Chapter 15
I stared at my bound hands. Because I refused to join the fight, and he kept fighting until the end.
What? But you’re his lama, a skilled warrior. You should be fighting alongside him. You could have…
“I couldn’t do it anymore! The words burst out of me. “I just… couldn’t stay anymore.
Scarlett fell silent, studying me. There’s more. Tell me.”
My throat tightened. I hadn’t said the words aloud yet, hadn’t fully admitted the truth even to myself.
“Isabelle is pregnant.”
The words hung between us.
“His fated mate, I continued. He refused to have children with me for seven years. Said we weren’t ready, that the timing wasn’t right. Then she shows up, and within months…” My voice cracked. I won’t be the third wheel in my own marriage. I won’t watch them build the family he denied me.”
Scarlett’s expression softened. “Oh, Juno.”
I glanced at Freya, who hadn’t spoken or even moved since we entered the van. “What’s wrong with her?”
Scarlett’s face darkened. “Quinn used to share her with his friends. For fun. She lost a baby last month. Depression. Then he handed her over as a tribute when Clifflands came knocking.”
“And you?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
“Me too. When the invaders came, he didn’t hesitate to have me taken away as Luna.” Her smile was bitter. “At least the Alpha King is honest about being our enemy. Our husbands pretended to love us while they destroyed us.”
I reached over and touched Freya’s shoulder. She flinched, then looked up at me with hollow eyes before breaking into silent sobs. moved beside her, letting her lean against me. Her tears soaked my shirt as I held her.
The van stopped multiple times during our journey. Sometimes for only minutes, sometimes longer. We weren’t allowed out, only catching glimpses of checkpoint gates or fuel stations through the tinted windows.
Scarlett kept up a steady stream of complaints about Maddox, her words dripping with well–earned venom. “He actually told me I should be grateful. That I’d be treated better in Clifflands than I deserved from him. Can you believe that shit?”
Freya eventually cried herself to sleep, her breathing finally steady. I found myself drifting off too, my head resting against Scarlett’s shoulder as emotional exhaustion pulled me under.
“Juno. Wake up.”
Scarlett’s voice pulled me from dreamless sleep. I blinked, disoriented, realizing I’d been drooling on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, wiping my mouth.
“They want us out,” she whispered.
The van had stopped completely. I heard voices outside, commands being shouted.
We exited one by one–Scarlett first, then Freya, and finally me. I squinted against the sudden brightness, then froze in shock.
1/2
Chapter 15
We were at an airfield. A sleek private jet waited on the tarmac, its engines already spinning up.
Move It, Lunas, a male in Cliffjands uniform barked. Alpha King doesn’t like to be kept waiting.
Another male laughed. You should be grateful. Most tributes get stuffed in cargo holds. You get the royal treatment.
Freya stumbled as we walked toward the plane, her legs unsteady after hours in the van. The second male shaved her roughly. “I said move!*
1 snapped. “Her body is still recovering. Back off.”
The male turned towards me. He walked slowly over, a fake smile on his face. Then, without warning, he raised his hand and slapped me hard.
The slap came without warning, cracking across my cheek with enough force to snap my head sideways. Pain bloomed hot and sharp. I tasted blood where my teeth had cut into my cheek.
“You’re in Clifflands territory pow. Remember what you are now,” the man snarled. “You’re not a Luna anymore. You’re a tribute. Property. A slave. Keep your mouth shut unless you’re spoken to. Understood?”
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