

His eyes narrowed. A strange emotion I couldn't read flickered in his gray irises.

"You're lying," he said, his voice colder than ice. "I smell fear. And… something else."