The days blurred together, but one truth grew clearer with every sunrise—
I was no longer living for myself.
I was living for the heartbeat inside me.
The whispers of the Wolf Fang Pack grew sharper with each passing day. I could feel the stares linger on my stomach as though they knew what grew there, even though I wasn't showing yet. It was as if they could smell my secret, the future they all despised.
"You think carrying the Alpha's child makes you untouchable?" a warrior hissed one afternoon as I passed through the training grounds. His tone was mocking, but his eyes glittered with hate. "He'll never make you Luna. You'll always be nothing."
The others laughed, their voices slicing through my chest. I lowered my gaze and kept walking, biting the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. If I let them see me break, they'd only dig deeper.
But even silence wasn't enough to shield me.
Everywhere I went, there were eyes. Not just the pack's, but his. Jacob's.
He set guards outside my door. At first, I thought it was punishment, a way to remind me I was a prisoner. But when I overheard one whisper "Alpha says she's not to be left alone—not even to breathe without us knowing", I realized the truth.
I wasn't just being watched.
I was being controlled.
When I went to the kitchens, a shadow followed.
When I walked to the stream, another trailed behind.
When I tried to sit quietly in the gardens, I felt his presence before I even turned—Jacob, always somewhere close, always watching.
It wasn't protection. It was possession.
Yet, sometimes… sometimes his control confused me.
One morning, as I carried a basket of herbs, a sharp pain struck my lower stomach. I gasped, stumbling forward. The basket slipped, spilling green leaves across the stone path. My knees buckled, and I gripped the wall, panic flooding me.
The baby.
Before I could fall, strong arms caught me. His scent wrapped around me, musky cedar and stormy skies. My head snapped up, and my breath caught—Jacob.
His brows were furrowed, his jaw tight. "What happened?"
"I… I don't know. Just a pain—"
Without a word, he scooped me into his arms. My heart hammered, but I didn't resist. His stride was swift, his grip unyielding as he carried me back inside. For once, the stares of the pack didn't matter. Not when I was cradled against him like something fragile.
When he laid me gently on the bed, I dared a glance at his face. His expression was unreadable, but his hand hovered near my stomach, tense and deliberate.
"You will not lift anything heavy again," he ordered, his voice low but sharp.
I blinked, startled. "It was just—"
"Do not argue," he snapped, his eyes locking onto mine. "That child is the future of this pack. If anything happens to it because of your carelessness, you will regret it."
His words stung, but his hand lingered for a moment longer near my stomach before he pulled away. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw something in his gaze—not hatred, not disgust, but something else. Something that almost looked like… fear.
But then it was gone.
He turned his back and left without another word, the door slamming shut behind him.
I pressed a hand over my stomach, whispering softly, "Don't worry, little one. Mama's here. I'll keep you safe. No matter what."
That night, lying in the dark, I closed my eyes and imagined the sound of tiny footsteps. The curve of small hands wrapping around my finger. For the first time, I smiled in secret. Because no matter what chains Jacob wrapped around me, I had something of my own. Something he couldn't take away.
Love.
My bond with my baby grew stronger with every beat of its tiny heart. When the pack's cruelty sliced me open, it was that thought—my child—that stitched me back together.
But the pack wasn't finished breaking me.
On the other night, as I walked down the hallway with a tray of food, someone stuck their foot out. I stumbled, the tray crashing to the ground in a clatter of broken dishes. Laughter erupted.
"Careful, omega," Lyanna purred from the shadows. Her eyes glimmered with malice as she stepped forward, circling me like a snake. "Wouldn't want you to trip and lose something important." Her gaze flicked deliberately to my stomach.
My wolf bristled. My hands shook as I bent to clean the mess, fighting the urge to protectively cover my belly. I wanted to scream, to fight, but I knew the price of defiance.
But before Lyanna could twist her words deeper, Jacob appeared. His aura swept through the hall, silencing every laugh, every whisper.
His eyes landed on me first. Then on Lyanna.
The air grew heavy.
"What happened here?" His voice was calm, but I knew that calm. It was the kind that came before a storm.
Lyanna's smile didn't falter. "She dropped the tray, Alpha. Clumsy hands. Weak body. Hardly fit to—"
"Enough." The single word cracked like a whip. His gaze hardened, locking onto her with such intensity that even she flinched. "You forget yourself, Lyanna. You will not touch her. You will not even breathe in her direction without my command."
The hall froze.
Everyone is confused because of the sudden words of protection towards me.
My heart thundered. He wasn't defending me—no, I wasn't foolish enough to believe that—but the way he said it… it was as if I truly belonged to him. His property. His claim.
Lyanna bowed her head quickly, but her glare seared into me as she stepped back.
Jacob turned his gaze to me. His expression gave nothing away, but his words carried the weight of chains. "From now on, you will not walk these halls alone. You are not to leave your chambers without an escort. Do you understand Elira?"
I swallowed hard. "Yes, Alpha."
When he left, silence hung heavy in the air. I gathered the broken pieces of the tray with trembling hands, my mind spinning.
Was this protection… or a prison tightening around me?
I pressed a hand against my stomach, whispering to the child who couldn't yet hear me.
"I don't know what he's doing to me. I don't know if I can survive this. But I promise you this—" My voice cracked, but I forced the words out, steady and strong.
"I'll endure every glare, every whisper, every chain… for you. Because you're the only light I have left."
And in the silence of the night, my wolf stirred, fierce and protective.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't just surviving for myself.
I was fighting for someone else.
For my child.
For hope.