Chapter 5

Blood filled my mouth.

Lucian finally released me. We stood facing each other, both breathing hard, both a mess.

He wiped the blood from his mouth, his gaze gradually clearing.

“Find some time to get rid of the baby.”

I picked up the medical report confirming my miscarriage and threw it in front of him.

“You think I’d keep your child?”

He went still, staring at the date.

The day of our fight.

After a moment, the corners of his mouth lifted.

“Well done, sweetheart.”

I clenched my fists and turned away.

Lucian lifted me onto the bed and settled me against his chest.

“Promise me you’ll never mention severing our bond again. You and I are going to be husband and wife for the rest of our lives.”

Someone began pounding on the door.

His arms stiffened around me. He barked toward the entrance, “Get lost!”

Vivienne burst in anyway and dropped to her knees.

“Lucian! Nellie… Nellie’s missing!”

Lucian shot to his feet.

Vivienne turned her tearful eyes on me. He followed her gaze, his brow tightening.

“Was it you? Did you give away Nellie’s location?”

“No!”

“You’re the only one who knew about her! You’re the only one who knows what your husband does every day! If you’re angry, take it out on me. Why go after a child?”

“Enough!”

I drew a breath. The wound in my chest throbbed.

“What’s the point of standing here throwing accusations at me? Think about how to get her back!”

Vivienne choked out her answer.

“The people who took the pup are your enemies, Nova… the White Wolf Pack in the East…”

Lucian stiffened.

I understood what he intended at once. We moved almost simultaneously.

But I had barely recovered from a serious injury. Within a few exchanges, he had me by the throat, pinned against the railing.

“Nova, if my daughter dies, I have nothing to live for. If you won’t trade yourself for her, we can die together right now.”

I stopped struggling.

Everyone said Lucian was cold-blooded. To everyone but me.

Even I hadn’t known that his daughter with Vivienne was the one person he truly couldn’t lose.

“Fine. But we sever our bond first.”

His hand went still around my throat.

After a silence, he said, “All right.”

I pulled my lips into a smile.

So severing our bond wasn’t that difficult after all.

Once it was done, Vivienne seemed less anxious than before.

Lucian, on the other hand, wouldn’t wait another moment. He had me bound, put on a plane, and flown to an abandoned mine on the eastern border.

When the exchange was over, he held his recovered daughter in his arms, his eyes red, and pressed a hard kiss to her forehead.

Vivienne shoved me from behind, sending me toward the Eastern Pack’s guards.

They took me into the pack’s territory and brought me before Kasper.

He sat at the head of the hall, half his face in shadow.

“After killing so many of my men, did you ever imagine you’d end up at my mercy, Nova?”

I curved my lips and raised my bound wrists toward him.

“Aren’t you going to untie me?”

[Paywall Cliffhanger 1]