4

My eyes fluttered open, and my heart skipped numerous beats. My vision was foggy, but I blinked it away, now focusing a clear gaze on a white ceiling.

"Where am I?" I asked in my head, chest heaving.

There was a persistent beeping sound beside me, and I noticed there was something round and transparent over my nose. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move. It felt like a grand piano had been placed on my body. Panic set in, and my heart went erratic.

What happened to me? I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember how I had landed on the hospital bed with an oxygen mask over my nose. A skull-crushing pain shot through my head as I racked my brain, but my memory was hazy.

The door creaked open, alerting me that someone had strode into my hospital room. A creeping sense of foreboding stole over me, prompting me to snap my eyes open.

I tried to turn my head to the side, but it was an epic fail. My body was glued to a spot like I had been afflicted with paralysis.

"Well, well, well," I heard a familiar voice from the entrance of the room, and I strained my eyes to the right to get a view of her. "If it isn't the disgrace we had for a Luna."

My throat tightened, and I gulped down saliva, only to jerk when it pricked my throat like pins and needles. Hot tears stung my eyelids as I remembered what landed me here in the first place.

"You see what I did there?" She materialized beside me, and my eyes raced up her face. "I used past tense because–" she paused, raising her hand to show me her ring.

A lump grew in my throat, making it heavy. Her eyes sparkled with mirth to see me in this state, and her lips twitched into a mischievous smile.

I shivered, trying to move, but I couldn't. The beeping sounds of the machine beside me increased its pace, and she averted her gaze towards it.

"Aww, the poor thing is afraid to see me," she said, holding her hand to her chest with fake sympathy glinting in her eyes. "Worry not, I'm only here to pay you a special visit. Oh, and I'm here to answer your questions, so ask away."

My breathing hitched, and anxiety wrapped its icy fingers around my heart, squeezing it painfully. I parted my shaky lips to speak, but only an embarrassing whimper came out of them. I snapped them shut, chest rising and falling.

"Oh," she threw her head back, letting out a guffaw from the back of her throat, and then returned her gaze to me, saying, "I forgot the doctor said you're immobile and wouldn't be able to say anything because of the abject shock you went through before blacking out, and also, you were asked to remain at the hospital earlier because the effects of the harmful substances on you hadn't worn out, but you refused to listen, now look at you."

My eyes widened, and my mind raced with worst-case scenarios. Had I become paralyzed forever? My body trembled as I tried to move my feet.

As if she had heard my thoughts, Risa said, "Don't worry, you're not paralyzed forever. The doctor said you'll be fine."

I heaved a sigh of relief, shutting my eyes for a split second. My relief was short-lived when she spoke again, "Unless..." She trailed off, trailing her fingers up my arm. Shivers ran down my spine in apprehension.

What did she mean? My heart pounded violently against my chest.

She cackled, retrieving her hand from mine.

"Anyways, back to why I came," she started, rocking back and forth on the balls of her heels. My eyes followed her, watching her every move like a predator watching its prey. "You're probably wondering why I betrayed you in such a manner, and why I was so nice to begin with if I never liked you, right?"

I stared at her, unable to speak. She paused, turning to face me with a hee eyes narrowed into slivers. "Right?" She asked again, sounding like she was getting agitated.

When she didn't get a response from me, she marched to my bed and curled her fingers into a fist, swinging and hitting it against my arm.

I juddered, feeling the pain run up my arm.

"Right?" She tossed a molten gaze at me.

I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling.

"Oh," she pinched the bridge of her nose and then released it. "Ah, I forgot you're as good as useless for now and can't speak."

Agony wracked through me, and I regretted the day Richard brought her into our house. Damn it! I was foolish to have believed she was his orphaned cousin.

"Well, I was never his cousin. I was his mistress, and he never loved you, but married you because of his late grandfather–" she paused, wrinkling her nose in distaste, and then continued, "–may his bastard soul rest in peace or not for causing me so much pain. He refused Richard from getting married to me, but guess who is six feet under the ground and can't stop us anymore?"

