Alora’s POVI woke up the next morning, the bed cold and empty beside me. Rune was gone. I blinked up at the dim cave ceiling, feeling the chill settle around me as I stretched my aching limbs. I smiled thinking about yesterday night and how Rune took what he wanted without reserve. My whole body was worn out sore in places I didn’t even know could ache. But it was a good kind of exhaustion, the kind that came after the best sleep I’ve had in forever. I hope we can do it again soon to forget all about our future problems. Pulling on my clothes I glanced at Nevaeh, still fast asleep in her crib. Relief hit me like a wave as I noticed her breathing was steady and calm, her tiny chest rising and falling like it should. She is alright. My eyes stung and I had to swallow back the emotion that swelled in my throat. I leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead feeling her soft warmth against my lips. I had almost given up almost thought I'd lose her, and now, here she was alive
Alora’s POVThe next morning I woke up to the scent of roasted meat that filled the cave. It was the fifth day in a row that food had mysteriously appeared, always placed at the edge of the cave far enough away that it seemed like whoever was delivering it didn’t want to intrude. It was always the same, roasted animal meat still warm, smelling so tempting that I couldn’t help but devour it the moment I woke up. It wasn’t elegant, it wasn’t pretty, but I ate like I hadn’t seen food in days because I hadn’t. For the first three days I’d survived on nothing but hope and desperation. The thought that Rune might come back had kept me going but now... now, I was just clinging to whatever kept my body strong enough to move. I need to feed my daughter with the little food I have in my tummy. The sixth day passed the same way food left at the entrance, hot and ready. I wondered if the woman from Rune’s pack was behind it, realizing Rune wasn’t coming back. It was a comfort to imagine that
Alora’s POVDays turned into weeks and the cave became a little more like home. Every morning, Nathan would be there at dawn bringing freshly roasted meat, berries, or a flask of water from the nearby stream. It was a routine that became oddly comforting. Each time he brought food he would sit with Nevaeh and me laughing and telling stories that made the cave feel a little less like a prison. Sometimes, he would sing softly to Nevaeh, and she would giggle her tiny hands reaching for his dark hair or the collar of his shirt. My heart would ache because she will grow up thinking him her father. One morning, he arrived with something different which surprised me. It was a small bunch of wildflowers their delicate petals gleaming in the light of day. “For you,” he said, his voice softer than usual while his gaze lingered a little too long on my face. I took them with a hesitant smil my heart skipping a beat but I brushed off the feeling. After all, he was just being kind. But then Na
Alora’s POVThe next few months with Nathan felt like a fresh start. After accepting him into my life, everything just... clicked. I don’t know how to explain it but the life I was used to has changed into a softer one. The fact that I’m not running away from Rune makes life so much easier now. He knows where I was but won’t bother me. There is a sense of freedom that comes with that. With having Nathan as my partner. He was there every day making sure Nevaeh and I had food and warmth and company. We fell into a rhythm sooner like waking up together, taking care of Nevaeh, and talking over meals he hunted and cooked. He was steady and I began to wonder why I’d ever wasted my time hoping for Rune to come back. Why I hadn’t thought about being with someone else other than Rune? Nathan introduced me to a few of his friends in the forest. They lived nearby though not too close and seemed to genuinely welcome me into their small hidden community. They all wear tropical fits! They were
Alora’s POVI didn’t like the direction our conversation was heading not one bit. Nathan kept saying I didn’t need to worry about my father insisting he wouldn’t harm me. But that wasn’t what I was worried about. I just wasn’t ready. Not yet. I had left all of that behind for a reason and bringing up my father’s name felt like digging up something I wasn’t prepared to face. I had met my mother and it was all chaos Will my life ever be normal like other peoples? Or will I have to keep facing one problem after another because I was born by a goddess? Why was I mortal if my mother was even goddess? Things would have really been better if I had lived with her. But no they threw me into the wolves wicked cruel mouths. I shook my head and pulled back but Nathan reached out his expression soft and understanding. I love just how different he was from Rune. So different that it melts my heart. “Hey,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “It’s okay. You don’t have to face him until you’re rea
