CHAPTER 2: Blood at the Cliffs
1102 Words
Elira POV
I couldn’t breathe,Mira’s words echoed in my head. “You’re pregnant?”
The warriors stared at me in complete shock.
My body went cold.
She wasn’t supposed to know,nobody was.
I pressed my trembling hand harder on my stomach as if I could somehow hide the truth again.
Rain soaked through my dress while blood continued to slide slowly down my leg.
The scarred warrior looked horrified now.
“You’re carrying the Alpha’s heir?”
My chest tightened painfully,I shook my head instantly.
Mira slowly stepped closer to me, her face pale.
“Elira…” she whispered “How long have you known?”
I couldn’t answer because I didn’t even know for sure until days ago. I only suspected it.
The nausea,the dizziness and the strange exhaustion.
I thought it was stress at first or fear but deep down… I already knew.
Mira looked devastated.
“You should’ve told me.” she said.
“I couldn’t.” I replied
“Does Alpha Kael know?” My heart nearly stopped.
“No.” I said
The answer left my mouth too fast.
The scarred warrior immediately straightened.
“The Alpha must be informed.” Panic exploded inside me.
“No!” I yelled in pain. Everyone froze.
Even the storm seemed to be quiet for a second.
I pushed myself shakily to my feet despite the pain tearing through my stomach.
“You can’t tell him,” I begged.
The warrior frowned.
“You’re carrying the future heir of the Blackthorn Pack.”
“He doesn’t want me,” I whispered brokenly. “Why would he want this child?” I asked,nobody answered.
Everybody knew the truth,Kael rejected me publicly and cruelly.
He never touched me afterward out of affection,never looked at me with warmth and never treated me like a mate.
The child growing inside me wasn’t born from love,It was born from obligation.
From the mating ceremony night where I cried while Kael walked away without even looking back.
Mira’s expression softened painfully.
“Elira…” she said softly.
“I’m leaving.” I said.
The scarred warrior barked a laugh.
“You think you’re walking away after this?” I backed away from them slowly.
“I have to.” I said
“You belong to Blackthorn.” the warrior said.
“No,” I whispered. “I belong to nobody.”
The wind picked up again violently,the warriors exchanged uneasy glances.
Thunder exploded overhead,I flinched hard.
“Elira,you need treatment. You’re bleeding.” Mira said.
“I’ll survive.” I replied.
“You don’t know that.” she said
“I can’t stay here,you know that” I whispered to her.
If Kael found out I didn't know what he would do. Maybe he would force me back into that cage of a life,maybe he would take the baby away from me.
Or maybe worse. He will reject the child too.
The thought shattered something inside me.
The scarred warrior stepped forward again.
“You’re coming back with us.” he said
I looked behind me,the river below the cliff raged violently from the storm.
But somehow it still looked freer than the Blackthorn Pack. The warrior reached for me.
I made my choice instantly and jumped.
The freezing river swallowed me whole,pain exploded through my body the moment I hit the water.
The current dragged me down violently and I couldn’t breathe.
The river spun me helplessly through darkness and ice,I fought upward desperately, but the current was too strong.
Water filled my mouth,my lungs burned. I thought of my baby.
Fear gave me strength,I kicked upward harder.
I gasped sharply.
The storm raged above me while the river carried me farther and farther from Blackthorn territory.
I heard distant shouting from the cliffs and for the first time in years,I felt freedom.
___________________________
Kael Draven stood at the head of the long table while the entire banquet hall remained frozen in fear.
Nobody dared breathe too loudly around him,not after his temper tonight.
The Alpha’s icy blue eyes swept through the terrified pack members before landing on Lucien.
“Where is she?” His voice was calm.
Lucien lowered his head slightly. “We’re still searching.”
Kael’s jaw tightened,the air inside the room instantly became heavier.
Every dominant wolf could feel the alpha pressure.
“She disappeared from a guarded banquet,” Kael said coldly. “Explain that to me.”
Kael’s hand tightened around his cane.
The expensive wood splintered slightly in his grip.
Several wolves looked down immediately.
Kael slowly rose from his chair.
“My Luna vanishes,and not one of you can tell me how.” he said coldly
Lucien finally spoke. “She ran toward the northern cliffs.”
Kael’s eyes darkened instantly.
“The cliffs?”
“Yes, Alpha.” Lucien said.
Kael turned sharply toward the nearest warrior.
“You saw this happen?”
The warrior swallowed hard.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“And?”
The man hesitated,Kael’s voice dropped lower. “Answer me.”
“There was… a storm,” he said.
Kael stared at him. “A storm.”
The warrior nodded nervously.
“It appeared suddenly.” he said
Another warrior quickly added, “The wind became violent. Trees started falling”
“Enough of this,” Kael said.
The room fell silent again. Kael hated excuses.
He stepped away from the table slowly, his cane hitting the marble floor with sharp clicks.
Lucien noticed it,Kael wasn’t leaning on it tonight.
Kael stopped beside the large windows overlooking Blackthorn territory.
Rain hammered on the glass.
“Elira cannot survive alone,” Lucien said.
Kael’s expression remained unreadable.
“She survived worse before arriving here.”
Lucien studied him quietly.
That strange tension whenever Elira’s name came up.
Kael claimed to despise her but he noticed everything about her.
Lucien had seen it himself,the Alpha noticed everything even when pretending not to.
A warrior suddenly rushed into the hall breathlessly.
“Alpha!”
Kael turned instantly.
The warrior lowered his head quickly.
“We found blood near the cliffs.”
Lucien frowned,the hall grew deadly quiet.
Kael’s voice became terrifyingly soft.
“How much blood?”
“Not enough to confirm death.”
Kael’s expression darkened instantly.
“She’s alive,” he said.
The Alpha slowly walked toward the warrior.
“Search every territory bordering Blackthorn.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Check rogue camps,border towns and pack roads.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Kael’s eyes turned lethal.
“And when you find her…”
His jaw tightened.
“Bring her back to me.”
- Writer
