Kaela's POV

It's been a long time since I ran this fast. I wake up with a heavy ache in my tummy and hurry to vomit in a bucket.

"Dustfang?" I call out in the middle of the night. "Are you there?"

Instead, the door barges open and my breath hitches. With thudding footsteps, Dustfang walks into the room with an alarming face.

"This small rusted hut is secluded for a reason. Be gentle with that door or we won't have a hideout anymore." I'm drained, and it sounds evidently in my voice.

"We must leave this place now, my queen." He blurts out as soon as he drops the basket in his hands. When I say nothing, he continues. "I'm serious, my queen. Heard the rumours of Lycans in town today so I thought I'd spy on them in the market square. Turns out truly they are here. What if that beast of a man is back? What if he knows you're alive?"

"He whose name sickens my stomach." I whisper under my breath, and Dustfang comes to knee before me.

A deep frown laces his forehead when he catches my weak expression. "Goddess, what happened? Are you okay?"

No, I'm definitely not, and I don't think I can hide the truth anymore. "The ache. It's been reoccurring for three days now. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to distract you, Dust. I think I'm with child."

"What? How?"

My shaky breath becomes more evident. "The night before the ritual, Caius and I...we..."

Dustfang grabs my hands, firm and assuring. "This is why we must change place again."

"Do you think he knows?" My voice breaks as tears brim my eyes. "Is that why he's here with his men?"

"My queen, I've been your personal guard since you were little. While I have little knowledge about political games, my priority is to protect you. Please, take out this child." I snatch my hands from him and he rushes to add more. "It's the only way you'll live. If Caius finds you—if he knows—he'll keep you till you give birth, steal the baby for his use, and then kill you."

Dustfang is right. Just when I thought destiny has fucked me enough, it decided to throw yet another stone into the pool. And in Caius's hands, he'll groom my baby like he did me.

I shoot up from my seat and growl sternly. With my eyes closed, my fingers trace the left side of my neck.

In the woods.... The beast... His demonic growl... His bite. I remember it all. Very vivid.

I snap back to reality with sweats on my forehead. Caius's mate-mark on me has been replaced with that beast's bite.

"One will think after a month of losing my Throne, my entire life, to a man I once loved, I now know better but I don't. Dust, I know not of who is who, what is true, or what is false. Seraphine could even be lying about my parents."

I spin to face him. "There are things I must discover. My life isn't ending, not until I take back what is mine and strip Caius off of everything he's taken from me! And when I finally do, this baby will be a continuation of my lineage, carrying my bravery and resilience throughout history."

"But—But my queen, I know a healer in town. We can—we can get rid of the foetus. I'm sorry, but you have no armies nor weapons. We don't even have any intel on what's happening inside EmberFang. Caius holds the power."

"No, Caius isn't going to take anything from me again. Time will decide, and I will rebuild."

A large kick shatters the door before heavy footsteps and foreign voices flood the hut.

"I saw him run in here. He carries the essence of a warrior wolf. The queen must be with him. Find them!"

I freeze for a second before Dustfang grabs my arms. "Run to the cliff and don't look back. I'll be right behind you."

He turns towards the entrance to fight off the men as panic sets in my nerves, a month of post-trauma still shaking my core.

"My queen! Pull yourself together!" And that's all I need to sprint out of the backdoor as the squelching sound of flesh fade behind me in the fight between Dustfang and the Lycan knights.

My feet carry me as fast as they can, little prickly grasses cutting my skin but I didn't stop. Even when the stones on the earth dig into my feet, I only run harder. But then, I trip because of my bad sight in the night.

"I've got you. You won't fall as long as I live." Dustfang nods sharply as he prevents my impact against the harsh ground.

As the most trusted commander to the EmberFang throne, he really is extraordinary.

"Thank you. Let's move." I say but he didn't follow me. I turn back to see him on his knees, an arrow in the center of his chest.

"Dust!! No!! Oh, no, no, no, no, no!"

"My queen, you must continue. I—" his words fail when another arrow pierces through his mouth, his blood smearing my face.

Fuck! I wish I had my wolf. I can't see anything. The entire wood is like a black board.

Dustfang falls and against my wish to stay and mourn him, I continue running towards the cliff. But I'm met with despair.

"Oh, shit! Fuck! No, no, no, no, fuck, fuck! Fuck!! The bridge! Fuck, it's gone!" I shiver, my stomach churns, my nerves spike, as adrenaline spreads out.

A breaking twig calls my attention. When I spin around, two men with strong auras approach.

"Sire, Wan reporting. The girl is here." One of them speaks into the wind—no, he is mind-linking.

"Don't you dare come close to me!" I yell at them even when they don't move an inch.

"Contrary to popular belief, you're merely a sacredly cat, aren't you?" A man walks out of the shadows. His aura is stronger than the other two, but he isn't Caius.

"Who—who are you?" My fear has tripled. At least Caius is an enemy I know unlike this one.

"Queen Kaela. What a surprise." Within a flash, he appears before me, closing the space between us and forcing me to look into his eyes.

And there, I see it again. His grey eyes. Pretty and bewitching.

"You..."

"Yes?" He teases.

"In the woods. You're that wolf. You bit me. The Black-Fur Lycan."

"Yes, the cursed king of a cursed set of species." His heavily thick voice sends chills down my spine. "I've been looking for you."

"Why?" I grit my teeth at him.

"Glad you asked that question." Then he turns to his men. "Chain and bring her along. She's mine now."