14- Bound by Heat and Chains
POV Lunara Grimwald:
I pressed the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, struggling to breathe. It was obvious that Edric wasn’t just an ordinary alpha but the leader of a pack. And that made my situation even worse because it made his life far too important—and since mine was tied to his…
I was so screwed. I had just escaped from one alpha only to fall into the claws of another. How the hell was I supposed to escape not only Edric, but his entire pack? They would never let me go, not with their alpha’s life intertwined with mine.
On one side, I was hunted as a traitor for running away without my alpha’s permission. On the other, I was bound to a leader.
Perfect.
"She is nothing," he hissed, looking at me with the same disgust I’d seen before in his eyes. "And she will never be anything."
"So what do you plan to do with her?" Lyris asked, crossing her arms and looking slightly dissatisfied with her friend’s attitude.
"She’s staying here. I can’t let her run away and end up dead. If she dies, I die. She’s far too weak to walk around, free and alone."
I stared at him, blinking in boredom, while he poured out an endless stream of insults at me.
I couldn’t care less about what they thought of me. Their opinion wasn’t important. At some point, I would escape, and I prayed I would never have to see any of them again.
"Are you… okay with this?" Lyris asked, letting out a heavy sigh.
Edric’s eyes shone, reflecting a storm of conflicting emotions, but the strongest that emanated from him, and that I could feel, were guilt and shame. There was something there. Something that suggested a past.
His jaw tightened.
"I don’t have a choice. She’s a fact and a burden I’ll have to carry. I just want to discover the truth about her and try to understand what happened."
Lyris nodded.
"I know there’s a way to end this, a ritual," I said, speaking for the first time.
Although my pack was against mating, I had heard stories of a couple who had gone through the ritual. No one knew for sure what had driven them to try to break the blood vows, because neither returned to tell the truth. Even so, there was a possibility, no matter how dangerous it was.
Anton and Andrei widened their eyes, as if they hadn’t expected to hear my voice so soon, and Lyris went still. Edric laughed loudly, crossing his arms and turning to me.
"She actually speaks," Andrei mocked.
"Speaks way too much," Edric shot back, raising a brow.
"If you’re so informed about the matter, then you must also know it’s extremely dangerous and, most of the time, leads to the couple’s death."
I gave him a bored look.
"Death is a much better option than being tied to you," I hissed.
"In case you haven’t realized, I have an entire pack depending on me."
The three heads turned toward us, watching in silence.
"And in case you haven’t realized, that’s not my problem."
He moved away from the counter and advanced toward me, overtaken by his explosive temper.
"You’re not going to die, Lunara, because I won’t either. So whatever you’re planning, get it out of your head or you’ll face the consequences."
He wouldn’t let me go free, nor would he give me the only chance I had to make it happen?
"Not every couple dies," I insisted.
"Not every couple, but the vast majority—if you can’t listen properly."
"Still, it’s a possibility."
His fists tightened, completely losing his patience with me.
"Which is out of the question," he retorted.
Him not wanting it didn’t mean I’d abandon the possibility. I wouldn’t stay his prisoner, spending the rest of my life being humiliated and mistreated.
Something twisted inside me. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair.
"So your plan is to keep her locked up?" Andrei asked, sounding confused.
"The pack will smell her on you, they’ll soon realize you’ve mated," Anton added.
"I don’t plan to lie to anyone. They’ll know I mated, but not under what circumstances. They need to know, so they protect her the same way they protect me, since our lives are linked."
"And she’s going to live as your wife?"
"She will never be my wife," he growled. "She’ll be the wolf I mated with. Nothing more."
"And what if I’m pregnant?" I asked. He laughed.
"Believe me, little wolf, there’s no chance you’re pregnant."
I raised a brow.
"As far as I know, omegas get pregnant during heat. I’m in heat, and you released your knot, ejaculating inside me." I paused for a second. "But my wolf didn’t open the womb, so that might be a good sign." I turned to him. "Unless the means of reproduction in your pack are different, it’s very possible it happened."
He blinked, seeming surprised by the information.
It wasn’t common for a wolf to knot an omega, nor for an omega to open the womb for him. That part belonged much more to our wild nature, to our animals—although sometimes it was our choice. But in this specific case, Edric’s wolf deemed me worthy of a knot, while my wolf didn’t find him worthy to open the womb. Not yet.
"You’re not pregnant," he reaffirmed. I gave him a sidelong look. He snorted and added, "I can’t get anyone pregnant," he confessed. And though he tried to sound indifferent, I could feel his emotions and knew deep down it wasn’t indifference he felt. He cared, whether he wanted to or not.
A sterile wolf. This was the first time I’d heard of it. Omegas went into heat precisely to ensure the continuation of our species, just as alphas and omegas reacted to our cycle to impregnate us.
"So she’ll just walk around as your mated wolf and… that’s it?" Anton asked, unconvinced.
"Exactly," Edric agreed.
"And you think that’s going to work?" Andrei countered.
"Yes."
Lyris, Andrei, and Anton exchanged glances, not really believing Edric’s plan would succeed.
A wave of heat hit me. I pressed my lips together, swallowing a sigh. I rubbed my hand at the back of my neck, feeling the sweat dripping across my skin.
I was still in heat, and it was obvious it would happen again. My body would keep begging for more until my cycle ended.