When I finally roused from the depths of unconsciousness, I found myself ensconced in a bed, the soft sheets doing little to soothe my aching body.
Ava, my loyal handmaid, hovered over me, her eyes swollen and red from weeping. "Luna, praise the moon goddess, you're awake at last!"
she cried, relief flooding her voice.
"Alpha Daniel was quick - witted. That porcelain shard could have ended your life." I stared blankly at my bandaged chest, my mind struggling to grasp the events that had led me here.
Even my legs, now freshly dressed with salves, ached with a dull throb.
In a haze, I saw Alpha Daniel enter the room.
"You were burning with fever and still insisted on toiling away at those clothes. There was no need to push yourself so hard," he murmured, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.
I remained mute, my heart too heavy to offer a response.
A flicker of remorse passed across Alpha Daniel's face. "There's a grand palace banquet tomorrow. I want you by my side," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I cleared my parched throat, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'd rather not go." "Don't worry about a thing. I've had the seamstresses modify your gown. No one will be able to detect your injuries," he reassured me.
"And when the child returns from the palace, it's only fitting that we both go to welcome him."
Too drained to engage in a debate, I simply nodded.
I knew that come tomorrow, Alpha Daniel's mother would break the news of our child's passing.
The following day, as we made our way to the palace, my heart sank when I saw Sherry trailing behind Alpha Daniel.
The banquet hall was a riot of color and sound, filled with the laughter and chatter of the pack's elite.
Halfway through the festivities, I felt suffocated by the endless socializing.
I turned to Ava.
"Please,. I need some cool air."
As we navigated through the labyrinthine corridors, we came upon a large, ornately carved door.
A cold draft seeped from beneath it, carrying with it an otherworldly chill.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I pushed the door open.
A set of stone steps led down into the darkness, the air growing colder with each step we took.
At the bottom of the stairs, we entered a vast, cavernous space.
The walls were lined with thick sheets of ice, and the air was so frigid that my breath formed clouds in front of me.
It was a basement ice cellar, a place used to store the pack's food reserves and, in times of need, to punish those who had transgressed.
In the center of the ice cellar, I saw a sight that made my blood boil.
Sherry was kneeling before Snow, her head bowed in deference.
Snow looked up as I entered, a cruel smile playing on her lips.
"Well, well, Isabelle. How does it feel to lose your precious child? Not so pleasant, I imagine," she sneered.
"All these years, I've worked tirelessly to make Alpha Daniel loathe you. And yet, you persisted, clinging to him like a desperate, pathetic creature. You thought a child would change everything? You're so naive,"
"Even if I were to cast Alpha Daniel aside, his heart would always belong to me."
I was too exhausted to engage in her venomous tirade, but then she dropped the bombshell.
"You should know, your child could have survived. But I couldn't have that. My people in the palace took care of it. They smothered the little pup," she said, her voice dripping with sadistic glee.
I stared at her in horror, my eyes wide with disbelief. "You... you monster!"
I stammered.
Snow took a step closer, relishing in my pain.
"Oh, and when your child was struggling for its last breath, Alpha Daniel was in the next room with Sherry, moaning my name," she added.
"Stop it!" I roared.
I lunged at Snow, my fingers wrapping around her throat.
But before I could exact my revenge, a powerful force hit me from behind.
Alpha Daniel, his eyes ablaze with fury, had hurled me across the ice cellar.
I crashed into a wall of ice, the impact knocking the breath out of me.
He stood protectively in front of Snow, his werewolf aura radiating danger.
"You never learn, do you? You're a wild, uncontrollable beast!" he snarled, his voice a low growl. I struggled to my feet, my hands gripping the edge of an ice block for support. "It's the child, Alpha Daniel! She killed our child!"
I screamed, my voice echoing through the frozen expanse.
But Alpha Daniel was deaf to my pleas.
With a snarl, he kicked me back down, sending me sprawling onto the icy floor. "Using the child as a ploy again? You're a disgrace to the pack. Stay here and learn your lesson. You'll be released when you've shown some semblance of control," . With that, he scooped Snow into his arms and stormed out of the ice cellar, leaving me alone in the freezing darkness.
It was well past midnight when Alpha Daniel's guard finally had me retrieved from the ice - cold cellar.
I was a pitiful sight, my body a ghastly shade of blue - purple from the extreme cold. The pack healer examined me with a solemn expression, his prognosis dire: the frigid air had penetrated deep into my legs, and I was doomed to a life of disability.
It was the third day that Sara promised me.
I was loaded into a carriage, and as soon as I laid eyes on my mother, whom I hadn't seen in a decade, the dam of my emotions burst. I rushed into her embrace, my sobs echoing through the still night air.
After spending three days and nights in a wild frenzy with Sherry, Alpha Daniel at last remembered my existence.
He made a flimsy excuse to return to the mansion, only to be met with the news that I hadn't set foot there.
His heart heavy with unease, he made his way to the palace and hastened.
Just as he was about to have a servant announce his arrival, he overheard an unexpected conversation.
Inside the room, Snow was speaking to Sherry.