Chapter 4: A Desperate Need to Run
Ivy's POV
I woke up with a hollow ache in my stomach, my body trembling with an unshakable weakness. The room was silent, except for the faint rustling of the wind against the curtains, and for a moment, I wished I could melt into that silence, disappear completely. My limbs felt heavy as if the weight of my reality had seeped into my very bones.
I forced myself upright, a sharp wave of nausea rolling through me like an unforgiving tide. The moment my feet touched the cold floor, the sickness clawed its way up my throat. I barely made it to the washroom before I collapsed against the sink, retching violently. My hands gripped the porcelain, knuckles turning white as I fought to steady my breathing.
Not again.
This was the third morning in a row, the third time my body betrayed me with this unrelenting nausea. A terrifying thought slithered into my mind, tightening its grip around my throat. I couldn't be. No. It wasn’t possible.
Or was it?
The memories of that night came crashing back, the way Kael had taken what he wanted without hesitation, without care. His touch had been a punishment, not affection. My fingers curled against my stomach as a cold realization settled deep inside me. There was only one way to know for sure.
I found the healer at the back of the pack house, tending to a basket of crushed herbs. She barely spared me a glance before sighing. "What do you want, Luna?"
The title sounded like an insult coming from her lips. My stomach churned again, but this time, it had nothing to do with nausea and everything to do with dread.
"I need to know," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "If I’m… with child."
Her gaze finally met mine, and for a brief second, I saw something flicker in her expression... pity, maybe. Or disappointment. I wasn’t sure.
"Come inside."
The examination was swift, her hands cool against my burning skin. Every second stretched unbearably, my pulse hammering in my ears. When she finally pulled away, her expression was unreadable.
"It’s confirmed," she said simply. "You are carrying the Alpha’s child."
The words hit me like a physical blow. My breath hitched, my vision swam, and for a moment, I swore the ground had disappeared beneath me.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant with Kael’s child.
I wanted to feel something other than fear. Something other than this crushing, suffocating helplessness. But all I could think about was Kael, his cruelty, his indifference. Would he even care? Would he let me keep this baby?
Or would he rip this last piece of me away, just like he had taken everything else?
I turned away from the healer, then said
"Please Do not let anyone know, at least until I'm ready to tell Kael"
The Healer kept quiet for a while before saying "Your wish is my command Luna"
That was the first time I had heard someone address me as that, subconsciously my hands trembled as I pressed them to my stomach. There was no joy in this revelation, only terror.
I had to leave.
I had to...
"Well, well, if it isn’t the pathetic contract Luna."
The voice sent a sharp chill down my spine.
Selena.
I turned slowly, already knowing what I would see, her standing there, draped in luxurious silks, her lips curled in that cruel smirk. Behind her, two other she-wolves giggled, their eyes alight with amusement.
"What do you want?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.
She stepped closer, her gaze flickering to my stomach before returning to my face. "You look so pale. Sick, even. something wrong?"
I said nothing.
Selena sighed dramatically. "Oh, Ivy, did you really think he would choose you?" She leaned in, her voice lowering into a venomous whisper. "Last night, when he marked me, he told me something interesting."
I swallowed hard, refusing to let her see how deeply those words cut.
"He said he felt nothing for you." She let the words sink in, her smirk widening. "That it was just a contract. A means to an end. That he used you for convenience, nothing more."
I wished it was all a lie.
And yet… hadn’t Kael already proven that he was capable of such cruelty?
I clenched my fists at my sides a little sense of boldness showing up within me. "I don’t care what he told you."
"Oh, but you do," Selena purred. "Because you’re still standing here, hoping, waiting like the pathetic little wannabe Luna you are."
She shoved me.
I stumbled back, my shoulder slamming against the wooden doorframe. Pain shot up my arm, but I refused to cry out.
"Know your place," she sneered. "You are nothing."
I turned to leave, but she wasn’t done.
The slap came out of nowhere, sharp and stinging across my cheek. My vision blurred, but it wasn’t until her knee connected with my stomach that the world tilted.
Agony.
Blinding, searing agony.
A strangled gasp tore from my lips as I crumpled to the ground, my hands instinctively flying to my abdomen. The pain was unbearable, spreading like fire through my core. The whispers around us faded, drowned out by the deafening roar in my ears.
Selena crouched beside me, her fingers brushing over my hair almost gently. "You should have never been here, Ivy. You should have never been his Luna."
The last thing I saw before my vision darkened was the cruel satisfaction in her eyes.
I woke up in my room, the dull ache in my stomach a painful reminder that I was still here. Still breathing. My hands shakily pressed against my lower abdomen, terror gripping my heart.
The baby.
A knock sounded at the door, the door creaked open before I could say a word and an unfamiliar voice whispered from. The door post, "You need to leave."
I turned, finding a shadowed figure lingering just beyond the threshold. I could see her face, it was the healer. Her words were urgent, desperate.
"If you stay here, they will kill you. And your child." the figure disappeared
My throat tightened.
Kael wouldn’t protect me. Selena would make sure I suffered. And this pack? They would watch in silence, letting it happen.
Tears burned in my eyes, but this time, they weren’t from helplessness. They were from something new. Something raw and fierce.
Determination.
I was done waiting. Done hoping.
I would escape.
Before it was too late.
For the sake of my child's safety