Chapter 15

Esther’s POV

The morning air carried the sharp bite of change.

For weeks I had thought of nothing but escape. I traced the map of the packlands in my head every night, memorizing routes, rivers, and the shadowed trails that cut through the woods. I rehearsed excuses for slipping away, replayed every possible scenario until I could breathe it like muscle memory.

Now the opportunity had finally come.

The Blood Moon Pack had broken ground on a new hospital. It was a massive construction site that demanded manpower more than skill. The pack was in desperate need of more hands to help.

Nicholas had ordered every male omega from the palace to report for duty. The corridors, usually crowded with their footsteps, were suddenly quiet.

It was the kind of gap in vigilance I knew would not come twice.

I bound my breasts tightly beneath rough linen, tugged a cap low over my face, and borrowed a set of ill-fitting trousers from the laundry pile. The cloth smelled faintly of dust and sweat, but it was perfect.

The more I looked like another faceless worker, the less likely anyone would notice me slipping away.

My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I joined the others gathering in the courtyard. I kept my head low, blending into the sea of bowed spines and slouched shoulders. The guards barked orders, directing us in lines, and no one gave me more than a passing glance.

We marched.

By the time the hospital came into view, half-built stone walls rising like broken teeth against the morning sky, sweat was already slick down my back. The other omegas moved with resigned rhythm, shoulders bent as they hauled bricks, mortar, and timber.

I carried a single stone, small enough not to betray my weaker strength. My arms trembled, but I forced myself to move as though I belonged, as though I had always been part of this labor force.

Then, when the guards’ attention shifted to another group, I slipped away.

I slid between the half-built wall and a pile of lumber, crouching low until the voices faded behind me. The moment I reached the edge of the site, I bolted, feet pounding against dirt, breath ragged with desperation.

The forest felt like an old friend’s embrace. It was the first time I had ever felt such comfort in years.

I knew this path. I had memorized it, dreamed it, prayed for it. My feet flew over roots and rocks as though guided by fate itself. Every step carried me further from Nicholas, further from Amanda, and further from the cruel eyes and whispered mockeries of the pack that wanted me broken.

I clutched at the faint swell of my stomach, where the twins nestled like fragile secrets.

Hold on, I begged silently. Just a little longer. I’ll get us out. We’ll be safe soon.

In my mind, I painted a new life. I’d find a pack far from here, one that valued healers, where no one knew my name or my sins. All I needed was a small house with herbs drying by the window. I wanted to hear my children’s laughter echoing through the rooms. I wanted freedom, for them and for me.

But the forest had other plans.

The sound came first: the crunch of underbrush, the snapping of twigs. My breath hitched.

I wasn’t alone.

Shadows slipped between the trees, moving fast, purposeful. Wolves.

I caught the glint of insignias on their shoulders as they broke into the clearing. They bored the markings of Blood Moon Pack. My heart froze.

Nicholas’s men were out here.

Why? Why would they be here? Were they chasing me? Had he already discovered my escape?

Panic surged. My legs pumped faster, but they followed relentlessly, their growls cutting through the silence.

“No,” I gasped, stumbling over a root. I couldn’t outrun them. Not like this.

The ground vanished beneath me. My foot slipped on loose stone, and suddenly I was tumbling.

The world spun, branches clawed at my skin, and rocks bruised my ribs.

My head struck something hard, a flash of white pain bursting across my vision.

The fall had been terrible, and I didn’t know if my body could handle something like this. Blood pooled from between my thighs, and even though every bone in my body ached and my skin felt like it was on fire, I had only one thought.

Are the babies okay?

I wanted to do everything I could to protect them, but each choise I made only lead me closer to despair. At the root of it all was Nicholas, my children’s father.

He should have been here to protect me and the babies. Instead, he wanted nothing more than to bring me misery.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

I don’t care if I survived this. I just wanted someone to come by and save my sweet unborn children. They were the only thing in my life that mattered.

As the world swam all around me, my hand found my stomach. Then I remembered nothing but thoughts of saving my child.

Nicholas’s POV

The nightmare came again.

My sister’s blood seeped around her limp form, staining the stones. Her scream echoed even when her lips no longer moved. Her breath was cut short in the same instant her life ended.

No matter how I tried to wake, I was trapped watching her die again and again.

I jolted awake, heart hammering, sweat slicking my skin. My chambers were dim, the morning light barely filtering through the curtains. My throat was dry and parched.

“Esther,” I murmured. “Water…”

But no one was there. No gentle hands brought me water. No quiet, reluctant voice reminded me I’d worked too late.

For a long moment I lay there, disoriented. And then it struck me: I had grown used to her presence. Too used to it.

My jaw tightened.

“Esther,” I called.

Silence.

I pushed up from the bed and strode to the door. The guards stiffened as I stepped into the hall.

“Where is she?” I demanded.

“Who?”

“Esther,” I snarled.

Blank faces met me. “We haven’t seen her, Alpha King.”

A chill spread through me. Something was wrong.

“Find Dan,” I ordered. “Now.”

Dan completed his investigation into Esther within the house. His report was swift, efficient, and cut me to the bone.

“She disguised herself among the male omegas when they were sent to the hospital construction site. We traced her steps as far as the woods. She broke from the group about halfway through the trip and headed off on her own.”

My hands curled into fists. “And?”

Dan hesitated, his eyes flicking to the scrap of leather in his hand.

“We found this at the base of the ridge.” He held it out to me. It was a single small, familiar shoe.

I took it slowly, the weight of it anchoring me like a stone.

“She fell,” Dan said grimly. “There were signs of pursuit.”

“What else?” I asked.

“We searched her quarters.” He placed a small bundle of vials and parchment on the table before me. “Fetal protection medicine. And hospital records.”

My chest tightened painfully. Memories rushed through me. The paleness of her face at the banquet, the way she had clutched her stomach when she thought no one was looking, the way her eyes had glistened with unspoken pleas she’d never voiced.

I had dismissed it all. I’d even punished her. I threw her into the dungeon.

The shoe in my hand suddenly felt heavier. My vision blurred with a storm of anger and confusion.

As I held Esther’s medicine, I saw it all clearly, but I was shocked anyway.

Esther was pregnant.