Chapter 25: The Heartbeat in the Dark
682 Words
The palace doors shut behind us, cutting off the rhythmic, deafening roar of the pouring rain outside.
I stumbled slightly as my bare feet hit the cold, polished white marble of Alpha Ethan’s grand foyer. My wet clothes were plastered to my shivering frame, sending a bitter chill straight down my spine. But the physical cold was entirely eclipsed by the suffocating weight of the Alpha aura radiating directly behind me.
Ethan stepped into the light, his towering, massive silhouette casting a giant shadow over the hallway. He didn't say a word, his chiseled face set in a tight, unyielding mask of stone as his intense, gold-flecked amber eyes tracked my every breath.
"Take her to the master wing," Ethan commanded, his gravelly baritone sending a violent shiver through the air. "Ensure she is bathed, dressed, and remains within her quarters. If she so much as approaches a window, your heads will roll."
The elite palace guards bowed instantly in terrified compliance. I didn't even try to fight them.The moment their hands gently guided me toward the grand winding staircase, another vicious, crushing wave of sudden nausea rolled through my stomach. My vision blurred instantly, a dizzying heat rushing behind my eyelids as my throat went completely dry.
I clutched my stomach, forcing my feet to move faster. I didn't wait for the maids to arrange the bath. The second the heavy oak doors of the master suite clicked shut behind me, I bolted straight across the luxury room and locked myself inside the sprawling marble bathroom.
I collapsed over the porcelain basin, dry-heaving violently as my heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. My hands trembled so hard I could barely turn the golden faucets to wash the bitter taste from my mouth.
It isn't just stress, the terrifying whisper echoed from the deepest depths of my survival instincts. Aria, open your eyes. You aren't just exhausted.
Ripped apart by a sudden, frantic panic, I scrambled toward the hidden medical cabinet tucked beneath the vanity mirror, a stash of premium pack diagnostics I had secretly pocketed weeks ago during my forced stay in the infirmary. My breath came in short, ragged gasps as I unrolled the delicate white testing parchment, my fingers slick with cold sweat.
I waited in the dim, gold-lit silence of the bathroom, the quietness stretching until it felt completely suffocating.
Then, the ink bled through. The sigil glowed a vibrant, undeniable crimson right across the parchment.
Two months. Positive.
Cold dread crashed through my veins, freezing every drop of blood in my body. The room seemed to tilt on its axis. I slid down the marble wall, collapsing onto my knees as I stared at the glowing mark in absolute, unadulterated shock.
I was pregnant. I was carrying Ethan’s child.
He cannot find out, I vowed silently, my jaw clenching as a cold, calculating resolve hardened through my terror.
If Ethan ever discovered that I was carrying his unborn heir, his obsession would be pushed to the absolute extreme. He would bind me to his side with unbreakable chains for the rest of my life just to safeguard his child.
But I was reborn for a singular, bloody purpose. My real father, Marcus, was finally safe, but my mission was far from over. I still had a revenge to exert. I still had to reclaim my father's stolen legacy from Richard and ensure the tyrants who tried to slaughter me at the altar bled out on the dirt.
I couldn't afford to be a protected, coddled Luna queen. I needed to remain a weapon.
Moving with swift, icy precision, I dropped the testing parchment into the hearth fire, watching the crimson sigil turn to black ash before the flames consumed it completely. I stood up, smoothing down my damp garments and washing the tear stains from my cheeks until my reflection showed nothing but an unyielding, cold mask of defiance.
I would guard the heartbeat in the dark with my life, and ensure I unleash a merciless retribution that would shatter my enemies forever.
- Writer
