Chapter 17 Fragile Hope
Isabella’s POV
“I can’t believe this!”
“I still can’t actually believe this!”
Sarah’s voice fills the room instantly, carrying a kind of excitement that feels even weirder to me.
Her hands are folded together tightly in front of her chest, her eyes gleaming with joy as she looks at me like I’ve just told her the most wonderful news in the world.
“You’re pregnant, Isabella,” she says again, repeating it like she was the one actually pregnant. “You’re carrying the Alpha’s heir!”
I force out a weak smile the instant she says those words, my fingers resting unconsciously over my stomach, even though there’s nothing there yet to feel.
Because none of this still feels real to me, it feels…like something too dangerous to truly accept or be happy about.
“This is good,” Sarah’s voice cuts through my thoughts as she begins to pace the room now, her excitement bubbling over. “No…this is more than good, because this can actually change your fate, Isabella.”
“No…” I say quickly, shaking my head in protest. “It won’t change anything.”
She stops pacing the room immediately, turning to face me. “What do you mean by that? Do you know what just happened?”
“Yes, I do,” my gaze drops slightly to my stomach, my fingers curling into the fabric of the blanket on my lap. “This child…” I swallow softly, “This child will never be loved here, Sarah. Not by this pack. Not by this kingdom…”
“….and certainly not by Landon.”
The words sit heavy in my chest, even though I’ve just said it all.
“I’m a rogue,” I continue, my voice trembling slightly, but I force the words out despite it. “Everyone already hates me, so what do you think they’ll feel about a child like this? Their Alpha’s child… carried by someone like me?”
Sarah’s expression softens, but there’s still determination in her eyes as she steps closer to me. “Well you’re wrong about that, Isabella,” she says softly. “You’ll see that this pregnancy will change your fate.”
I shake my head in protest again, but she doesn’t let me sink into that doubt.
“No rogue Landon has ever been with has carried his child,” she continues firmly, then her voice drops to a low whisper meant only for my hearing. “You’re the first rogue to get pregnant by the Alpha. Do you even understand what that means?”
I look up at her, unsure about why in heaven’s name she’s making such a big deal about this.
“And not only that,” she adds, “he’s letting you keep the child when he could've easily forced you to get rid of it.”
For a moment, her gaze drops to my stomach, lingering just a second longer before she looks up at me. “That has to mean something,” she says after a long pause, her lips curving into a hopeful smile. “Maybe this child… maybe it will soften him and change him for the better.”
A bitter laughter almost tears out of me the instant she speaks those words, but I force it down. “You don’t know who Landon is,” I whisper. “He will never change. Not for me. Not for this child.”
But even as I say it… a small ray of hope lits inside me. Before I can open my mouth to speak again—
BANG!
The door slams open so violently that both of us flinch. My heart jumps into my throat as my head snaps toward the doorway to see none other than my worst nightmare standing there.
Clara.
Her presence immediately shifts the atmosphere in the room, turning it cold, suffocating. Then, her eyes lock onto me, raking all over my body from head to toe with utter disgust.
“Get up.”
The command is cold, final.
My body reacts quickly before my brain can think, fear kicking in as I quickly force myself to stand from the bed. “Y-yes—”
“You’re going to do all the chores today,” she continues coldly, her eyes scanning me for any ounce of resistance. “Do you understand me?!”
I don’t argue.
I don’t even think.
My legs move quickly to fulfill her orders, but before I can take a step—
A hand wraps around my wrist.
“Wait,” Sarah’s voice cuts in, serious now, nothing like the excitement from earlier on.
Clara’s eyes snap toward her instantly, annoyance etched across her entire face. “What?”
“She can’t do any house chores in this mansion, Clara.” Sarah snaps back, stepping slightly in front of me. “Not anymore.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now,” a wicked, short laughter tears out of her. “Why can’t she do it?”
“Because she’s pregnant!”
The room goes silent, and for a terrifying second, Clara stands frozen, staring at Sarah and me like we’ve just both lost our minds.
“I don’t give a single fuck about that thing inside of her!” Clara barks. “She’s still a filthy rogue and that will never change anything.”
“It changes everything,” Sarah shoots back, her voice rising through the entire room now, “She is still a human being that needs rest and care…especially now that she’s carrying your brother’s child.”
Clara’s eyes darken dangerously the second the word ‘brother’ rolls out of Sarah’s mouth. “Watch your fucking tone when you speak to me.”
“And what will happen if I don’t?” Sarah snaps back coldly, facing her stare head-on. “I won’t. Not when you’re being unreasonable.”
My heart starts racing again, panic creeping in as the tension between them starts to build up quickly. And something tells me nothing about how this ends will be good at all.
“Unreasonable?” Clara repeats, her voice thundering through the entire room now, so loud that it could be heard in the hallway, “You think you have the right to tell me what to do?”
“I think someone has to. Don’t you think?”
That’s it.
The words snap something inside Clara.
Before I can even react—
SMACK!
The sound of Clara’s palm meeting hard across Sarah’s face echoes sharply through the room. I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth as her head snaps to the side from the force of the slap, and she stumbles lightly.
“Sarah!” I cry out, my chest tightening painfully.
But Clara doesn’t even feel any ounce of remorse at what she’s just done, if anything, she looks satisfied. “I see you’ve gotten quite bold since you got mated to Landon’s beta,” she hisses.
Fear grips me tighter now, every instinct screaming at me to run, to do something… but I don’t get the chance.
Because Clara turns to me.
Before I could realize anything, her hand grabbed onto the collar tied around my neck, gripping it tightly before yanking me forward.
“Ah—!” The words roll out of my mouth quickly as the collar tightens painfully around my throat.
“Move!” Clara barks, dragging me toward the door.
“I…please—” I choke out, my hands clawing weakly at her grip. “You’re hurting me—please let go—”
But she doesn’t.
Her grip only tightens.
“Clara, stop!” Sarah’s voice cuts through the tension, but Clara ignores her completely. Not even glancing at her one bit.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t—
Suddenly—
A force shoves Clara’s hand away from the collar. Her grip on it loosens instantly as her body is thrown backward, crashing into the wall with a loud thud.
The impact so hard that her head slams against the wall before she drops to the floor. I stumble back, coughing harshly as I suck in air desperately, my hands clutching at my throat.
What the—
I look up to see Sarah.
She’s towering over Clara now, her chest rising and falling heavily. And it doesn’t take me a second to realize that she’s the one who just pushed Clara.
Before either of us can say anything—
CREAK!
The door opens again, and my entire world crashed right in front of me. Because Landon just walked in.
His eyes immediately land on Clara on the floor, wincing in pain while she holds her head like it’s bleeding profusely.