FAZER LOGINCHAPTER FOUR
Raina's POV I ran out of my house and through the woods as fast as my shaking legs could carry me, and my mind was completely terrified because someone had taken the positive pregnancy test right out of my bedroom drawer. I made my way straight toward the secret cabin outside the pack territory where Damon and I had met for months, because I believed with all my heart that it was the one place nobody in the pack knew about, and I desperately needed to confront him about his hesitation and ask him how we were going to survive this nightmare. I pushed the door open and stepped into the small, dark room, but the cabin was completely empty, so I sat down on the edge of the table near the corner and wrapped my arms around my middle while I waited for him to show up. Minutes passed in total silence, but before I could hear Damon's familiar footsteps on the path, heavy crunching sounds echoed right outside the window, and my heart slammed against my ribs as I backed up toward the wall. "Spread out around the building and lock down all the exits," a harsh voice called out from the darkness outside, and I could hear at least four armed men moving quickly around the outside walls. "Are you sure she's inside by herself?" another voice asked right outside the front door, and the sound of weapons being drawn made me freeze in total terror. "She's inside, and Alpha Marcus wants this done fast and clean tonight," the first man replied, and then he added words that made my blood run completely cold in my veins. "Make sure the girl and the Alpha's child don't survive this night." My breath hitched in my throat and my hands dropped to my stomach, because only one single person in the entire world knew that I was carrying a baby, and that person was Damon. My heart shattered into a million pieces before the attack even started, because I understood that the boy I had loved in secret, the boy who held me in his arms an hour ago and swore to protect me, was the only one who could have exposed my secret to his father. The front door crashed open with a loud bang, and three large men rushed into the cabin with weapons held out in front of them, filling the small space immediately. "She's right there in the corner!" one of the men shouted, pointing his finger right at my face while he moved toward me. "Please don't do this!" I screamed, grabbing a chair off the floor and shoving it hard into the first man's legs so he stumbled sideways into his partner. I turned around and bolted toward the small back door, but before I could turn the handle, the third man lunged forward and grabbed my hair, pulling me backward so hard that my head slammed against the wall. "Where do you think you're going with that child, girl?" the man violently demanded, slamming my shoulder into the wall while he squeezed his fingers around my throat so tight I couldn't breathe. "Get off me!" I yelled through my gritted teeth, and even though I had no wolf inside me to fight with, I raised my foot and kicked him directly in the knee with all the strength I had left in my body. The man let out a sharp cry and lost his grip on my neck, so I slammed my fist into his face, but as I pulled away, one of the other men stepped up behind me and slashed his blade across my arm, cutting deep into my skin. Pain shot through my entire side, and blood immediately soaked through my clothes, but I knew these men weren't trying to capture me or take me back to the pack house, because they genuinely intended to kill me and my unborn baby right here on the floor. I ignored the sharp pain in my arm, shoved my elbow backward into the man's chest, and scrambled out through the narrow back door into the dark, rainy woods while the men yelled at each other behind me. Damon told them, the terrifying thought kept repeating over and over inside my head while I stumbled through the trees, Damon sold us out to his father just to keep his power. I pushed through the thick bushes while rain poured down on my face, and my vision started going blurry from the heavy blood loss, but I kept moving until I reached the muddy edge of the river at the border. I slid down the slippery dirt bank and crawled beneath the thick roots of a large fallen tree, pressing my back against the wet ground and clamping both of my hands over my mouth so I wouldn't make a single sound while the men searched the area nearby. "Where did she go?" a voice shouted from the path right above my head, and I could see the light from their flashlights cutting through the dark branches just inches away from my hiding spot. "She was bleeding badly when she ran out the back door, so she can't have gone far," another man replied, his heavy boots squelching in the mud right next to the tree roots. "Search down the river path, and if you find her, don't waste time talking to her," the leader ordered, and their fast footsteps gradually faded away into the distance as they moved further down the bank. I waited under the wet roots until their voices disappeared completely, and then I slowly crawled out from under the tree, bleeding heavily from my arm and barely conscious as my body continuously shook from the cold. I had no shoes on my feet, my clothes were completely torn to shreds, and I had no idea where I was going in the dark night, but I knew in my soul that I could never return to the Frostvale Pack, and I could never trust Damon Frost again for as long as I lived. I stumbled over a rock and dropped down onto my knees in the mud, clutching my lower stomach tightly with my uninjured hand while tears mixed with the falling rain on my cheeks. "I'm sorry, little one, because your father betrayed us to save himself," I whispered through my heavy sobs, looking down at my stomach while my whole chest throbbed with unbearable pain. I forced myself up onto my feet, wiped the blood from my face, and disappeared into the vast darkness beyond the territory borders, barely alive as the storm covered my tracks behind me.CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT POV: Raina I stood near the