Chapter 5

EMILY

The words were already out of my mouth by the time fear caught up with me. Miriam had once begged me to stop and think before acting. I always promised I would. But usually, I didn't and this moment was a perfect example.

“I will do it,” I said again, my voice shaking despite my effort to sound firm. “I will breed you an heir.”

The night air felt suddenly too cold against my skin. My heart pounded so loudly in my ears that I was sure they could hear it. I stood there, stiff and exposed beneath the dim security lights, waiting for him to react or say anything. But he didn’t say a word.

He just stared at me.

And somehow, that silence was worse.

My wolf stirred uneasily inside me, a faint, instinctive presence that had been quiet for months.

You’ve lost your damn mind, she hissed. Completely and utterly lost it. You don’t know this man. You don’t know what he’s capable of.

I swallowed hard.

She wasn’t wrong. But desperation had a way of drowning out common sense. Miriam’s pale face flashed in my mind. Her labored breathing. The way she smiled at me even when she was in pain, like she didn’t want to burden me with her suffering.

I lifted my chin and forced myself to hold his gaze.

He was much taller than me and built like someone who had never known weakness. Even standing still, there was something dangerous about him, something that screamed trouble, like a blade sheathed just beneath the surface. His face was hard, his jaw clenched, shadowed by the brim of his cowboy hat. His eyes, I couldn’t tell their color clearly in the dark, but I felt them on me, stripping me bare without touching me.

Beside him, the other man who was his friend, I assumed shifted uncomfortably.

“Alessandro,” the man muttered under his breath, stepping closer to him. “Come here.”

Alessandro didn’t take his eyes off me as his friend tugged him a few steps away, toward the darker corner of the building. I stayed where I was, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, trying not to look as small as I felt.

They whispered to each other.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I saw it in their body language. The way Alessandro’s shoulders tensed. The way his friend gestured sharply in my direction, then shook his head as if arguing against something.

My heart sank.

Of course, I thought bitterly. What did you expect? That he’d thank you? That he’d welcome you with open arms?

I took a shaky breath and reminded myself why I was here. I needed money. Enough to save Miriam. Enough to survive this new hell that I just found myself in.

Alessandro finally broke away from his friend and walked back toward me. Each step he took made my pulse race faster.

I didn’t give him the chance to speak first.

“I’m serious,” I blurted out, stepping forward before fear could root me to the ground. “I heard everything you said about you needing an heir and I need money. This doesn’t have to be complicated. I give you an heir, and you give me what I want.”

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he was trying to decide whether I was brave or insane.

“I’m not here to waste your time,” I continued, my voice gaining strength as desperation fueled me. “I know what you’re asking for. And I can give it to you. In fact..” My hand trembled as I pressed it lightly against my stomach. “I’m already pregnant.”

That did it. He pulled his phone from his pocket and, without a word, tapped the screen. A harsh beam of light flooded over me, making me flinch and shield my eyes.

“Hey!” I protested weakly.

He ignored me, his gaze raking over my body with cold scrutiny. The torn hem of my dress. The dirt stains clinging to the fabric. My bare feet, scraped and bruised from walking the streets. My tangled hair, loose and wild around my shoulders.

I suddenly felt filthy.

“You’re a mad woman,” he muttered flatly..

My chest tightened. “I’m not mad,” I said quickly. “I’m sane. Completely sane. I wouldn’t be standing here if I wasn’t.”

He lowered the phone and looked at his friend with a sharp, humorless laugh. “You hear that? She’s sane.”

His friend grimaced. “Alessandro.”

“No,” Alessandro interrupted. “This is insane.”

He turned away from me, already pulling out his phone again. “I’m calling security.”

Panic surged through me.

“No wait!” I rushed forward, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “Please, just listen to me! I’m not lying. I’m not trying to scam you. I just..”

“Security,” he said into the phone, his voice calm and detached. “There’s a deranged woman trespassing behind the building. Yes. Have her removed immediately.”

My throat burned.

“I’m not deranged!” I cried out. “I’m just desperate and so are you so why are you pretending like we both don't need the same thing!”

But he was already done with me.

Two large men appeared moments later. They didn’t ask questions. One of them grabbed my arm roughly, the other moving behind me.

“Please,” I begged as they dragged me toward the gate. “My bag is inside. That’s all I have. Please, let me get my bag.”

No one listened instead they slammed the gate shut behind me with a loud metallic clang.

I stumbled forward, nearly falling as the force of it echoed through my bones. I turned back immediately, rushing to the gate and gripping the cold metal bars.

“My bag!” I shouted. “Please! Just give me my bag!”

My hands slipped from the bars after moments of shouting.

That bag held everything I had left. The little money I’d saved. The few personal items Miriam had given me. 

A hollow laugh bubbled up from my chest before I could stop it. “Of course,” I whispered to myself. “Why wouldn’t this happen too?”

I turned away from the gate and started walking.

I didn’t know where I was going. I just walked.

The streets were quieter now, the noise of the city fading into a distant hum. My feet ached. My head throbbed. 

A car sped past me suddenly, swerving too close to the curb.

Dirty water splashed up from the road, soaking my already ruined dress.

“Hey!” I shouted angrily, spinning around. “Watch where you’re going!”

The car didn’t stop.

For a moment, fury burned through me. I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms.

Then the anger drained away, leaving only exhaustion.

I sighed and bent down, brushing at the mud clinging to my dress with trembling fingers. Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them away stubbornly.

Crying won’t help, I told myself. It never has.

That was when I heard the sound of tires. I looked up just as the car reversed, stopping a few feet away from me.

My heart skipped.

The doors opened and two women stepped out.

One of them raised her arm before I could even react, I looked and saw a gun in her hand.

“Hands up,” the woman barked. “Don’t even think of making a sound.”

Fear slammed into me immediately.

I raised my hands slowly, my pulse roaring in my ears. “I don’t want any trouble,” I said quickly. “Please. I’m not who you want.”

The second woman circled me slowly, her eyes assessing me the same way Alessandro’s had, like I was an object, something to be measured and evaluated.

“She’s perfect,” the second woman said calmly.

Perfect?

“For what?” I whispered, taking an instinctive step backward.

“Relax,” the first woman said coldly. “This will be over soon.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” I repeated, my voice cracking. “Please, just let me go.”

I turned to run and just almost immediately pain exploded across my skull.

The world tilted violently as something hard struck my head. I cried out, stumbling forward before collapsing to my knees.

Stars burst behind my eyes.

I tried to push myself up but I couldn't. A fist slammed into my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. I gagged, the pain ripping through me, and then another blow hit my jaw.

The ground rushed up to meet me.

My vision blurred. Sounds faded into a distant echo. I felt hands on me holding me down as darkness crept in at the edges of my sight.

The last thing I heard was one of the women speaking calmly into a phone.

“We’ve got her,” she said. “Yes. She’s unconscious.”

Then everything went black.