Alora’s POVI slid off the bed adjusting the blanket around me before following Nora outside. Nathan stayed behind, settling back beside Nevaeh as if nothing had happened. My footsteps echoed each one heavy with confusion and the sting of interrupted intimacy. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sleep with Nathan. Okay maybe I want to scrape Rune off of me but I’m also glad she interrupted. The second we were out of the cave, Nora’s gaze pinned me like a knife. She was glaring at me, her eyes full of fury and something else that looked like fear. Maybe. It felt like she wanted to lash out, to scream, or even to attack, but I didn’t flinch. I’d seen enough betrayal to keep my emotions steady. “What’s your problem?” I asked, barely holding back my own frustration. “What’s wrong with you?”Her mouth twisted into a bitter smile, shaking her head as if I were the most pathetic thing she’d ever seen. I hate when people think I’m an idiot. “You’re more stupid than I thought,” she spat. I felt the
Alora’s POVWe waited until the third day so he wouldn't suspect a thing before carefully crafting our excuse to send Nathan to the farthest part of the forest to get me something. Anything. He was reluctant at first, eyeing me like he sensed something was off but I managed to play it cool and gave him a coy smile he couldn’t resist. He even leaned in for a sweet kiss. It took everything in me not to flinch under his gaze. I smiled, acted as though nothing was wrong and he finally left, disappearing through the trees with a promise to return soon.The second he was out of sight, panic and urgency settled over us like a cloud. Nora’s friends, all five of them, looked terrified with wide eyes and started darting around like they expected Nathan to pop out from the shadows. But there was no time to reassure them; we had to move. Without a word I grabbed Nevaeh and ran. The forest flew by in a blur, the cold air stinging my lungs as we sprinted, not daring to slow down. We didn’t spea
Alora’s POVNevaeh’s soft giggle pulled my attention and I blinked at them. I had blacked out after taking that dark liquid. I hated that she was in his arms. I want to yank her away but I don’t have strength left in me. Nathan had her in his arms now, spinning her around by the fire he’d built playing as if nothing was wrong. The sight turned my blood to ice. This is so wrong and many levels. My little girl is laughing and cooing while I lay helpless, drugged and broken. I felt the effects of whatever he’d made me drink, settling in one at a time. My limbs are going heavy, my thoughts are clouding.Nathan’s expression shifted as he walked over, his eyes dark with some twisted sense of pleasure at seeing me like this. He grabbed my chin, yanking my face up to his. Then he kissed me, hard and brutal, forcing my lips apart until I tasted blood. I pushed back but he held me firm until he’d had his fill. Until he made sure I had no more strength left. With a disgusted shove, he pushe
Alora’s POVWeeks melted into each other and every day felt the same. It filled with pain, humiliation and torment. The cycle had become my life and when I caught glimpses of myself in the shiny stone walls of the cave didn’t even recognize the skeletal figure staring back. I refuse to believe I was the one in the reflection. Nathan made sure there was food but my body rejected most of it. I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating something that came from him. But for Nevaeh I forced myself to keep going. She needed me to feed her. Nathan’s twisted obsession with her was the only thing keeping her safe and I clung to that fragile hope, even as I felt my sanity slipping further away. My memories were fading like smoke. Faces, names, moments, words, they all blurred together until I could barely tell what was real anymore. Nora and her friend had been dragged into this nightmare too. Their faces were hollow their bodies bruised and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what horrors th
Alora’s POVThe next two days were a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. Every moment bled into the next in a loop of humiliation and despair. Nathan made sure I ate and slept only enough to keep going, just enough to stay alive. He called Nevaeh his "power weapon" now his voice full of twisted reverence. He stared at her like his only salvation. Every time I fed her, his eyes would follow my every movement, a dark hunger lurking there. Once, he tried to reach out and touch my breasts his hand hovering too close to Nevaeh’s tiny body. I shoved him away, my eyes burning with a fury. I can’t believe I almost gave this bastard a chance. He only laughed telling me he’d get his way eventually, that it was only a matter of time. He refused to let me cover my upper body, using the excuse that it was easier to feed Nevaeh that way. My lower half was clothed but every time I sat in that cave, bare from the waist up I felt the shame digging deeper, a constant reminder of how powerless I was.
