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Could it be true?

Am I pregnant?

My mind flashes back to the look Aurora gave me in her room, the way her gaze had dropped pointedly to my stomach. Almost like she could sense something about me was different.

Almost like she could scent it on me. Is Gavyn scenting it on me now?

All the nausea, throwing up.

I’d thought it was just the heartbreak of realizing Augustus would never choose me—that he was actively marrying someone else. But maybe it was something else.

Morning sickness.

A wave of dizziness washes over me as the realization settles in. All at once, I can tell that I’m pregnant. It’s like a shift of perspective, and I can suddenly see the little person inside me, growing, getting bigger.

A piece of Augustus.

What am I going to do?

Running away from the territory as his fated mate was one thing, but being pregnant? It could be considered kidnapping. They would come after me, right? If I was carrying an heir?

Or would he deny that, too?

What makes me think Augustus would want our child if he doesn’t want me?

No—I need to find a way to get away from Gavyn and get away from the Kault territories altogether. I need to make sure nobody ever finds out about the pregnancy.

I will protect this baby, no matter what it takes.

“Just think about it!” Gavyn says, throwing his hands up and laughing gleefully. “You’re so valuable to the alpha king despite being worth nothing at all. It’s fucking perfect. A perfect little pawn for me to use against those assholes.”

My eyebrows raise without my consent, and Gavyn latches onto it, spinning around and pinning me with a stare.

“You might have Stockholm syndrome at this point,” he sneers, “but maybe you remember what it was like to live on the outskirts? Fighting for scraps? Constantly bombarded with the shifters they don’t want? Some guy commits a murder? Send him to the outskirts! Make him an outcast and kick him out here, despite the fact that kids live here.”

“Damn straight,” one of the other alphas says, and this time, Gavyn approves of the commentary, nodding and grinning and continuing in his pacing. One of the lights behind him—almost like a spotlight from a football field or something—flickers ominously.

“Hoarding all the supplies, constantly expanding their territory and swallowing up the people out here. They don’t give a fuck about anyone not in their pack, and it fucking shows. We’re tired of it.” Gavyn pauses, and his voice drops. “They want to come out here and fuck with my family? Play with my baby?”

He turns to me, a malicious smile spreading over his lips, “…maybe I’ll have to consider what I’m doing about Augustus’s little one. Does he even know?”

I just stare at Gavyn, say nothing.

“I bet he doesn’t, does he?” he practically purrs, walking toward me, getting close enough to brush the hair out of my face. “I bet he’s got you locked up in some sex dungeon so he can come have you when he wants. I bet it kills you that he’s got a wife, a real mate for the world to see. Skinny, perfect. Pretty.”

My vision blurs as I hold myself still. I feel lightheaded, heat behind my eyes. A floating sensation in my chest, like someone has pumped me full of helium.

It occurs to me that I didn’t have dinner the night before. That I don’t know how long it’s been since I left the castle, or since I ate. At least it means there’s nothing for me to throw up, to have caught against the gag and choking me to death. But it does mean that I’m feeling more and more faint.

Slowly, still looking at me, Gavyn reaches into his pocket and withdraws a switchblade. Snapping it up and into place, he stares at me, dropping his attention down to my stomach.

“But maybe I won’t keep you, use you as a pawn,” he muses, tipping his head as he stares at me. “Maybe I’ll cut you open and leave you bleeding out here with that brand new baby of yours. Something for Augustus to find when he arrives.”

My stomach lurches. I’ve only just realized I have a baby, and I’m already failing at protecting her. Already putting her in danger because of my own stupid, reckless actions.

Now, I struggle against the restraints, even though I told myself I wouldn’t.

It makes Gavyn smile, a laugh bubbling out of him. The men behind him—the other alphas—don’t look as happy about the idea of cutting me open and taking my baby from me, but they don’t speak up against the idea.