CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

You're pregnant…

The statement, question—whatever it was—echoed in her mind. Each syllable rang in her brain as if the words were played like a metal gong. The air around her felt cold, but her stilled blood gave her warmth.

Her hand, which rested on her stomach in an attempt to replace Aiden's haunting touch with her own, wrapped tighter over her belly. Her brain stuttered for a long moment as each part of her being was paused, with her thoughts struggling to kickstart her malfunctioning senses.

I'm…pregnant, Ruby repeated internally. Everything paused. Her mind scrambled, and her heart bucked, squeezing every drop of oxygen left in her lungs, making her feel lightheaded.

Ruby felt her eyes move robotically from Aiden's still-stunned face and down to her body. Part of her lower body was bare after her shirt had been torn, and she could see the belly—skin marked with scars from the past, but other than that, it was flattened, showing no sign of life thriving within.

The shock that had brought quietness to her soul and held her feelings captive released its tight hold around her throat, dousing her with an electrifying current of emotions.

Fear, astonishment, panic, dread, and denial.

Aiden staggered in his spot. His hand, which still hung in the air, pointed at her.

"You are with child." His words were slow as if he was still trying to comprehend what he had felt.

Ruby placed her palm on her stomach. It was flat, showing nothing, but her heart sprang with the knowledge of Aiden's allegation. She wanted to feel what he had felt and hear the tiny heartbeat—she needed to know if what he said was true.

Tears clouded her vision as she felt nothing, heard nothing. The only sound she could hear was the rapid thudding of her own heartbeat.

"Ho—How?" Ruby questioned with a cracked voice as the first string of tears fell.

Was the absence of her wolf's heightened senses stopping her from sensing it?

"It can't be," Ruby choked on her tears as she brawled on her spot.

It wasn't possible. When did it happen? It had been months since Aiden's ambush—did it happen before then? How could she be so careless? She didn't want a pup—her heart panged at the lie she tried to make herself believe. She wasn't supposed to have a pup. Ruby wanted the gift to end with her. She didn't want to punish another soul with the enervating life of being a descendant of the Moon Goddess.

"How could you?" Aiden asked. The flabbergasted expression on his face contorted into pain. "How could you let him do this to you?"

His head moved side to side as the pain gave way to infuriation. He paced as the adrenaline in his veins kickstarted his need to do something.

"How dare he!" he yelled as he slammed his fist against the wall of the room.

The building rumpled, and a shiver of fear ran up her spine as he continued his assault on the wall.

"No!" Feral growls ripped from him and reverberated through the room as he turned to her. His blue eyes were like ice. "First, he took you away from me, and now, he planted his seed inside you!"

Ruby whimpered as he approached her. He grabbed her arm—his grip like a vice—but her hand sat protectively on her stomach.

"I swear on my life that I will not have it. You are mine! Mine to use, and you shall only bear my pups."

"Aiden! Let me go!" Ruby shrieked, thrashing in his hold as he dragged her out of the room and down a narrow hall.

The hallway looked nothing like that of the pack house, but she didn't stop to look around. Ruby fell to the ground, digging her heel on the floor and leaning back. She didn't know where he was taking her, and she was not going to go so easily.

Aiden turned to her, his eyes utterly dark with ferociousness, and his teeth were bare. "Do not make me hurt you, Ruby. Come with me peacefully, or by the goddess, I will rip that child out myself."

Ruby stiffened, his words chilling her inside. Aiden used her calmness to his advantage, hoisting her from the ground and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" she screamed, clawing at his back—flared her legs around in an attempt to hit a vital part, but he remained unfazed by her struggle as he descended the stairs and walked out the door.

"Only I have the right to bless our bond with a pup. The only blood that will run through your children's veins will be mine!"

Ruby felt stars dance before her eyes when Aiden tossed her into the back of a car. Her head banged on the window, and she was sure she would have a potato-sized bump. She felt him jump into the backseat with her before instructing the driver where to go.

Aiden glared at her as the car began to move. Her eyes ran over the bright surroundings. Evidently, she was back at Redmoon. She didn't know the area they were in, but it was further from the center of the town where the pack house was.

"I honestly don't want to hurt you, so do not make me."

Aiden warned. His eyes reflected how serious he was. But he was a fool if he believed she would remain calm and let him take her to wherever he pleased.

******

Ruby felt her heart flutter as she stared at Aiden, who stood at the far end of the hospital bed she was chained to. The silver of the chains burned into her wrist, but satisfaction reigned inside her at the condition the man before her was in. A deep red slash sat on the side of his face. His shirt was wrinkled and torn in more places than one as she had clawed, bitten—let the rabid side of her out to defend herself.

The hospital room was depressing. The ceiling and floor were white. The bed was covered with a cotton sheet with a whiff of vanilla. The only accent color in the room was the blue curtains that covered the window. Machines lined one wall of the room, their screen black and a contrast to the sterile look of the room.

Seconds later, the door was pushed open, and the pack doctor walked in. he bowed in respect to Aiden before walking to the bed.

She recognized him. He was the doctor assigned to work for the Alpha, Beta, and councilmen. She had seen him a few times when her father's punishments had gone too far.

"Ruby." The man smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's good to see you here again."

She cringed away, repulsed by the questionable glint in his eyes. She didn't make a sound as he began working with his machines.

"I do not want to spend too much time here," Aiden stepped forward, his tone still low with underlying anger. "First, I want you to confirm if she is…"

His words trailed off, but the doctor nodded in understanding. Ruby watched the doctor as he retrieved a tub from a drawer.

"If you can just lift your shirt for me, please," the doctor said politely.

Ruby hesitated momentarily before untying her ragged shirt to reveal parts of her stomach. As much as she wanted to escape and run as far away as she could from Aiden, she also wanted to know if she was with a child.

The doctor splashed a clear, cool gel over her belly before placing a ball-bottomed stick on it. Ruby's eyes moved to the screen. A black and white canvas was displayed on the screen as he moved the wand over her stomach.

Anticipation hung in the air like a curtain waiting to be shredded. Ruby's eyes remained peeled on the screen, but she couldn't distinguish what she saw. Her heart broke through its cage as it moved upwards to her throat.

"Ah, there it is!" The doctor said, pointing to blobs on the screen.

Ruby felt lightheaded as she stared at the incoherent picture of her insides. Her heart swelled as a cry broke past her lip.

"Am i—Is that…"

The pack doctor turned to Aiden, whose face mirrored the epitome of hate. His chest rose and fell as he waited for the man to answer her question.

"Yes, you are indeed pregnant—presumably eight weeks along. You can hear a heartbeat right…there!"

She held her breath as she listened to the soft tympanic thud from the wand. Awe and joy replaced the blood in her veins. Her body shook with cries she didn't try to muffle as she stared at what was developing inside her. Ruby had never fallen in love so fast. Time collapsed so quickly, and as if a new universe had been reborn, her life suddenly took on another meaning. She grew restless, wanting to see it more clearly, to hold it in her arms.

Her fear and insecurity about having her own pup drifted away. She was staring at the fruit of her love for Noah—a pure blend of their genes.

Ruby couldn't contain her joy as a string of laughter escaped her lips. She looked at the doctor, and his lip was in a thin line, not sharing a tinge of her happiness. Unintentionally, her eyes moved to Aiden. Unrefined hate radiated from him as he watched her ecstasy.

Impulsively, a hand went over her stomach. Fear gripped her insides as she realized she had something else to protect, not just herself. The tiny spark of energy burned brighter inside her as if backing her new resolve.

"Eight weeks… from what I know, not too far along, right?" Aiden spat, not taking his eyes off her. "I want it gone."