7
1000 Words
I came to myself in pieces, my ears ringing, my body heavy and tired.
“...she is severely dehydrated. Her nutrient levels are also dangerously low, especially in her current state.”
There was a pause.
“There is no doubt then that she is pregnant?”
That voice. I would know it anywhere. It was Mia’s.
“None, the lady is pregnant.” The man sounded certain, and a rough gasp escaped Mia.
“Oh, Ivie,” she whispered.
She was still talking to the man, but I couldn't hear her.
No. No. No. It couldn't be. There had to be another person in this room even though I could only smell the three of us.
I couldn't be pregnant now of all times. Surely the Goddess wasn't so cruel.
I opened my eyes to a world that was somehow more vicious than the one I had lost consciousness in.
Mia was at my side in seconds, tears glistening in her eyes even though she attempted a shaky smile.
“Ivie,” she said softly. “Sophia called me.”
Of course, she did. Sophia had always been loyal to me even to her own detriment.
“Mia,” my voice was little more than a croak. “Am I really pregnant?”
Mia nodded once, her tears spilling over onto her cheeks.
“I'm so sorry, Ivie.”
She pulled me into a warm comforting hug, but my eyes remained dry.
I felt hollow inside as I spoke.
“Dante can never find out about this.”
CHAPTER 3
Five years later
Dante
T
he maid was bleeding. Her back was ripped open, her uniform hanging onto her in shreds and her blood dripping onto the marble floor with the acrid scent of anxiety and dread filling our room.
“Please Princess, have mercy,” she cried.
How had we come to this?
Miranda stood, her back to me, her laser focus on the guard who had stopped whipping the maid at my mental command.
“Why did you stop?” she growled, her melodic voice twisted with rage. “Whip her!”
When did my mate become a stranger I could barely recognize?
“That is enough, Miranda,” I said, moving away from the doorway.
Miranda froze at my voice, and then she turned slowly to face me, her face pale with the realization that I’d been silently observing her actions.
I didn't look away from my mate as I spoke. “Leave us. All of you.”
The other maids helped the bleeding girl up and out of our room, the guards following close behind them.
The moment we were alone, Miranda closed the distance between us embracing me and burying her head in my chest.
“Dante,” she purred. “When did you get back?”
She didn't sound like the manipulative bloodthirsty tyrant the court whispered she was. She sounded like the girl I had fallen in love with before I even knew her name.
Miranda didn't wait for my response before she began unbuttoning my shirt, dropping breathless open-mouthed kisses around my neck and down my chest.
The scent of Miranda’s arousal hit me with a potency almost as strong as the maid’s blood a few feet away.
“Whatever did she do to deserve such a whipping?” I asked, my tone far lighter than the deluge of emotions I was feeling showed.
Miranda undid the last button on my shirt.
“Who?” she asked distractedly, her fingers trailing down to my pants.
I caught her hand, my hold tight enough that Miranda whimpered. Her baby-blue eyes searched mine in confusion.
“What did the maid you nearly whipped to death a few seconds ago do?”
“You are exaggerating things, Dante,” Miranda protested, “She had to be disciplined. She pulled too hard at my hair, and you know how tender-headed I am.”
I stared at my mate completely baffled. Could she hear herself? Had she truly had the maid whipped so mercilessly for that?
Miranda moved closer to me ignoring the hold I had on her wrist, her gaze dipping to my lips and her canines tugging on her lower lip seductively.
“I've missed you so much.” She sighed softly before going up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
Five years ago, if anyone had told me I would feel nothing but disgust from Miranda’s touch, I would have thought them a liar.
I stepped away from her embrace letting go of her wrist, my voice harsh and unyielding.
“She is our subject, Miranda. We have a duty to do right by them. How could you punish her so severely for a minor mistake?”
Miranda stared at me with full lips parted in shock, and then her expression hardened.
“Why are you still talking about a nobody maid?” Her eyes narrowed. “Is there something I am missing? Are you f*****g her?”
“Miranda.” I was so stunned that I couldn't say anything else.
Miranda’s hands formed fists at her sides.
“I'll have her banished.” She fumed, before heading towards the door.
I blocked her way, grabbing her by the shoulders.
“Miranda, what do you think you are doing?”
Miranda’s blue-eyes met mine and I was surprised to find them glistening with tears.
Her shoulders began to shake, and Miranda ducked her head, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“I… I can't lose you, Dante,” she said in a broken whisper. “I’ll give you another heir, I promise. Just please don't push me away.”
Her words hit me right on the wound that I had been so sure had healed in five years and my anger wavered.
“Miranda.”
Her tears had evolved to full-on heart-wrenching sobs now.
“You haven't touched me in over a year, Dante. Won’t you ever forgive me for losing our child?”
- Writer