Her lips curled up in sick humor, and my stomach churned in disgust. She didn't even have respect for the dead.

"Back to you. I despised you, but I had to get close to you so you wouldn't suspect a thing, and I must say–" she paused to laugh, and he swiped a tear off her eyes. "–you are the most gullible woman I have ever seen."

My chest tightened, squeezing my heart.

"I was so angry whenever Richard visited your room to offload his seed into you. And you're ever so fertile that you kept taking in for my man, so I did what I had to do," she said, staring at her manicured fingers.

My brows knitted into a frown, and confusion creased lines on my forehead. What was she talking about?

"I made sure to serve you tea every morning, tea that would abort your pregnancy," she revealed, shattering my heart into pieces. "When you took in the last time, I had to make sure it would be your last, so I sourced for Raven's wings and shadowbloom. The two most deadly substances to a she-wolf. I put them into your tea, making sure to damage your womb forever. Even the day you slumped in the bathroom, I had given you another one of my special teas to make sure your womb would be totally damaged."

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling abject pain in my heart. Despair lapped over me like the waves of the ocean, and sadness loomed over me, crushing me with its weight.

I swallowed shaky breaths, holding my tears in. She was a bastard! My body shook furiously with anger and disappointment.

"You couldn't give Richard an heir because of me, and I am proud of myself because guess what?" She voiced with excitement, and I swiftly pulled my eyes open.

She gently rubbed her stomach and stared down at it with love. "I am carrying his heir."

My heart sank into my stomach. I sucked in sharp breaths; her words restricted my flow of oxygen.

"Easy, darling, breathe. You can't die yet. Take deep breaths and calm your racing heart," she muttered, using a soft voice that almost made me believe she cared.

Wait, what did she mean by yet? My stomach clenched.

"Richard now views you as a useless and broken woman who no longer serves a purpose to him. Actually, he had always thought you were useless, but he had hopes of having an heir from you. Now that you can't, you're as good as dead to him," she spat, venom dripping down her words, stinging my heart.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, burning every path they took. She let out a low, mocking laughter.

"And guess what?" She tilted her head to the side and dug her hand into her bag. "I am here to put you out of your misery."

I cast a wary gaze at her, wondering what she meant.

Risa pulled out a syringe, which was filled with a purple liquid. "It is time to join the moon goddess."

My eyes widened with alarm, and I tried to scream, but my voice caught in my throat. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't. I was helpless and weak.

"Somebody, help me!" I screamed in my head, heart thrumming in my chest, threatening to break out of my ribcage.

Risa pierced the sharp needle into my arm. I winced in my head, shivering in horror. She injected me with the substance, and my body grew heavier on the bed.

My vision grew hazy, and my joints ached badly. I trembled, and the machine beside me beeped erratically, but she swiftly went to the socket and unplugged it. She turned off my oxygen, and tears cascaded down my cheeks. I jerked on the bed, directing a pleading gaze at her.

I struggled for air. She watched me with a wicked smile, and then whispered, "Goodbye, bitch."

Growing weaker, I stopped struggling and let the throes of death snatch me away, but before I did, I prayed to the moon goddess.

"Please, moon goddess. Give me another chance, and I swear never to make this same mistake again, please," my voice echoed in my head.

My eyes grew heavy until they finally latched as the darkness sucked me in.

*****

Jerking awake, I breathed heavily, throwing furtive glances around. Everything was blurry, and I tried to find my voice.

"Help," I croaked, holding my neck to ease the dried walls of my throat.

"Alpha Tia Moon, you're finally awake!" An unfamiliar female voice exclaimed with excitement in her voice, and the sound of feet rushing towards me pierced my ears.

I blinked the fog away, focusing my gaze on a middle-aged woman.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my mind racing.

"Sage Ivy," she replied, bowing her head. Her hands reached out to grasp my arms, but I recoiled, shrinking from her touch.

"And who is Alpha Tia Moon?" I pressed, my voice laced with confusion.

Sage Ivy's eyes locked onto mine, her gaze steady. "You are Alpha Tia Moon."

I trembled, my lips quivering as bewilderment overwhelmed me.