FORCED TO HAVE THE ALPHA’S BABY
Celine
The drums woke me. Not a distant thud but a slow, hard pounding that rolled through the stone and vibrated my teeth. For a second I lay there and let the sound find me, metal ringing, the slap of boots, a shout breaking into a high note. It was close enough that I could tell the difference between a sword strike and a spear catching leather.
It should have been noise, background. Instead my skin tightened like a wire. The world turned to fight when drums started. I knew the routes, which gates would open, where men would gather. I knew enough to be afraid.