Chapter 3: The Darkness That Broke Her

"No!"

My eyes went wide with terror. I wanted to beg Derek, to plead with him.

But he just waved his hand impatiently. "Take her away."

The guards dragged me through the hall and threw me into the underground storage room.

The heavy iron door slammed shut behind me. The last sliver of light vanished.

Suddenly, I was drowning in pitch-black darkness. And with it came the memories.

In our second year of marriage, the rival Bloodmoon Pack had kidnapped me.

They locked me in a stone cell with no windows, no fire, no light at all. They demanded a ransom from the Thorn Pack, threatening to use my blood in some dark ritual.

I spent seven days in that suffocating darkness. No light. No sound. No way out.

I clawed my nails bloody. I screamed until my voice gave out. But no light ever came.

On the seventh day, Derek destroyed the Bloodmoon Pack. He broke through the cell door covered in blood, knelt in front of me, and spoke to me in a voice I'd never heard from him before, so gentle it broke my heart.

"Chloe, don't be afraid. I'm here to take you home."

After that, I developed severe nyctophobia. Even a sudden power outage would send me into convulsions, gasping for air.

Derek knew. He knew better than anyone. He'd been the one to pull me out of that darkness.

And now he was the one throwing me back in.

Back then, even a minute-long blackout would make him wrap me in his arms. He'd let his wolf warmth cover me and whisper, "Don't be afraid. I'm here. It won't be dark."

Now he'd locked me in the deepest darkness of my life.

I pounded on the iron door until my nails split and bled. No one came.

The darkness pressed in. I could feel hands reaching for me from all directions. I could hear screams and howls from the depths, monsters dragging me toward hell.

I screamed and sobbed, beating the door with all my strength.

"Derek, please let me out!"

"I didn't push Camilla! Please don't lock me in here... I'm begging you..."

Outside, the guards' footsteps didn't move.

"Luna, the Alpha gave his orders."

A cramp seized my lower stomach. I stopped moving, curled into the corner, and clutched my belly desperately.

Not long ago, I'd gone to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor had given me wonderful news.

"Ms. Chloe, congratulations. You're six weeks along. The baby looks perfectly healthy."

I'd folded the ultrasound into my bag. I hadn't told a soul.

I was waiting for the mate bond to end. Then I'd take this secret to a city where no one knew me and have this baby quietly, alone.

Derek didn't love me anymore. But this child was the Moon Goddess's final gift to me. The only thing in six years that was truly mine.

The darkness stretched on forever. My consciousness began to fray.

Before I passed out, I kept repeating to myself one thing:

Baby, I'm sorry.

Mommy will find a way to get us out of here.