Chapter 142
LAS PARKS
I felt empty. That’s all I was. Just an empty space where my baby used to be. My chest felt crushed, my heart torn out. Only a hollow feeling remained.
Astor stood at the end of the bed, like a shadow. He looked lost and crushed but I felt nothing for him. I didn’t feel sorry and I certainly did not sympathize with him.
“Take me home,” I whispered. My
nice was rough, but it was also a strong order. I looked at him, my eyes burning. All I saw was the man who locked me up, who let me slowly die inside that dungeon.
He moved, looking unsure. “Faith, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. You need to rest.”
Rest? How could I rest when my baby was gone? How could I rest when my heart was broken? I just stared at him with narrowed eyes and he understood. His shoulders dropped, and he slowly
nodded in defeat.
“I’ll carry you,” he offered softly. “And I can get you some clean clothes before we go.”
His words felt like dirt in my mouth. “No,” I snapped, my voice growing stronger, sharp like a whip. “I don’t want you to touch me.” My eyes went down to my blood–stained gown. A dark, blaming stain spread across the soft cloth. “And I will walk in this. I want you to see it. I want everyone to see it. See that my baby is gone.”
Astor took a step forward. He reached out his hand, but then pulled it back quickly. “Faith, there’s something you must know.” His voice was quiet and full of guilt. “You are not the one who killed my
father.”
I don’t think everything was just clicking in as it shouldn’t my head because that was the least of my worries.
A harsh, ugly laugh came from my throat. It wasn’t happy or relieved, but full of bitter scorn. My baby. My innocent baby. Died for nothing. “My baby died for absolutely nothing,” I cried out, the words torn from my soul. It was a cruel joke, twisting like a knife in my pain.
He looked hurt, his eyes begging. “I didn’t know you were pregnant, Faith. If I had known, I promise I would never have put you in the dungeon. I’m not trying to make excuses, but the people… they would have been very angry. Some of them would have even tried to kill you. The dungeon was the only place you were safe.”
Safe? Safe? The word bounced in my head, making fun of me. “The problem isn’t the dungeon, Astor!” I cried out, my voice cracking. “The problem is that you didn’t even listen to me! I truly thought I killed your father. But I never meant to. The person I wanted to kill was Kyle. But
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Chapter 140
somehow your father… he ended up being the one lying there, bleeding. The memory was like a foggy bad dream.
“All I could think was that I must have done it. And Kyle, I said his name like it was poison, “Kyle
made me think I did it. Then he just vanished, right in front of me.”
Astor moved closer, trying to put his hand on my arm. “Faith, I’m so sor-
“Stay away from me!” I pulled back. My body jumped away from his touch as if it were fire. I pushed myself off the bed. My legs were shaky, but I stood up. I would walk. Even if I had to crawl, I would walk. Astor followed, a quiet, heavy shadow behind me.
When we stepped out, the hospital hallway was quiet. But it seemed everyone already knew. Pack members stared. Their eyes, which once hel a mix of shock and something like pity. I ignored them. I kept my eyes straight ahead. Every step was a new sharp pain, a reminder of what I had lost. But I kept going. My blood–soaked gown dragged behind me. It was like a flag of my pain, a silent way to blame them.
The walk home felt like it would never end. Each step was a heavy load. Astor never spoke, never touched me. He just walked a few feet behind. When we finally got to the front door of the house, I stopped. I couldn’t go inside. Not looking like this.
I turned to him. My voice was flat, holding no feelings except a deep, cold hate. “I hate you, Astor. I hate being near you.” My eyes went to the house, to the life inside. “But I have two beautiful and smart kids in there.” My voice grew softer. A small bit of warmth appeared in my cold soul. “They will immediately see the blood. They will see how I look. They will be very upset.” The idea of their innocent faces seeing me like this, seeing their mother broken, was too much to bear. “I don’t want that for them.” My voice grew hard again as I looked back at him. “So, I want you to carry me. Hide me from their eyes.”
He didn’t wait this time. He just nodded. His eyes were full of sadness, but I didn’t want to see it. He gently lifted me into his arms, as if I were made of glass. I leaned against him. My body took the comfort, even though my mind was angry about it. Luckily, the kids were not in sight. He carried me up the stairs, past the living room, past the sounds of the house, right into my
bedroom.
He gently put me down on the edge of the bed. My room. My own space. But his scent was everywhere. It made my skin feel itchy and wrong.
“Take all your things out of this room,” I ordered, my voice strong. “I don’t even want to smell you close to me.” I looked at him, daring him to fight back. “If you can’t do that, then I’m taking my and leaving this house. We’ll go so far away you’ll never find us.”
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His face showed great pain, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t soften. I couldn’t. The only reason I’m letting you stay in this house,” I went on, “is because Marco has a chance to get to know his father. It’s not fair for him to lose you. And Isabella… she still needs to see us together as a couple so she will accept me as her mother.” My voice became cold and harsh. “But us? We are only parents and
mates because our wolves force us to be. And most important, I am still going to be the Luna of this pack. One day, my son will be the Alpha, and this… this is his future.”
My wolf inside me howled. It was a deep, wild cry of a broken heart. A pain so strong it felt like it would rip me apart. It wanted its mate. It wanted comfort. It wanted to get better. But I wouldn’t give in. I wouldn’t let it happen again. I knew the truth clearly: he would always make mistakes. He would always say sorry. And then we would just have to try to move on, pretending everything was
fine.
But not this time. Not ever again. I closed my eyes. A silent promise formed deep in my broken
soul. This pattern stops now.
