Chapter nine

'Dear moon goddess, I had never lived my life wrong! How could this happen to me?’, Lyra inwardly wailed, staring into thin air, without blinking. 

Alpha Alexander's fists turned white as they clenched the arms of his chair with mixed emotions, but all screaming rage. 

There were no words to save herself from this mess. She deeply regretted not being the first to know about this.

“Do you know the gravity of the disgrace you have caused me?”, His voice thundered uncontrollably, still echoing in her ears even after a minute had passed.

“Speak up girl! You didn't strike me as a mute person the other night”, 

She shivered uncontrollably, with tears glistening in her eyes. 

Her life was already this bad, and she was going to bring a child that would meet the same fate as her? 

All these while, she had held resentment towards her mother for throwing her into the hands of people who did not care for her, but the realization seemed to hit her now. 

“I did not plan for such a mistake, my lord”, her tone lowered in shame, she could barely hear herself.

“Plan? Is that why you sneaked out of the palace?”, His disappointed tone harshly retorted at her kneeling figure before him. 

Her eyes suddenly squinted in anger, as she raised up her head, revealing a hardened expression.

“Yes, my lord”, she slightly bowed her head, raising it up to meet his deathly glares. 

“Who is responsible for this bastard inside of you”, his gaze darkened at her twisted lips, which were ready to loosen at any given time. 

“His features remain blurred in my memory, my lord”, there was a hint or remorse in her words, as it still haunted her sometimes. 

Her ears suddenly perked up at his advancing presence, as she shut her eyes, subconsciously bracing herself up for death.

“Are you saying that you let a man you cannot remember, stick his rod into you?”, His hands slowly circled around her neck, while her eyes flew open in fear. 

“I…I…”, her legs dangled in the air as she struggled to complete her statement. 

Her eyes widened in fright at Alexander's red ones masked with anger, while he growled in helplessness at her, dropping her to the ground almost suddenly.

“You will be locked up for your inconsiderate actions”, his back was turned to her, as if he couldn't bear to take another look at her.

“Inconsiderate?”Her mocking laughs reverberated across the room, making him face her with a gloomy expression.

“You humiliate me in front of the pack, then you f*** my cousin, marking her as your mate. You tell me, is that being considerate?”, her lowered tone spilled out the words in a composed manner, which made his head cock to the side amusedly.

“You forget yourself girl. I have a name to protect…you don't”, his wicked smirk flickering on his face which was barely an inch away from hers, seemed to anger her further as she only let out a bitter smile in return.

“What do you plan to do when you lock me up for this action of mine you've called inconsiderate?”, her defiant eyes remained fixed on his gaze without even a blink.

“I don't remember you having much choice darling. Who knows? You might even grow old and gray in there? Sounds more peaceful right?”, He broke into a cold smile sending chills down to her spine.

Her stomach flipped a thousand times over in regret. She should have never come back.

“What about my child?”Her eyes pleaded hopefully, for the sake of her unborn child. 

“How dare you mention that bastard?”He pinned her to the wall with a burning desire to rip her apart into shreds. 

“The rhythm of its heartbeat, makes me want to end its lifespan already”, he pokes his claws into her stomach, making her writhe in pain.

Suddenly loosening his grip on her, he proceeds to storm out directly, needing to be as farther as he can from her.

“Let me go Alexander…away from the pack. You'll never have reasons to endure my presence any longer”, her voice weakly rang out after him.

His steps paused in their tracks, emitting more rage than before.

“All the more reason to keep you breathing in my dungeon, don't you think? Or do you not appreciate my kindness?”, His cheeks were stretched into a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

“We both know you're just unwilling to let me go. If you do not love me as you claim, why do you care how I get to die?”, She raised her brows in a questioning manner, with a hint of smile in her eyes.

“Because you only get to die by my hands, darling…not anybody else's ”, with his back still turned to her, the weight of his words put her into a temporary despair.

“If I didn't know better, I'd think you were obsessed with me”, she muttered in between scoffs, with her head lowered to the ground as his footsteps slowly became a distant echo outside the doors.

Shortly after that, a good number of the palace guards trooped into the room, dragging her across the carpets with no resistance from her, all the way to the underground dungeon.

As the iron bars shut against her face, the guard walked away without much glance towards her.

She slowly slipped down to the cold floor, taking a moment to process everything that had just happened. 

Her hands moved to her flat stomach in disbelief, rolling the wheels of her mind to work. 

It might have happened as a mistake, but now, she had decided to clear a new path for her unborn child.

Knowing Alpha Alexander for his cruelty and unknown obsession towards her, as he protected her in one second, and threatened to end her life in the next, he really wasn't going to let her out of here. 

Deciding to rest for a while, she shut her eyes to the only world where she found peace—in her sleep.

A few hours later, she awoke from a rattling noise outside the door. 