Alora’s POVNevaeh’s soft giggle pulled my attention and I blinked at them. I had blacked out after taking that dark liquid. I hated that she was in his arms. I want to yank her away but I don’t have strength left in me. Nathan had her in his arms now, spinning her around by the fire he’d built playing as if nothing was wrong. The sight turned my blood to ice. This is so wrong and many levels. My little girl is laughing and cooing while I lay helpless, drugged and broken. I felt the effects of whatever he’d made me drink, settling in one at a time. My limbs are going heavy, my thoughts are clouding.Nathan’s expression shifted as he walked over, his eyes dark with some twisted sense of pleasure at seeing me like this. He grabbed my chin, yanking my face up to his. Then he kissed me, hard and brutal, forcing my lips apart until I tasted blood. I pushed back but he held me firm until he’d had his fill. Until he made sure I had no more strength left. With a disgusted shove, he pushe
Alora’s POVWe waited until the third day so he wouldn't suspect a thing before carefully crafting our excuse to send Nathan to the farthest part of the forest to get me something. Anything. He was reluctant at first, eyeing me like he sensed something was off but I managed to play it cool and gave him a coy smile he couldn’t resist. He even leaned in for a sweet kiss. It took everything in me not to flinch under his gaze. I smiled, acted as though nothing was wrong and he finally left, disappearing through the trees with a promise to return soon.The second he was out of sight, panic and urgency settled over us like a cloud. Nora’s friends, all five of them, looked terrified with wide eyes and started darting around like they expected Nathan to pop out from the shadows. But there was no time to reassure them; we had to move. Without a word I grabbed Nevaeh and ran. The forest flew by in a blur, the cold air stinging my lungs as we sprinted, not daring to slow down. We didn’t spea
Alora’s POVI slid off the bed adjusting the blanket around me before following Nora outside. Nathan stayed behind, settling back beside Nevaeh as if nothing had happened. My footsteps echoed each one heavy with confusion and the sting of interrupted intimacy. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sleep with Nathan. Okay maybe I want to scrape Rune off of me but I’m also glad she interrupted. The second we were out of the cave, Nora’s gaze pinned me like a knife. She was glaring at me, her eyes full of fury and something else that looked like fear. Maybe. It felt like she wanted to lash out, to scream, or even to attack, but I didn’t flinch. I’d seen enough betrayal to keep my emotions steady. “What’s your problem?” I asked, barely holding back my own frustration. “What’s wrong with you?”Her mouth twisted into a bitter smile, shaking her head as if I were the most pathetic thing she’d ever seen. I hate when people think I’m an idiot. “You’re more stupid than I thought,” she spat. I felt the
Alora’s POVI didn’t like the direction our conversation was heading not one bit. Nathan kept saying I didn’t need to worry about my father insisting he wouldn’t harm me. But that wasn’t what I was worried about. I just wasn’t ready. Not yet. I had left all of that behind for a reason and bringing up my father’s name felt like digging up something I wasn’t prepared to face. I had met my mother and it was all chaos Will my life ever be normal like other peoples? Or will I have to keep facing one problem after another because I was born by a goddess? Why was I mortal if my mother was even goddess? Things would have really been better if I had lived with her. But no they threw me into the wolves wicked cruel mouths. I shook my head and pulled back but Nathan reached out his expression soft and understanding. I love just how different he was from Rune. So different that it melts my heart. “Hey,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “It’s okay. You don’t have to face him until you’re rea
Alora’s POVThe next few months with Nathan felt like a fresh start. After accepting him into my life, everything just... clicked. I don’t know how to explain it but the life I was used to has changed into a softer one. The fact that I’m not running away from Rune makes life so much easier now. He knows where I was but won’t bother me. There is a sense of freedom that comes with that. With having Nathan as my partner. He was there every day making sure Nevaeh and I had food and warmth and company. We fell into a rhythm sooner like waking up together, taking care of Nevaeh, and talking over meals he hunted and cooked. He was steady and I began to wonder why I’d ever wasted my time hoping for Rune to come back. Why I hadn’t thought about being with someone else other than Rune? Nathan introduced me to a few of his friends in the forest. They lived nearby though not too close and seemed to genuinely welcome me into their small hidden community. They all wear tropical fits! They were
Alora’s POVDays turned into weeks and the cave became a little more like home. Every morning, Nathan would be there at dawn bringing freshly roasted meat, berries, or a flask of water from the nearby stream. It was a routine that became oddly comforting. Each time he brought food he would sit with Nevaeh and me laughing and telling stories that made the cave feel a little less like a prison. Sometimes, he would sing softly to Nevaeh, and she would giggle her tiny hands reaching for his dark hair or the collar of his shirt. My heart would ache because she will grow up thinking him her father. One morning, he arrived with something different which surprised me. It was a small bunch of wildflowers their delicate petals gleaming in the light of day. “For you,” he said, his voice softer than usual while his gaze lingered a little too long on my face. I took them with a hesitant smil my heart skipping a beat but I brushed off the feeling. After all, he was just being kind. But then Na
Alora’s POVThe next morning I woke up to the scent of roasted meat that filled the cave. It was the fifth day in a row that food had mysteriously appeared, always placed at the edge of the cave far enough away that it seemed like whoever was delivering it didn’t want to intrude. It was always the same, roasted animal meat still warm, smelling so tempting that I couldn’t help but devour it the moment I woke up. It wasn’t elegant, it wasn’t pretty, but I ate like I hadn’t seen food in days because I hadn’t. For the first three days I’d survived on nothing but hope and desperation. The thought that Rune might come back had kept me going but now... now, I was just clinging to whatever kept my body strong enough to move. I need to feed my daughter with the little food I have in my tummy. The sixth day passed the same way food left at the entrance, hot and ready. I wondered if the woman from Rune’s pack was behind it, realizing Rune wasn’t coming back. It was a comfort to imagine that