His Baby in My Womb, His Sister in His Bed

Chapter 3 Locked in the Dark

I wanted to go home.

But Felix grabbed my arm and stopped me. "Matilda, you can't go back there. Soren betrayed you. He could hurt you at any moment!"

His voice was raw and desperate in a way I had never heard before. He tightened his grip on my arm and looked at me like I was the only thing left in his world.

"Matilda, come with me. Please. You know how I feel about you. Ever since the day you saved my life, I've been yours. All of me."

His eyes narrowed. "Soren, that lying piece of s**t, he stole your heart first. But I've been waiting for you this whole time."

I knew Felix had feelings for me. He always had. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left the pack behind and followed me all the way to this strange city just to keep me safe.

But going with him wasn't an option. Not yet. This was my only shot.

"Felix, just hear me out." I held his face in my hands, trying to calm him down. "What Henry told us is only one side of the story. If I want out of this bond with Soren for good, I need proof. Real proof that he betrayed me."

I ran my fingers along the edge of his jaw and swallowed the tears burning behind my eyes. "There are things I have to face on my own. Once I'm done with Soren, once it's really over, I'll leave with you. And I won't ever look back."

Felix and I made a deal. He would come for me at Soren's estate in one week.

When I walked through the front door, all my belongings were scattered across the living room floor.

My clothes, my shoes, the paintings Soren once made for me, even the curtains from our bedroom. All of it tossed aside like garbage.

Aliyah stood in the middle of it all, ordering the butler and maids around like she owned the place.

"Oh, Matilda. Sorry about the mess." She flashed me a bright, shameless smile. "I'm moving back in for a while. My brother Soren said I could do whatever I want with anything in this house."

She stepped right on top of my favorite dress without a care in the world, then held out her hand and wiggled her ring finger in my face.

"Your taste in clothes and curtains is honestly awful. But this ring is gorgeous. I'll ask my brother to give it to me."

That ring was the only thing I had left of my mother.

Years ago, a rival wolf pack raided our estate and slaughtered everyone inside, my mother and father included. She pressed that ring into my hand right before she died. It was the symbol of the Silvermoon pack's queen, and it was mine.

My blood boiled. "Aliyah! Give me that ring back right now! That belonged to my mother. It's the mark of the Silvermoon Queen, and you have no right to touch it!"

I stepped toward her, and Aliyah just smiled.

"No right? Funny. 'Cause in Soren's eyes, the one who doesn't belong here is you."

She twirled the ring between her fingers, admiring it for a second. Then she hurled it straight into the fireplace.

"No!" I lunged for it.

A hand slammed into my chest, and before I could react, I was falling. My body tumbled down the staircase, and I heard the c***k of bone against stone on the way down. Then a deep, tearing pain ripped through my lower belly.

I curled up on the floor. Something warm and wet was leaking out of me, soaking through my dress. The smell of blood hit me before I even looked down.

"It hurts... there's so much blood..."

The red pooled underneath me and spread across the floor. I pressed both hands to my stomach, but I couldn't stop it.

Aliyah stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at me. She was smiling, but her eyes were ice cold.

"Matilda, you really should be more careful."

"Aliyah, I'm pregnant! How dare you hurt my baby!"

The front door burst open and Soren rushed in.

I thought he'd heard me. I thought he caught that last part. But he didn't.

All he saw was Aliyah crying.

She put on a terrified face right away. "I'm so sorry, Matilda... I didn't mean to... I'll move out. I won't bother you and Soren anymore."

Soren didn't even look at me. He made up his mind on the spot. "Matilda! What the hell is wrong with you? Aliyah is my sister. I told her she could stay here. I told her she could use anything in this house. Who gave you the right to treat her like this?"

Aliyah lit up the second Soren took her side. She doubled over and grabbed her stomach, putting on a show. "It hurts... my stomach really hurts... I think the shock did something. I need to get to a hospital, now!"

Soren scooped her up in a panic and ran for the stairs. On his way down, his shoe landed right in the pool of my blood.

I grabbed the hem of his pants with what little strength I had left. "Soren, please. Take me with you. I need a doctor. If you don't take me to hospital, you're gonna regret it..."

Soren kicked my hand away like I disgusted him. "You hurt Aliyah, and now you want me to help you? Matilda, the only thing you should be doing right now is getting on your knees and begging for forgiveness."

He locked me in the basement for five hours. I lay there bleeding, crying, drifting in and out of consciousness. I nearly died.

I already knew. My baby was gone.

Maybe it was better this way. With the baby gone, there was nothing left tying me to Soren. Not a damn thing.