Chapter 16

Esther’s POV

The first thing I felt was pain. A dull, heavy ache radiated through my bones, as though I had been struck by the mountain itself. My eyes fluttered open, the dim glow of torchlight blurring into shapes I couldn’t place. The air smelled faintly of herbs and pine resin, a strange mixture that was both soothing and foreign.

I was not in the dungeon. Not in the cold stone halls of Nicholas’s palace.

Where was I?

I tried to sit up, but a sharp protest tore through my ribs, and I sank back against the furs beneath me. That was when I heard a familiar voice.

“You’re awake.”

My head turned, sluggish and heavy, and there he was. Kevin. His tall frame leaned casually against the doorway, though his eyes were sharper than ever, studying me with quiet intensity.

“You rolled down a hill,” he said matter-of-factly, crossing the room. “My men found you at the edge of our borders. Lucky you didn’t break your neck.”

His pack. The Blue Lake Pack. That meant I had crossed into his territory while fleeing. Relief flooded me, tangled with dread. I had escaped Nicholas, but had I only traded one danger for another?

Then the panic struck. My hands flew to my stomach, trembling. “The children—” My voice cracked. “Alpha King King Kevin, the babies. Please… tell me…”

Kevin knelt beside me, his voice softer now. “They’re fine.”

The air left my lungs in a shuddering breath, tears burning the corners of my eyes.

“Your wolf protected you,” he continued, his hand hovering near my arm as if he might steady me but didn’t dare. “It’s dormant now, probably exhausted from shielding you and the twins. But don’t worry. A healer’s wolf doesn’t fade so easily. Yours is stronger than most, strong enough to knit bones, strong enough to defy death itself. She’ll wake when she’s ready.”

I pressed my palm to my belly, whispering a thank you to the silent wolf within me.

After a breath, I turned my gaze to Kevin.

“How do you know all this?” I asked.

“My pack has been studying healers for a long time. All the signs are there, if you know what you are looking for.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him entirely. It was a convenient excuse, but as far as I knew, little was known about healer wolves because they were so rare.

Still, who was I to question an Alpha King King?

“Thank you.”

Kevin’s gaze lingered, searching, before he finally asked, “Why were you running, Esther? You’re pregnant. You should be resting, not risking your life.”

The words tumbled from me before I could stop them. “Because I had no choice.” My throat tightened, but I forced the truth out. “They accused me of killing the princess. Everyone believes it. Nicholas—” My chest ached when I said his name. “He stripped me of my title, called me a murderer, made me a slave. And then… fate played its cruelest joke. He turned out to be my mate.”

Kevin’s eyes narrowed, unreadable.

“I didn’t ask for the bond,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I didn’t ask for these children. But it happened. And if Nicholas knew…” My voice broke. “If he knew about them, he would use them against me. Or worse, he’d reject me, and the pain could kill us all. I had to run. For their sake.”

Silence fell.

Finally, Kevin leaned back on his heels. “You’ve been through a lot. I can’t imagine how it must have been. Nicholas has been far too cruel to you, no matter what happened in the past.”

A tear slipped down my cheek in silence.

“I’m sorry, Esther. Based on what you’ve told me, I think you were right to keep your pregnancy from him. Who knows what he might do after all he has put you through? Do you want him to know where you are, that you’re alive?”

I looked at him desperately. “Please. Don’t tell him. Promise me.”

His expression softened in a way I hadn’t expected. “You’ve been hunted, betrayed, and broken, Esther. You’ve carried more than most could survive. You don’t need to beg me. I’ll take care of the rest.”

My chest constricted with gratitude, though a part of me wondered if I was trading one danger for another kind of trap. But for now, the twins were safe. That was enough.

Nicholas’s POV

My chambers had become a prison.

Since the night she left, my life had unraveled in ways I hadn’t foreseen. I told myself it didn’t matter. She was a traitor, a liar, and a stain on the honor of my pack. Yet everything I touched reminded me of her absence.

The nights were the worst.

I used to sleep soundly, lulled by the faint smoke of incense. Tonight, it didn’t seem to be working. I called the maid in.

“Is this the usual incense for sleep?” I asked her as she bowed her head.

“Yes, Alpha King. It’s the best we have available.”

“It doesn’t seem right. I think I had a different one.”

“I will ask the head maid about it,” said the maid, and then she excused herself. As I laid back down in bed, I tried to remember what the old incense smelled like. Esther used to set it up every night, so I didn’t think much about it.

Then it clicked. Esther dabbled in herbs. I looked over at the incense, watching the stick slowly burn down.

The one I was used to was made by Esther. It was probably a blend she mixed herself. It reminded me of lavender, chamomile, and something I could never place.

Whatever it was, it quieted the storm inside me. Without it, I tossed and turned until dawn, the ceiling above me a mocking void.

Even my clothing betrayed me. Esther had always ordered them, arranged them, paired them with precision. Now the new maids left chaos in their wake. Shirts unmatched, buttons missing, everything askew. A king should not notice such things, yet I did, every single morning.

And then there was Norman.

My wolf clawed at the edges of my mind more violently each day, snarling the same demand: Find her. Bring her back. Mate.

Each time he roared, I lost more control. My men had begun to fear the sudden shifts, the bloodlust that came with them.

The doctors came, summoned by my fraying temper, and they delivered news that shattered what little composure I had left.

“Twins,” they said. “She’s weak. If she isn’t protected, she may not survive the pregnancy.”

Twins.

My heirs.

Why hadn’t she told me? Why had she run, carrying my blood inside her, without a word?

Norman’s laughter echoed in my skull. What right do you have to her trust? You tortured her with the bond. You broke her, then wonder why she fled.

I snarled, smashing the goblet in my hand.

Still, I couldn’t believe she was gone. Not without proof.

“Find her,” I ordered Dan.

He searched. Days bled into weeks. And still—nothing.

The elders pressed me in her absence. “Crown Amanda as Luna,” they urged. “She’s beautiful, loyal, fertile. She’ll give you an heir.”

I nearly tore the hall apart with my fury.

“No,” I growled, voice echoing like thunder. “No one dictates the Luna of this pack but me. Amanda will wait. Her coronation is postponed indefinitely.”

Their whispers followed me as I left, but I didn’t care. My wolf didn’t care. We needed no one but her.

And then—hope.

Dan returned at last, carrying more than rumors.

“She fell near the Blue Lake Pack,” he reported. “Her trail ends at their border.”

I started to think that Esther had run away after all. Then I remembered the one person who lingered around her, the one man I hated most that seemed to always find her when I wasn’t around.

She might have gone to Kevin.

My rival, the one man whose smile I despised, whose gaze lingered too long on what was mine, might actually be hiding my mate.

Rage burned hot and merciless in my chest.

If she had fled to him, I don’t know what I would do.

After a long silence, I gave my answer, my voice low and final.

“I’ll go myself.”