Her eyes tiredly opened to the sound, not bothering to acknowledge the visitor.

A few minutes passed and there was still no sound heard. She turned her neck with a frown, suddenly springing up in shock at the sight of who she saw. 

“Giving up so soon? I expected better from you”, it was the mother Luna, sternly addressing her.

“Mother, the Alpha! He….he…”, the rest of her words remained stuck to her tongue.

“I know child. This is your chance to leave here as fast as you can”, her feeble hands placed a satchel into that of Lyra's.

“How did you get this?”Lyra curiously asked, but covered her hands in gratitude.

“Make sure to be far from the pack's borders in an hour's time”, the mother Luna continued, without a blink to her concerned gaze.

Lyra had understood by now that she wasn't going to get any answers from her, so she simply nodded her head in understanding, following her footsteps outside of the gates.

“You're not disappointed in me?”Lyra finally expressed the question that had been at the forefront of her mind since her arrival.

“Embrace your path from here child. Now go”, her light footsteps disappeared into the shadows while Lyra's gaze lingered into the direction she left, silently making a mental note to express her gratitude in the future.

Holding the satchel close to her bosom, she ignored the subconscious fear of what awaited her outside the pack's borders. It was death either way and she would not let Alexander have the satisfaction of killing her.

She successfully slipped out the gates, without any of the guards catching onto her scent. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, she decided to open the satchel, curious to see what was in there.

Her fingers dug inside it, feeling nothing but emptiness. Stretching it open in confusion, her throat choked out a cough at the terrible scent evaporating into her nostrils. 

Quickly clasping it back together, she hastened her steps into the woods as she remembered the words of the mother Luna. 

She constantly glanced up at the sky, praying to the moon goddess for her protection and that of her unborn child. 

It was a long and lonely walk inside the woods which was dead quiet, with its usual eerie atmosphere. Most parts of it was covered in mist, making it hard to see what was in front of her.

Just when she adapted to the serenity, a crack sound erupted from beneath her feet. Cautiously looking around, she proceeded to continue her journey more carefully. 

About a minute passed, when she suddenly sensed danger. Being the weakest among the pack, only made her train her natural senses. Especially as she was always the prey, even in the palace.

Pausing in her tracks, and trying to slow down her panting heart, she slowly crouched behind a trunk, large enough to hide her small figure. 

The heavy footsteps got closer and closer, each one had her heart in her mouth as she bit her lips to refrain from screaming. 

In the blink of an eye, the large piece of trunk was flying into the faraway distance, leaving her to face the beast on her own. 

Its blazing deep blue eyes, which produced a strong killing intent, more than the one she's ever faced, the dripping spittles from its fangs, clearly indicated its desire for blood.

And its thick black furs, which blended in perfectly with the darkness of the night. She had only ever heard of this kind from some members of the pack, who bragged about their hunting experience here in the woods. 

Yet, here she was. Face to face with a LYCAN WOLF. How did she escape death only to meet it so soon? 

Its resounding footsteps towards her seemed to have shaken her back to reality as she could only feel the harsh cold of the night, biting hard against her flying figure through the woods. 

The footsteps increased in number as she tried to fight her way in between the thick bushes, away from the pack of Lycans who chased her relentlessly, 

Suddenly, her foot slipped on a broken branch while she screamed in horror as she slid down a hill.

Quickly holding on for her dear life, watching their gloat as they slowly approached her, she let out a bitter smile at the thought of how the life she had fought to keep was about to tragically come to an end.

She closed her eyes in submission, shutting her mind to the fear of the aura surrounding them. 

Its claws were raised into the air, about to mercilessly descend on her.

A few seconds had passed but the pain she prepared for wasn't coming. 

Throwing her eyes open in confusion, she instantly spots a wolf, dark brown furs, with glowing almond eyes, furiously fighting off the rest of the Lycan wolves.

His aura was different. Had a majestic tone to it.

She silently watched him in awe, as every last one of them weakly laid on the ground, backing off in exhaustion. 

It turns towards where she sits in shock, slowly changing its appearance into that of a man. 

She fixes her gaze on his long chestnut hair, which instantly catches her attention. 

“Who are you?”, she retreats backwards, wearily staring at him.

“Come. You shouldn't be alone in these woods”, as if she is hypnotized, she involuntarily inches closer to him, enough for her to take a deep look at his physical features.

“You’re with child”, his cold breath lingers on her neck, while the tip of his fangs slightly graze her shivering shoulders.

“Who are you?”, she moves away, with her hands wrapped around her stomach, glaring at him in suspicion.

He turns his head away from her, marching towards where the Lycan wolves lay, still struggling for breath.

“Who dares to lay a hand on my mate?”His thundering voice bounces on each of the trees in the woods, back to Lyra's ears.

This was definitely not Alexander, so who was he?