Kael

The healer arrived first, a middle-aged woman with calm hands and a direct manner. She checked the baby quickly, then the older girls, and finally turned to Bonita. Bonita allowed it only because the children were watching. The examination was brief but thorough. When it ended, the healer spoke to the man in a low voice near the door.

“She needs rest and proper care. The birth was recent and the walking has made the bleeding worse. The children are hungry and exhausted but otherwise unharmed.”

He nodded once. Food was brought in, simple bread, meat, and water. The girls ate carefully at first, then faster once they realized no one was going to take it away. Bonita ate enough to keep her strength, nothing more. She kept the baby against her and watched the man the entire time.

When the plates were cleared and the healer left, he remained standing near the table. The room felt quieter.

“I need a clearer account,” he said. “Not the short version. Start from the beginning.”

Bonita glanced at the girls. Mira was listening. Lila sat close to her side. The twins leaned against each other, half-asleep but still present. She did not ask them to leave. They had lived it. They deserved to hear it spoken plainly.

“I was Luna of Blackthorn for nine years,” she said. “My mate is Alpha Drogo. He wanted a son. That was the only thing that mattered to him.”

She kept her voice even.

“I gave him five daughters. The first four he barely looked at. He never held them. He never gave them proper names of his own. He treated them as proof that I had failed. I tried for years to change that. I stopped trying after the twins were born.”

The man’s expression did not change, but he did not interrupt.

“Three months ago the pack mage examined me and said the fifth child would be a boy. Drogo believed him. The whole pack did. When the baby came and it was another girl, he walked into the room and laughed. He said the Moon Goddess was humiliating him through me. The next day he told me I would no longer be Luna. He had already chosen another woman.”

Bonita adjusted the baby in her arms. The child was quiet now.

“He made us stand at the full-moon ceremony so the entire pack could watch. He presented the new Luna. Then he announced that my daughters and I were banished. We were to leave before the moon reached its highest point. We were allowed to take nothing. Guards walked us to the border. After that we kept moving until we stopped under that rock.”

She stopped speaking. The room stayed silent for several seconds.

The man looked at Mira. “Is that how you remember it?”

Mira met his eyes without flinching. “Yes. He never wanted us. Mama tried to protect us. He still sent us away.”

Lila’s voice was smaller. “He said we wouldn’t carry his name anymore.”

The man was quiet again. He walked a few steps, then turned back.

“You expect me to believe an Alpha threw out his own children over the lack of a son?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything,” Bonita said. “I’m telling you what happened. You asked.”

He studied her face. “You’re still bleeding. You walked through the night with a three-day-old infant and four other children. That part is clear enough. The rest requires more than your word.”

“I have no proof to offer,” she answered. “Only the children and the state we’re in.”

He looked at each of the girls again, slower this time. When his gaze returned to Bonita, the caution in it had not lessened.

“Blackthorn is not far,” he said. “If what you claim is true, Drogo may send people to make sure you keep walking. Or he may decide the story of a discarded Luna and five daughters is an embarrassment he wants erased. Either way, your presence here creates risk.”

Bonita held his stare. “Then send us on. We never asked to stay.”

“You’re in no condition to travel, and the children are worse off than they show. Turning you out now would be the same as leaving you to die in the forest.” He paused. “I won’t do that. But I also won’t take your story at face value.”

He moved to the door and spoke to someone outside. A moment later the tall man from earlier entered and waited.

“Find out what is being said in Blackthorn,” he ordered. “Quietly. Confirm whether an Alpha named Drogo rejected his Luna and five daughters two nights ago. I want facts, not rumors.”

The man left at once.

He turned back to Bonita. “Until I have answers, you and the children will stay in a guarded cabin at the edge of the settlement. You will have food, water, and the healer’s attention. You will not leave the cabin without permission. If your story holds, we will discuss what comes next. If it does not, you will be moved beyond our borders as soon as you can walk.”

Bonita felt the weight of the conditions settle over her. It was not kindness. It was controlled caution. She preferred it that way. Softness would have been harder to trust.

“The girls stay with me,” she said. “All of them. No exceptions.”

“I already told you no one will separate you from them.” His tone remained steady. “Do not give me a reason to change that decision.”

She nodded once.

He looked at the baby again, then at Mira, who still watched him with open distrust.

“Rest while you can,” he said. “The healer will return this evening. Someone will bring more food later. Do not try to leave.”

He walked out of the room without waiting for a reply.

Bonita sat still for a moment after the door closed. The girls pressed closer. Lila’s hand found the edge of her dress. Mira kept her eyes on the door as if expecting it to open again with different orders.

“We stay together,” Bonita said quietly. “We do what they ask for now. Nothing more.”

Mira nodded. The others said nothing. Outside the room, footsteps moved away. Inside, Bonita held her daughters and waited for the next test of whether any of this man’s words would hold.