Chapter 84: Going to die

Auren’s pov

“Dead?” The word comes out so small that I’m not sure Collins heard me.

My eyes stay fixed on him as if staring hard enough might force him to take the word back, while the room seems to shrink around me until there is nothing left except the four of us and the silence that follows.

“From what I understand, that Lycan side of you shouldn’t be able to withstand the binding,” he says. “We know binding is one of the worst things that can be done to a wolf because it traps the other half of them, cutting off the connection between wolf and human until the body eventually starts fighting against itself, and these texts suggest a hybrid body is even less capable of surviving it.”

My stomach twists. I know what binding feels like, even if I have spent years trying to forget it, because it was never simply the loss of my…..other part….that hurts the most. It was the feeling of something alive inside me clawing against invisible chains while I lay there unable to help it.

“The records say three bindings are the maximum a hybrid has ever survived,” Collins continues, his eyes dropping to the page of his book. “The third one killed him, and there is no account of anyone surviving a fourth.”

“Well, clearly she is here, alive and well,” Brandon says, gesturing toward me with a frown. “Unless we have all suddenly developed a shared hallucination. She even looks healthier now than she did when she arrived.”

“Maybe she was never bound properly,” Collins says with a shrug. “It would explain why the binding kept breaking and why they had to repeat it.”

“Hmm.” Brandon rubs his jaw, his gaze narrowing. “You think the witches who did it were so incompetent they failed four fucking times?”

“It’s a possibility,” Collins admits as he flips through several pages. “Or they weren’t strong enough to hold her. If her Lycan is stronger than their magic, the binding would gradually deteriorate, forcing them to reinforce it. That could explain everything.”

The room becomes painfully quiet again. I look up to Alpha Dravik, and I find him going through the book Collins gave him, his expression unreadable. His fingers follow the words as his eyes race back and forth, soaking everything that was written on that page. I wanted him to say something. To acknowledge what Collins is saying.

Maybe he’s finally realizing that making me his mate is causing him too much trouble than he bargained for.

“Alpha Dravik?” I whisper.

His head turns sharply toward me, one black eyebrow lifting. “What did you call me?”

Heat rushes into my face as I lower my gaze. “S...sorry, Dravik.”

I hate how quickly the old habit returns, especially now when my heart is already beating too fast, but I have spent most of my life being careful around powerful people, and he’s still an Alpha no matter how many times he tells me to call him by his name.

He lets out a sigh and shuts the book with a heavy thud that makes me jump. “This isn’t helping, Collins.” He pushes the book back toward him. “There have to be more records somewhere. There has to be something that tells us why she survived, what the repeated bindings did to her, and how we stop it from killing her now. And why didn’t you tell me you found this information on Lycans or whatever they’re called?”

Collins reaches for the book. “These are old books, Dravik. I thought they were just stories, myths, nothing more. I didn’t think I would ever meet a living one. How many years here and we have never encountered anything like that, how was I to know it would become relevant.”

“You don’t. But you should have told us anyway,” Brandon says quietly.

“Again, I thought it was just a myth,” Collins replies, his voice hard.

My fingers curl against my palms as I listen to them talk around me. “Am I going to die?”

Three pairs of eyes turn toward me but no one answers. Tears sting behind my eyes, but I blink rapidly to hold them back. I used to think dying would be easier. There were nights when I lay awake wondering how much longer I could survive being hurt, bound, humiliated and treated like something disposable, and death seemed almost gentle compared with waking up to another day of the same existence.

Now I don’t want to die.

I have Dravik now. I have his hand reaching for mine when I’m afraid, his voice calling me beautiful when I can’t see anything worth loving in myself, and the strange warmth that comes whenever he touches me. I have only just begun to imagine a life beyond survival, and I can’t bear the thought of losing it before I have even learned how to live.

“You’re not going to die,” Alpha Dravik gives me a tight smile, one that didn’t meet his eyes.

He doesn’t believe it.

“I need some air.” I turn before anyone can see the tears finally spilling over, pushing away from the table and walking outside.

None of them stop me or come after me. It’s as if they have already believed the worst. Leaning against the wall, I concentrate on my racing heart, trying to get it to slow down. When it refuses to, I hurry across the ground. People ignore me and I’m grateful for that. I go around the house preparing to go in through the back so as not to run into anybody.

I can’t die.

Not now.

“Finally. I have been trying to get you alone.”

I stop walking, my body stiffening before I turn around.

Cassandra stands several feet away, one hand resting on her hip as her eyes rake over me with hate. She looks perfect as usual, dressed in a fitted cream blouse tucked into a short black skirt, her hair falling in waves around her shoulders.

“Isn't it pathetic how you follow Dravik around like a little lost pup?” she asks. “Honestly, I thought he would have sent you crawling out of this pack by the time I returned, yet somehow you’re still here.”

“Cas...sandra.”

“Cas…san…dra,” she repeats, throwing her head back in laughter. “You changed your clothes and managed to put some flesh on your bones, but underneath all of that you are still the same stuttering, pathetic little slave I met before.”

I lower my eyes, keeping my mouth shut.

I can’t help the stutter. It appears when I’m frightened or nervous, and she knows exactly how to make me feel both. And it doesn’t help that she reminds me so much of Seris and being alone with her makes my stomach knot.

She walks closer and slowly circles me, studying me from every angle. “Seriously, look at you. You’re not even worth being considered a competition.” She stops in front of me and reaches beneath my chin, forcing my face upward. “How are you his fated mate? Is this some kind of trick?” Her fingers tighten slightly. “Did you make some deal with a witch? Are you both playing some elaborate game?”

I say nothing and her eyes narrow.

“You can’t talk, slave?” Her fingers release my chin, leaving behind a faint sting. “What exactly is this Lycan nonsense anyway? Everyone is saying you’re some kind of half wolf. Is that true?”

“I...I don't know.”

“You don’t now?” She laughs, stepping closer again. “Have you never shifted? I thought you were some weak little omega who got lucky enough to catch an Alpha's attention.” When I refuse to answer, she lets out another delighted laugh. “Oh, this is just too easy.”

She leans closer. “A half wolf. Do you really believe Dravik is going to keep a defective creature like you by his side for long? He’s a legendary, powerful man, and a man of his stature needs a strong, pureblood heir to carry on his legacy—an heir even the Council has been eagerly waiting for. Just look at you. You’re barely worthy of standing beside him, let alone carrying his child. I bet that’s why he hasn’t gotten you pregnant yet. How long have you been sleeping with him?”

My head snaps up in shock, my heart hammering against my ribs. My mind immediately races back to all the times we spent together, remembering the unusual way he always pulls out at the very last second to spill something warm on my body or elsewhere.

Was that normal?

He had told me that there were methods he could use to prevent me from getting pregnant right now. But that was before he told me we were fated mates and I told him to mark me. Now we don’t have to wait for the six months of the contract.

Or doesn’t he want me to?

Is he trying to protect his bloodline from my corrupted biology?

"I'm right, aren't I?" Cassandrs purrs, grabbing my jaw again in a painful, crushing grip. "Enjoy being his dirty little pet while you still can, darling, because with the true-blooded son I have given him, you will be thrown out on your pathetic ass before the week is—"

"Cassandra!" Hope's voice roars from around the corner, her footsteps sprinting toward us. "You better not be fucking around with my brother's mate!"

Cassandra instantly releases my jaw, stepping back while I gasp for air, clutching my jaw with trembling hands as my head tries to process what she just said.

Alpha Dravik has a son?