glass window of the elevated control booth at eight o'clock on Friday night, keeping my headset adjusted against my ear while looking down at the packed ice rink below where our team was leading three to two in the middle of the second period. The stadium was filled with thousands of cheering fans, and sitting right in the center VIP box was the council inspector, taking notes on his pad, while Reign’s security guards moved quietly through the concourse corridors to secure every exit. Reign had briefed me thoroughly about the covert sting operation late yesterday afternoon after installing hidden cameras in the basement utility room, so even though my heart was beating fast inside my chest, I stayed completely calm and kept my right hand resting flat against the main microphone console, waiting for the signal from the basement. "Raina, do you copy me from the control booth?" Reign's deep voice spoke through my headset earpiece, soundi
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN POV: Reign I stood near the main entrance corridor at two o'clock on Monday afternoon, talking to our head security guard, Greg, about our updated watch schedule for the upcoming Friday match, when one of our senior arena technicians, Dave, came running down the hallway toward us with a worried look on his face. Dave was holding a small flashlight in his left hand and wiping his forehead with his right sleeve, looking back over his shoulder repeatedly as if someone had been following him through the lower utility tunnels. "Captain Reign, I am glad I caught you out here in the hallway," Dave said, stopping right in front of us while catching his breath, "I was doing my routine afternoon checks on the electrical systems, and I noticed something very suspicious around the main power breaker room in the basement." "What did you notice down there, Dave?" I asked, setting my clipboard against the wall and stepping closer to him while Greg reached for his radio. "Th
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX POV: Ethan I sat at the small table in the corner of my father's private office at ten o'clock on Friday morning, tapping my pen against my leather pad while watching my father pace back and forth across the rug with a furious expression on his face. The news of the pack council issuing a two-week observation period instead of stripping Raina's franchise license had reached every major house in the territory, and my parents had been arguing non-stop since breakfast about how Head Elder Thomas let Raina walk out of the hall without a single penalty. The double entrance doors opened up, and my mother walked in, slamming a thick stack of newspaper clippings onto the table, her face bright red with anger as she stared directly at my father and me. "Are we just going to sit here in this room and watch that woman run her hockey team for two whole weeks while the council inspector sits in her VIP booth like a honored guest?" my mother asked, her voice sharp and loud as
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE POV: Damon I stood near the shadow of the tall light pole in the back arena parking lot at eleven o'clock on Thursday night, keeping my coat jacket buttoned up against the chilly air while staring at the quiet back exit door where Raina usually walked out after finishing her late office work. My wolf had been raging inside my chest all day long, tearing at my insides with a desperate need to see her after the huge council hearing this morning, and even though my father had his guards monitoring my apartment, I managed to slip out through the back alleyway to drive over to her venue grounds in secret. The back building lights flickered slightly as the heavy metal exit door swung open, and I saw Raina step out into the quiet lot, holding her leather purse and her car keys in her hands while looking completely exhausted after spending twelve hours dealing with the council inspector forms and team paperwork. I took three fast steps forward, stepping out into the ope
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR POV: Raina I stood behind the wooden podium inside the central pack council hall at ten o'clock on Thursday morning, adjusting the sleeves of my suit jacket while staring up at the five senior pack elders sitting behind a long elevated table at the front of the room. Reign was sitting right behind me in the second row of spectator chairs, holding two thick white folders containing all of our team's financial records, while Beatrice and Arthur sat across the aisle alongside their son Ethan, glaring at me with dark, bitter expressions on their faces. The heavy double doors at the back of the hall clicked shut, and Head Elder Thomas tapped his wooden gavel twice against the table, bringing the entire room to complete silence as he adjusted his glasses to look down at the legal papers spread out in front of him. "We are gathered here today to review the formal character and operational complaint filed against Raina and her sports franchise," Head Elder Thomas anno
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE POV: Reign I stood near the open player gate at seven o'clock on Wednesday morning, holding my whistle in my right hand and watching my players run through their fast passing drills across the ice, but my attention kept shifting toward Raina, who was sitting alone up on the spectator bench near the glass wall with her phone in her hands. The sports news channels had been broadcasting non-stop coverage since six o'clock this morning about Alpha Marcus announcing Damon’s sudden arranged engagement to Howard's daughter, Chloe, at a private mansion dinner last night, showing large photos of Damon standing next to Chloe alongside headline stories claiming the mate bond rumors were completely fake. I blew my whistle twice to signal a drill change for the lines, stepping off the ice surface onto the rubber floor mats, and walked straight over toward the spectator bench where Raina was staring quietly at her phone screen with a pale, exhausted expression on her face. "







