REJECTED BY MY MATE, LOVED BY A RUTHLESS LYCAN

CHAPTER 3: ELORA'S POV

A sudden chill invaded my bones, and the moist smell of dampness and decay clung to the air. My body ached, heavy as lead, my limbs weak as I lay there slowly awakening from unconsciousness.

My head pounded, the dull pain in my side forcing me to recall the fall. I blinked through the dim, flickering illumination. Iron bars. Stone walls. Chains ringing somewhere in the distance. A dungeon.

Panic struggled up my throat. My hands went to my stomach, instinctively shielding the life within me. My baby. My heart pounded. Where was I? What had happened?

Then I heard his name.

"Alpha Luther," a harsh voice snarled from behind the bars. My blood ran cold. I knew that name. So did all of them. The rogue Alpha. Heartless. Ruthless. A monster whispered in fear. I had fallen straight from one nightmare into another.

My voice ripped through the silence. "Let me out of here!" My fists pounded against the metal bars. "I'm not your prisoner! Let me out!"

Footsteps approached, and a man appeared, a doctor, judging by his coat and the medical bag slung over his shoulder. He peered at me through the bars, his face oddly soft compared to the cold, hard walls around us.

“Calm down,” he said, his voice steady but cautious. “You’re safe for now.”

"Safe?" I spat, my tone harsh with disbelief. "I'm in a dungeon! How am I safe? Get me out of here.”

He started to say something before a second presence filled the space, a dark, heavy energy that made my arm hairs stand on end. Boots rang out on stone flooring, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

Alpha Luther.

His physique blocked the doorway, standing over me and ominous. Black, predator-keen eyes pinned me in place. His presence weighed upon me, oppressive and immovable. I met him head-on, refusing to duck under.

His voice was low and glacial, his tone implacable. "You fell into my pit trap. And anyone who falls into it stays in the dungeon. That is the law."

I gritted my teeth, fists clenched at my hips. "I didn't mean to trespass on purpose. I was running for my life!"

The doctor's voice cut in, soothing but firm. "Alpha, she can't stay down here. Not in her condition."

Luther's eyes tightened. I watched the look of confusion pass across his face. "What condition?"

The doctor paused, then swept the Alpha off. I stretched my ears, each strand of muscle constricting as their whispered words penetrated me behind bars.

"She's pregnant," the doctor said firmly.

Luther's reply was swift, his voice rising sharply in denial. "No!" he growled. "I'm not so desperate!"

The finality of his voice struck through me. I was struck with the anguish of his distaste though it wasn't directed at me, it was directed at the idea. The idea of me, my child.

The receding sound of his boots in the air, the doctor behind. I was left alone again in the cold silence.

My frame sagged, and a sob burst out of my mouth. I slid down the grimy wall to sit on the damp floor, cradling my knees. "Zeus," I panted. "You did this to me…" My hand lay on my belly. "You made us go through all this.”

Weary and grief finally got the best of me, and my body succumbed to sleep, my tears drying against my face.

The clanging metallic ring of keys against metal jolted me awake. I opened my eyes and swung the heavy iron door open.

Two guards stepped aside, and he walked through. Alpha Luther.

"Stand up," he growled, his tone short.

My body protested as I struggled to my feet, but I stood upright, jaw clenched, not wanting him to notice my fear.

I was moved forward, my feet scraping across the cold stone floor until I was in a large room. A blackwood throne loomed above me, and on this sat the rebellious Alpha. Beside him, the doctor stood, his face politely passive, though something seemed to hide in his eyes, pity?

Luther's eyes pinned me where I was standing. There was something unbreakable in his stare. Not cruelty exactly, but something colder. Cold-calculating.

Finally, he spoke. "You want out?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the tension. "You want your freedom?"

I swallowed hard, my mouth parched. "Yes," I replied, my voice steady. "I do.".

His jaw was clenched, and for a moment, he seemed to fight with something within him. When he spoke again, his voice shattered the silence.

"I will grant you your freedom," he declared, his voice like iron. "On one condition."

My heart pounded in desperation. "What condition?"

His eyes burned into me, his voice dropping like a judgment.

"Your child shall be mine."

The breath was sucked from my lungs. I tensed, every muscle in my body locked in place. My lips parted, but nothing came out.

"W-What?" I stammered, hardly able to get the sound out. "What do you mean?"

His face remained unyielding, unreadable. "You will carry that child under my protection," he growled. "But from the moment it is born, it will be mine."

The ground might have opened up under me, and I would not have cared. My heart thudded, my fingers shaking at my sides.

I burned with anger, with desperation, with disbelief. "You can't be serious," I got out, shaking with rage. "That's my baby!"

His eyes sparkled with something hard and wary. "It's the only offer you'll receive."