KIERAN
"Repeat what you said," Shaun was the first to break the silence in the room. I thought I was going to be the one given how hard my heart was beating. The heart monitor was still beeping, but not as loud as before.
He and his father had stepped away from my bed to confront the doctor, and I sat there, squeezing the shock out of myself. The doctor looked scared at first. She kept taking steps back as Shaun approached her until she wasn't able to move again.
"What did you say?" Shaun asked again.
"She's pregnant. Two weeks pregnant. I was going to congratulate you after I discharged her and broke the news to her first, but you and your father arrived seeking for…"
"How?" I heard me asking myself. How was I two weeks pregnant? Shaun's gaze drifted to me, his anger visible in his red eyes. I thought I heard him asking the same question I asked myself. How?
"Barely a month after our mating ceremony and you are sleeping around?" He started off quietly, approaching my bed. "Answer me!" He yelled, crashing his balled fist into the heart monitor. I jolted as fear filled my body.
It's glass shattered, leaving its wires sparking. "I…I," I tried to speak, but an earthquake couldn't be compared to how my mouth was trembling. My words disappeared, and all that was left were my thoughts.
Exactly a week after the mating ceremony was when I started experiencing the lack of memories, blood on my legs, sore thighs and red marks around my legs which showed signs of unconsented insertion into my private part.
I didn't want to draw conclusion yet because I believed it was not possible, especially in a pack like this. Now, look where my denial has landed me. My eyes widened as it all started making sense. I was drugged and raped. Not once, but thrice.
My mouth fell wide open, tears streaming down my eyes as I stared at Shaun. How would he believe me? How would anyone believe me?
"I…I…was…I was…"
"Enough!" Shaun silenced me.
"That's enough Shaun. Whatever happened has happened. All we need from her is right there, on her shoulder," His father intervened. He didn't mean any good either, but atleast he had brought a calm atmosphere to the situation.
"Are you suggesting I look past the fact that my mate is carrying another man's child in her? Is that it, father?"
"No, Shaun. But priorities first, let's not forget that," Alpha Dante cleared. I was listening to them, and at the same time trying to bring my head around the fact that another life was growing inside me. My tears refused to stop, neither was I ready for it to.
It was clear they wanted something from me. Something tied to the mark on my shoulder. Whatever answer they wanted from me, I had no idea of it.
The conjoined half sun, half moon and a four pointed star was a mark on my body which I had always wanted to know more about. I read no deep meaning into it, but as I grew, I became more curious. Now the Alpha and his son have made it clear to me that it wasn't ordinary.
Maybe this was an opportunity from the moon goddess to finally get the freedom I've craved my entire life. I sighed, glancing at the doctor who looked like she was reading my thoughts.
"Rest," I read the word from her lip. Instead, I sat up and cleared my throat, drawing their attention.
"I remember everything from seven nights ago," I started, successfully hiding my fear between my locked fingers buried under the bedsheet.
"And the symbol on your shoulder?" Shaun questioned. I swallowed before giving them the rehearsed lie in my head.
"Whatever you want to know about the symbol, I'll tell you. But it will come at a cost," I challenged with a deep breath. I saw the surprise in their eyes. Shaun wanted to walk up to me, but his father held him back.
"See you at dinner then, Kieran," he said with a smile curving the side of his lips.
*******
As I waited for dinner that evening, I couldn't shake off the feeling of fear and anticipation bubbling in me. I had struck a deal, a small triumph to me. The mark, or what I would call a symbol, had suddenly become a currency of value.
They wanted answers, and for once, I had what they wanted. For the first time since the mating ceremony, I was dressed like a Luna—fitted in a sea blue gown whose corset revealed my curves and my hair pinned up.
It felt strange, like I was imitating the dress and lifestyle of Ivory. She was all about the glamor and the elegance. Yet, I couldn't deny how empowering it made me feel. I was led down to the dining hall, and for the first time, the servants bowed to me.
Their action prompted a smile before I walked past them and sat on the my chair. Shaun and his father were absent, along side Shemei, his beta. Ivory darted a bewitching glare at me, rolling her eyes away with a scofff.
I started rehearsing my words in my head over and over again. All I had to do was stay focused and deliver my lies as I had practiced. After that, I seek for my freedom from this pack. The large doors opened, ushering Shaun and his father in.
All of us sitting around the long table stood up and took a bow, except Ivory who walked up to Shaun and locked hands with him.
He got to his chair, directly opposite mine and was about to sit when his gaze fell on me. He looked…shocked. That was all I could read from his expression during his ten seconds freeze.
"Son," Alpha Dante called him, snapping him out of his mind. We sat at the same time, my heart pounding as I picked up my cutleries.
Everyone had gone down into their meal, asides Shaun whose gaze I could still feel on me. I resisted the urge to look back at him, until Alpha Dante broke the silence.
"The symbol on your shoulder," he dropped, causing me to choke on the meat which was just traveling down my throat. Shemei passed a glass of water to me which I gulped hurriedly.
"Huh?" I blurted after downing all the content of the water.
"This is the part where you tell us how and why you have the symbol on your shoulder," Alpha Dante added.
I made a nod and swallowed. "Right," I breathed, searching for my crammed words in my head. Guess what?
I was blank!
Everything I rehearsed, they were all gone. I opened my mouth to speak, but the next words that followed were words spat unwillingly.
"I know nothing about the symbol. I've just been as curious as you all are about it. I do believe there's some deep meaning to it, but every time I try to remember I feel like it's a memory that belongs to someone else," sang the words.
I covered my mouth immediately with a palm, my heart racing as confusion struck my mind. What just happened? I asked, shifting my gaze from one person to another. None of them looked surprised.
Ivory was the only one who had a smile on.
Alpha Dante's anger was readable. Shemei looked disappointed, just like the other trusted elders of the pack. Shaun's head was buried in his meal, his cutleries working together to tear off a piece of meat.
"The water you drank contained a truth flower planted by you in the packs' garden, Kieran," Shaun was the one to break the silence after he wiped his mouth with a napkin. He fell into his seat— his eyes above me.
"Seize her,"
******