Chapter 3

Skye's POV

Terror and hope crashed through me in equal waves. This wasn't supposed to happen. I'd been taking the herbs the servants brought me every month, the ones that prevented pregnancy. I'd been so careful.

That afternoon, I cornered the young servant who usually delivered my medicines. "The herbs you've been bringing me," I kept my voice low, gentle. "Show me what they look like."

Her hands trembled as she described them. My blood went cold.

"I'm sorry, miss! The herbs looked so similar..." Tears started rolling down her face. "I didn't realize until last week that I'd been bringing the wrong ones. Please don't tell the Alpha, he'll kill me—"

"I won't tell him." The words came out flat. I was too numb to feel anything except the weight of this new reality settling onto my shoulders.

Wrong herbs. A simple mistake that had changed everything.

I spent that night staring at the ceiling, one hand resting on my still-flat stomach. A pup. Maybe... maybe this changes everything. Maybe a child would make him see me as more than just a tribute. Maybe it would give me leverage, protection, a future that wasn't just waiting for the day he got bored of me.

Or maybe it would get me killed.

I had to know which.

Two weeks later, I finally got my chance. Axel had summoned me to his study instead of his chambers, which was unusual. He was reviewing battle reports when I entered, barely looking up.

I waited, patient, until he finally set down his papers. "What is it?"

This was the moment. I took a breath, chose my words carefully. "I wanted to ask you something." I kept my voice casual, like I was just curious. "What if... what if a tribute were to bear your child?"

The temperature in the room dropped. Axel's eyes snapped to mine, sharp and cold.

"Tributes cannot bear my children. If you're pregnant, get rid of it."

No hesitation. No consideration.

I felt something die inside me. The tiny spark of hope I'd been nurturing, the desperate fantasy that maybe this child could be my salvation, extinguished in an instant.

"I understand," I whispered. "I was just curious."

He studied me for a long moment, like he was trying to figure out if I was lying. Then he turned back to his papers, dismissing me without another word.

I walked back to my room in a daze. Get rid of it. Like it was nothing. Like the life growing inside me was just an inconvenience to be dealt with.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't.

But I also couldn't let him find out.

The whispers started a week later. There was a new tribute, Selene, from some pack in the northern territories. Word spread through the harem fast. She was different. Wild. Dangerous.

"She actually cut him," one of the servants gasped while cleaning my room. "First time in his chambers, she pulled out a silver blade and sliced his arm."

My blood went cold. "What did he do?"

"Nothing." The servant's eyes went wide. "He just laughed. He gave her the best quarters in the east wing. She's been summoned three times this week alone."

I kept my face neutral but inside I was screaming. I couldn't lose his favor. Not now. Not when I was carrying a child he'd ordered me to destroy.

I saw her for the first time in the gardens two days later. Selene was beautiful in a sharp, deadly way. Blonde hair, the kind of presence that made everyone stop and stare. She was examining the roses when she noticed me approaching.

"Skye." Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I've heard so much about you."

"Have you?" I kept my tone pleasant.

"The Alpha's favorite tribute." She plucked a rose, thorns and all, not even flinching when they cut her fingers. "Must be exhausting, keeping that position for so long."

She's challenging us. Aria growled low in warning, but I pushed her down. "I simply do what's required."

"Hmm." Selene moved closer, still holding that bleeding rose. "I wonder how much longer that will last."

Before I could respond, I heard footsteps.

Selene's smile turned victorious. She stepped backward dramatically, closer to the lake's edge. "Skye and I were just having the loveliest conversation—"

And then she screamed and fell backward into the water.

Everything happened too fast. One second she was standing there, the next she was in the lake, thrashing and crying out. "She pushed me! Help!"

"What?" I stepped forward instinctively. "I didn't—"

"You dare harm her?" I heard Axel's voice behind me and everything suddenly made sense. He was getting closer and closer. "Drown."

"I didn't touch her!" But the guards were already grabbing me. I felt the silver chains wrap around my wrists and the pain was instant, burning. My wolf whimpered and retreated. "Please, I didn't—"

They dragged me to the lake's edge. I saw Selene being pulled out by other guards, saw the satisfied smirk she shot me when Axel wasn't looking.

This was a trap. She planned this.

Then they threw me in.

The water closed over my head, dark and cold. The silver chains around my wrists were burning, sending waves of agony through my body. I tried to kick to the surface but the chains were too heavy, dragging me down. Water filled my nose, my mouth. I couldn't breathe.

The baby. That was my last coherent thought as the darkness started creeping in around the edges of my vision. I'm going to lose the baby.

And maybe that would be a mercy.