C1

Gorgo opens her eyes to the sharp smell of antiseptic inside the Argyros pack clinic, every single bone in her body feeling like shattered glass.

"Do not try to move, Gorgo," Leonidas growls, his voice thick with a raw, desperate pain.

My chest burns as I try to pull my hand away from his tight grip.

"Get away from me," I croak, my throat dry as desert sand.

"I am not leaving you," he says, his dark eyes bloodshot and wild with a look I have never seen on him before. "Not after what almost happened."

"We are finished," I say, my voice cracking under the weight of the silver-laced pain medication in my veins. "You signed the papers."

"I did not sign them," he snaps, his grip tightening around my fingers until they throb. "I will never sign them."

"I saw you write something," I whisper, trying to turn my head, but a sharp spike of agony shoots down my spine.

"I wrote that there is no way in hell I am letting you go," he says, his chest rising and falling fast. "You are my mate."

"Artemisia told me everything," I say, the memory of the truck headlights making my heart skip a beat. "She killed Daxos, Leonidas. She set me up, and you hated me for three years because of her lie."

Leonidas freezes, his powerful shoulders stiffening as his eyes turn pitch black.

"I know," he says quietly, his voice shaking with a terrifying rage. "I heard her on your phone when I found you in the road."

"You believed her over me for three whole years," I spit out, tears stinging my eyes. "You let the whole pack treat me like garbage."

"I was a fool, Gorgo," he says, leaning down so close I can smell his mint and leather scent, a scent that still makes my wolf stir deep inside my broken body. "I will make this right. I will make everyone who looked down on you bleed."

"I do not want your revenge," I say, my breath coming in short, shallow gasps. "I want my freedom."

"You are never getting that," he growls, his hand sliding up my arm, his touch burning hot against my cold skin. "Your body belongs to this pack. Your body belongs to me."

"My wolf is silent," I whisper, fear finally breaking through my anger. "I cannot feel her, Leonidas. What did that truck do to her?"

Before he can answer, the heavy wooden door of the clinic room swings open with a loud bang.

Doctor Theron walks in, holding a digital tablet with a grim look on his face.

"Alpha," the doctor says, bowing his head quickly. "We have the blood results from the scan."

"Is she going to heal?" Leonidas demands, his voice booming through the small room. "Why is her wolf not fixing her bones?"

"The silver from the truck's bumper has seeped deep into her bloodstream," Doctor Theron says, looking down at his screen. "It is blocking her wolf's healing factor."

"Then flush it out!" Leonidas roars, his wolf pushing to the surface, making his fangs peek over his bottom lip. "Use the pack resources. Do whatever it takes!"

"We cannot do a full silver flush, Alpha King," the doctor says, his voice trembling.

"Why the hell not?" Leonidas snarls, slamming his fist onto the side of my metal bed, making the frame rattle.

"Because of the other heartbeat we detected," Doctor Theron says, pointing to the screen.

My heart stops, and I stare at the doctor, my hand instinctively moving to my stomach.

"What heartbeat?" I whisper, my voice barely audible.

"You are pregnant, Luna," Doctor Theron says, his eyes moving between me and Leonidas. "Nearly four weeks."

A heavy, suffocating silence fills the room as the words hang in the air.

"Pregnant?" Leonidas repeats, his voice suddenly dropping to a whisper, his dark eyes locking onto my stomach.

"Yes," the doctor says. "But because of the silver poisoning, the pup's heartbeat is very weak. If we run the flush, the medicine will kill the baby. If we do not run the flush, the silver will slowly destroy the Luna's body."

"No," I gasp, my hand gripping my hospital gown. "No, not my baby."

"Is there no other way?" Leonidas demands, his face pale as he steps closer to my bed.

"There is one way," Doctor Theron says, hesitating as he looks at Leonidas. "But it requires a massive amount of pure Alpha healing energy. You would have to share your life force with her through the mate bond, day and night."

"I will do it," Leonidas says immediately, not even waiting for the doctor to finish.

"It is not that simple, Alpha," the doctor warns. "To open the channel fully, the Luna must accept you. If her mind rejects the bond, the energy will backflow. It could stop her heart instantly."

"She will accept me," Leonidas says, his eyes burning as he looks down at me.

"I will not," I say, my voice cold despite the terror clawing at my throat. "I would rather die than let you back into my soul."

"Gorgo, stop this foolishness!" Leonidas snaps, his hand gripping my chin, forcing me to look up into his dark, desperate eyes. "This is our child. My heir."

"You ignored me for three years," I say, a single tear slipping down my cheek. "You slept in the other room. You let Artemisia mock me at the pack table. And now you want to save me just for an heir?"

"It is not just for the heir!" he roars, his chest heaving as he leans over me. "I was blind, Gorgo! But I am not letting you die."

"You cannot force a mate bond connection, Leonidas," I say, my heart hammering against my ribs. "My wolf hates you. I hate you."

He winces, his hand dropping from my chin as if he had been burned.

"We will find another way," Leonidas says, turning to Doctor Theron. "Leave us."

The doctor bows quickly and scurries out of the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Leonidas turns back to me, his broad shoulders blocking out the light from the small window.

"You think you can just walk away from me now?" he whispers, his voice dropping to a low, possessive purr that makes my core twitch despite my anger. "Even with my baby inside you?"

"This baby is mine," I say, clutching my stomach. "The moment I am strong enough to walk, I am leaving Moonhaven."

"You are not going anywhere," he says, stepping closer until his thighs are brushing against the edge of my bed. "I will lock you in the highest room of the Citadel before I let you carry my child out of this territory."

"You are a monster," I spit.

"I am an Alpha," he corrects, his voice dark and heavy. "And I am your mate. Your body still remembers that, Gorgo. I can feel your heart beating faster just because I am standing here."

He leans down, his hand sliding under my hospital gown, his warm palm resting directly over my flat stomach.

A sharp jolt of electricity shoots through my body, making my breath hitch as a sudden wave of heat pool between my thighs.

"See?" he whispers, his eyes darkening as he feels my physical reaction. "Your wolf wants me. Your body wants my touch."

"Stop," I whisper, trying to push his hand away, but my fingers have no strength.

"I can save you, Gorgo," he says, his thumb brushing lightly against my skin, sending shivers down my spine. "Just let me in. Let the bond heal you."

"I would rather rot," I say, staring directly into his eyes with all the hatred I have gathered over the last three years.

He clenches his jaw, his grip on my waist tightening slightly, but before he can speak, his phone vibrates in his pocket.

He pulls it out, his brow furrowing as he looks at the screen.

"What is it?" I ask, sensing the sudden shift in his scent.

He doesn't answer me. He answers the call and puts it to his ear.

"Speak," Leonidas commands.

"Alpha," a panicked voice says from the receiver, loud enough for me to hear in the quiet room. "We went to arrest Artemisia Lykaon at her apartment like you ordered."

"And?" Leonidas growls.

"She is gone, sir," the guard says, his voice shaking. "But she left a message painted on the wall. She says she has already contacted the BloodClaw pack. They are moving toward our northern border right now."

Leonidas freezes, his eyes locking onto mine with a sudden, chilling realization.

"They know she is injured," Leonidas whispers to himself, his hand falling away from my stomach. "They know our Luna is weak."

"There is more, Alpha," the guard continues, his voice cracking. "Artemisia took the sacred Moonhaven Relic with her. The seal is broken."

My blood runs cold as I look at Leonidas, the full weight of his sister's betrayal finally crashing down on us.