Chapter 4

Tessa

Maybe time was finally fading the scar. That would be nice. I was tired of remembering Eva's attack every time I looked into a mirror.

I met my own eyes in the glass. For just a moment, they looked gold, not green. Must've been a trick of the light.

My eyes wandered down, and I saw a shadow at the neckline of my nightgown. I tugged it aside, and saw a distinct, round bruise at the junction between my throat and my shoulder.

I remembered Leo's mouth on my neck. It felt so good. My face heated just looking at the mark.

I had to hide it. If anyone saw, they'd know just how I got a mark like that on me. How would I explain that?

Okay, there was no reason to panic. I knew how to hide a bruise. That's all it was, just a little bruise.

It was weird that I didn't want to hide it. I wanted to touch it, and remember how it got there. But there was no time for that.

I grabbed my make up kit. I kept it well stocked. I had to hide the marks when Eva went too far. Otherwise people would ask questions, and then I had to deal with the Luna.

Annette hated when people noticed me. She didn't care that Eva beat me. She just cared that someone might think her precious daughter wasn't perfect if anyone found out.

So I was pretty good at hiding all kinds of marks. Bruises are kind of purple and red. So I dabbed on a little green, a little yellow, and blended that into my skin. I covered that with a thin layer of foundation, and just a touch of powder to smooth the texture. There, all done.

I tilted my head left, right, up and down. The light didn't catch on anything it shouldn't. Then I got dressed and hurried out to start my day.

First, I prepared breakfast. I had to make extra, because Leo and his brother were staying in our house. The rest of his pack were camped nearby.

I fried up the bacon and my stomach curdled. Was something wrong with the meat? I held up a raw strip. It looked fine. But I sniffed it and gagged.

I decided to prepare sausage instead. The scent made my mouth water and I had to fight the urge to eat the half cooked links. Why was I so hungry?

Well, I had been up pretty late last night. And I might have skipped dinner. I was so busy serving everyone else. So it made sense that my stomach was being weird.

I grabbed some bread and butter and a little sausage and ate before anyone noticed. I'd get smacked hard for eating before my betters, but if I threw up I couldn't finish breakfast. So I ate quick and then plated everything for the family and made myself scarce before anyone showed up to eat.

I hid most of the time in the laundry and crept out to do the sweeping up. I cleaned the banquet hall while everyone was busy elsewhere. I had to stop several times to rest. Why was I so tired?

A few days passed. I had to watch Eva pretend to fawn over Leo and then sneak off to meet with Zane. It was disgusting. Leo deserved better.

Eva didn't make me switch out with her again. Apparently Leo was too busy meeting with our father. They had to work out details about how the two packs would interact.

Alpha Arthur wanted Leo's pack to stay, to defend our pack against the remaining rogues. Leo wanted his pack to keep moving, because other packs needed help too. They spent long hours in debate, so Eva was free to spend her time with Zane.

It got harder and harder to do my work. I was tired all the time. And I was hungry, but half the time I tried to eat it came back up. I hoped I wasn't getting sick.

If I got sick, I couldn't work. No one would bother to take care of me and I'd have to sweat it out in my room alone. Worse than that, if I couldn't work, I couldn't earn care for my mother. I didn't know how long Eva and Annette would let me take time off before they cut her off.

So I pushed through. I kept out of sight as best as I could and I hid when I had to take a break. I tried to keep up my studies, but I nodded off over the books before I could read more than a few lines.

I was miserable. So of course Eva noticed that I was working slower than usual. She found me mopping the meeting hall and kicked over the bucket full of soapy water.

“Clean that up,” Eva ordered.

I meant to obey. I knew better than to fight back against the Alpha Daughter. So I kept my eyes on the floor and found a towel to sop up the water.

The smell of the floor cleaner hit me all at once. I doubled over and retched. Good thing there was a bucket nearby.

Eva watched me empty my stomach. She stood there with her arms crossed. She didn't look angry, though. There was a light in her eyes I didn't like.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me up as soon as I was done. She dragged me into the bathroom and yanked a little box out of her drawer. Blue Moon was written across the box in pretty, shiny letters. It was a pregnancy test.

“Take it,” she ordered. “Now.”

“I can't be,” I protested. It had only happened once. “Can I?”

Eva shrugged. “If you know what's good for you, you'd better be.”

She stomped out of the bathroom and slammed the door. I took a deep breath. I opened the box and read the instructions. It was simple enough. Kind of gross, but simple.

I followed the instructions and left the test balanced on the box. I stared into the mirror as I waited, and waited, for the prescribed three minutes. I never knew how long three minutes could be.

I looked at my face. Was I glowing? Did I have Leo's pup in my belly?

Were my eyes the wrong color? No, I had to be imagining that.

The timer I set finally chimed, nearly scaring me out of my skin. I took a deep breath, braced myself against the sink, and picked up the test.

There were two lines.

I put it down. I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and opened them. My hand shook so hard I could barely pick up the test.

There were still two lines.

I was pregnant.

Eva nearly broke down the door. She yanked the test out of my hand. I just stood there while she read it and braced myself.

She wanted me to have Leo's pup. I knew that. But Eva bursting through a door always meant a beating. So it was a shock when she hugged me.

“You actually did something right!” Eva held up the test. “Come on.”

Eva dragged me down the hall into Alpha Arthur's study, where he and Annette waited.

“It worked. She's pregnant,” Eva declared, tossing the positive test onto the desk.

I'd expected more questions. Like how I was pregnant when Eva was the one who was supposed to be with Leo. But they only smiled.

“Perfect, with a pup to bargain with, that pathetic alpha will do whatever I ask,” our father said.

I couldn't believe it. He was in on the plan?

Sure, he let Eva get away with everything. He'd barely even scolded her for scarring my face. But wasn't this too far?

I felt sick as I listened to them plot how they planned to hide my pregnancy and fake Eva's. And how they intended to use it to manipulate Leo.

I wanted to find Leo and tell him everything, but I didn't dare even speak up to protest.

“We can rely on you, right Tessa?” Alpha Arthur asked.

I flinched but all I could do was nod.

“Good girl.” Annette said.

I wished I could just run away. But only Eva and Annette knew where my mother was.

A knock on the door interrupted their discussions. I opened it with a bow, as always playing the submissive servant.

It was one of the pack's healers.

“I have the most wonderful news,” the healer said.

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“I have just examined Alpha Leo,” the healer said. “His vision has returned!”