137- The Truth in My Blood
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I nodded.
“Did you know that in Eldoria, males aren’t like the ones here? They’re good at almost everything—and they know it. Because of that, they don’t need to humiliate females to feel superior.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now I understand,” I continued, ignoring him. “You’re not good at anything—besides the obvious lack of character that you all share.”
I gestured with my shackled hands, ignoring the burn on my wrists.
“Small dicks or not, you think you’re inferior, so you humiliate every female, treating each one like trash so you can feel like you’re good at something.” I lifted my chin toward him. “It’s pathetic.”
The growl that exploded from him was no longer a threat—it was a promise.
He stomped toward me, ready to beat me again.
My muscles tightened instinctively, my body bracing for the impact.
I had no time to react before he lifted his leg, aiming a kick at my stomach.
Something happened.
A wave of heat and power surged through me, as if a force inside me had suddenly awakened.
My wolf.
In the blink of an eye, my legs moved on their own, lifting me up and launching me forward toward the male. My fangs lengthened as I prepared to protect myself and… my womb.
Confused, I struck the male with all my strength, the impact throwing him across the warehouse.
I crouched in an attack position, and my wolf growled menacingly, ready to defend the womb or die trying.
“What the hell?” he whispered, confused, blinking nonstop as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened. “Alessio must have hit you too hard.”
Without turning his back on me, he cautiously retreated, heading toward the exit of the warehouse and locking me alone in that filthy, precarious space.
I felt my wolf restless inside me, ready to attack anyone who stepped through that door, unable to look away from it.
I brought my hands to my belly, tears blurring my vision.
Only then did I realize the truth. The truth my wolf already knew, but that I had ignored until now.
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
“What the fuck happened?” I whispered aloud, asking myself.
The Tharnak people only had pups if they were from their fated partners, though I never understood why. And Catalina was Edric’s partner, his other half.
How could I be pregnant?
I had gone into heat, opened my womb, and he had tied with me. That alone was already a strong indication of a pup’s arrival. But not with Edric.
The strange scents no one else could smell, the way my wolf was on edge. The fucking nest!
I felt my legs give out. I collapsed to my knees on the floor, still with my hands over my belly.
So… I was Edric’s fated mate? Because if I was pregnant with his child… Heavens!
The possibility had crossed my mind before. It wasn’t always easy to discover your fated partner. Some recognized each other immediately, one soul seeing the other. Others took months to notice the signs. I knew Alessio wasn’t my partner because I never felt anything different with him, beyond a youthful crush. He was the fiancé my father arranged for me and my future. I simply accepted the fate. Period.
With Edric, things were different, no matter how much I hated him at first. Everything was more extreme, more intense.
The reactions of my wolf, of his wolf.
We mated in the very first instant, even without knowing each other. I didn’t want it, and neither did he, but our beasts gave us no choice.
Because there was no choice. There never was.
I brought my hands to my lips, swallowing the tears.
They knew from the beginning, from forever. That was why she felt so offended when he was with Thalira, even though I didn’t care, because I was too hurt to allow myself to feel anything for him—just as he was, tormented by Catalina’s ghost and blaming himself for having marked me.
Tears overflowed, staining my face.
A sob folded my body, and a strangled scream tore from my lips. I spread my hands on the floor and cried uncontrollably, letting the pain pour through me.
We had been too foolish to notice the signs, too immature. Broken by the circumstances of life. He tormented himself over the death of the female he believed to be his mate, while I was disillusioned and bitter after having my heart ripped out by some son of a bitch.
And now, Edric would never know his pup existed.
He would never discover the truth about us, even though his wolf already knew. That was why he kept hunting for me and wanting to feed me at all times. Except, just like me, I doubted he noticed the truth his beast had already seen.
No! No! No!
I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Death was no longer a viable option. It wasn’t even an option anymore. I needed to survive, needed to fight for myself, for my pup, and for Edric. He had to know the truth, had to uncover all the lies surrounding him, Thalira’s manipulations and schemes. He deserved the truth.
I had felt his emotions a few times while awake, through the bond that tied us. Anger, sadness, and concern. I imagined he was suffering over Anton’s death and angry at me—perhaps because of the lies told about me. Even if he didn’t believe them, I needed to tell the truth.
I ran my fingers over my smooth abdomen, loving with all my strength, with all my heart, that tiny life growing inside me.
My lips trembled and parted in a soft breath.
Alessio had assaulted me, beaten me until I fainted. Anguish and guilt hit me. If I had known about the pup, I would never have provoked him. I caressed my abdomen, my heart small, tight, and tormented. The pup was fine—if he weren’t, my wolf wouldn’t have reacted with fury. He had to be fine.
I swallowed my sobs and sat up straight, controlling my breathing.
Every beat of my heart was a promise, a silent vow to care for and protect.
I was pregnant with Edric Eldoria. With my fated mate.
Pregnant and ready to fight tooth and nail—literally—for the life growing inside me.