The forgotten love

Chapter 3

The heavy door to Elena's cell creaked open, the sound like nails on a chalkboard, grating against her already frayed nerves. She squinted against the harsh light that flooded in, her eyes struggling to adjust after hours spent in the dim confines of her prison.

In the doorway stood Kaden, his broad frame silhouetted by the flickering torchlight from the corridor. His expression was unreadable, a mask of stone that betrayed none of the turmoil she knew must be raging within him.

"Leave us," he commanded, his voice a low rumble that brooked no argument.

The guards exchanged a wary glance but obeyed without question, their footsteps echoing down the corridor as they retreated.

Elena struggled to her feet, her body aching from the cold, unforgiving floor. She cradled her swollen belly protectively, her gaze never wavering from Kaden's.

"Have you come to your senses?" she asked, her voice laced with a mixture of hope and trepidation.

Kaden's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching in his chiselled jaw. "I've come for answers," he growled, taking a step closer. "And you're going to give them to me."

Elena recoiled, her back pressing against the damp stone wall. "I've told you the truth, Kaden. I had nothing to do with your father's attack."

His eyes narrowed, piercing her with their intensity. "Then explain to me why you were the last one to see him alive."

"We were training," she replied, her voice trembling slightly. "He was helping me prepare for the birth of our child."A flicker of something indecipherable flashed across Kaden's features, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by his trademark scowl.

"And you expect me to believe that?" he snarled, closing the distance between them until they were mere inches apart.

Elena held her ground, her chin tilted defiantly. "It's the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not."

Kaden's nostrils flared, his eyes darkening to molten pools of amber. "You're treading on dangerous ground, Elena. Don't forget your place."

"My place?" she echoed, her voice laced with disbelief and hurt. "I'm your mate, Kaden. Or have you forgotten that, too?"

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, she thought she saw a glimmer of regret in his eyes. But it was fleeting, gone before she could be certain.

"This conversation is over," he growled, turning on his heel and striding towards the door.

"Kaden, wait!" Elena called out, desperation lacing her voice. "Please, you have to believe me. I would never betray your father, or this pack."

But her pleas fell on deaf ears as the door slammed shut behind him, leaving her once again alone in the suffocating darkness, her heart sinking with the realisation that the chasm between them had only grown wider.

The deafening silence that followed Kaden's departure was shattered by a guttural sob that tore from Elena's throat. She sank to the floor, her back sliding against the cold, unforgiving stone as her legs gave out beneath her.

Despair washed over her in waves, threatening to drown her in its depths. How could Kaden be so blind, so unwilling to see the truth that lay before him? Was her love, her devotion to him and their unborn child, truly worthso little?

She drew a shuddering breath, her fingers splaying protectively over the swell of her belly. "Do not fret, little one," she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "Your father may have forsaken us, but I will never abandon you."

A fluttering kick from within her womb was the only response, a gentle reminder of the life she carried – a life that now felt more precarious than ever. What future awaited her child in a world where their own father viewed them as a burden, a mistake born of an unwanted bond?

The hours bled into days, each one more torturous than the last. Elena existed in a state of limbo, her only human contact the guards who delivered her meagre rations. She clung to the hope that Kaden would see reason, that the love they had once shared would break through the wall of anger and resentment he had built around his heart.

But as the days turned to weeks, that hope began to wither, like a fragile flower deprived of sunlight and water. The walls seemed to close in around her, the weight of her isolation pressing down upon her with suffocating force.

It was on one such endless night that a searing pain ripped through her abdomen, stealing her breath and leaving her gasping in agony. Her hands flew to her belly, a strangled cry escaping her lips as she realised the terrible truth.

"No... not now," she pleaded, her voice a breathless whisper. "It's too soon."

But her pleas fell on deaf ears as another contraction tore through her, more intense than the last. Panic gripped her, her mind racing with the stark realisation that she was going into premature labour – and she was utterly alone.

"Help!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "Someone, please... my baby..."