Chapter 4

Ashton lifted Kathy into his arms in a bridal carry, striding away without a backward glance. He tossed one final command over his shoulder.

"Clean up your own blood yourself."

Every wolf in the Pack House had received Ashton's orders through the mind-link—only after my daily blood donation would they allow me to see my pup.

I was restrained in a silver-lined chair while they drew my blood, the metal burning my wrists as I struggled.

At that moment, my wolf suddenly let out a cry of anguish.

"Damn it, what are they doing?" I felt a piercing pain spreading through my entire body via our mate bond, more intense than the silver burn on my wrist.

During my pregnancy and the time after giving birth, I had been weak, and to maintain the health of the fetus, my wolf had been almost dormant. Because of this, I had never felt my mate's betrayal.

Today was the first time I felt betrayal through the mate bond. It was so utterly heartbreaking.

Images of him making love to Kathy flashed fragmented across my mind through our bond. His hands caressing her breasts, her writhing obscenely beneath and above him. Each vision pierced through me like a blade, leaving me gasping for breath as I collapsed in the chair.

That's when Kathy walked in carrying a wooden bowl.

"Luna Elaine, you must be exhausted from this!"

"I've prepared a special herbal broth to restore your strength. You should drink it while it's warm!"

The overwhelming scent of fresh blood mixed with wolfsbane flooded my nostrils, triggering my wolf's immediate rejection. I couldn't stop myself from dry heaving.

"Get away from me!"

Kathy stumbled backward at my snarl, her hand "accidentally" releasing the bowl. It shattered against the marble floor, the crimson liquid spreading like a accusation.

"Luna Elaine, I'm sure you could feel it just now—I was having sex with Ashton. He complimented me on being sexy and beautiful, unlike you, who lie in bed like a corpse with no passion whatsoever."

"You have no idea how strong he is. He fucked me so hard that my entire body is aching. Look, the marks on my neck still haven't healed."

"I've worked so hard to satisfy his sexual desires for you, and now I have to drag my exhausted body here to help replenish your energy. How can you be so ungrateful!"

"Shut up, you disgusting whore, stay away from me!" I roared, her words making my stomach turn with nausea.

"I'll leave after watching you get your blood drawn." She laughed exaggeratedly, gesturing for the pack's therapist to come forward and draw my blood.

Just as the therapist finished drawing one hundred milliliters of blood, Casey suddenly grabbed the needle and brutally shoved it back into my vein.

She replaced the full blood bag with an empty one, her eyes gleaming with malice as she watched my blood drain into the new container.

"Miss Kathy, taking this much blood could kill her!" The healer's voice trembled with fear.

Kathy ignored the warning, her fingers pressing down harder on the needle to keep it in place.

"Shut your mouth! I'm carrying the Alpha's heir—I give the orders here!"

"One hundred milliliters is pathetic, not nearly enough for the ritual preparation. From now on, extract one thousand milliliters from her daily!"

"Anyone who displeases me will share Elaine's fate!"

The healer's lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't dare protest further.

"Kathy Thorne! If you consume my blood, you'll face divine retribution!"

Kathy threw back her head and laughed, leaning down to whisper directly into my ear.

"Elaine, you really are pathetically naive!"

"Why would I drink something so revolting?"

"Your blood? I've been feeding it to the wild dogs in the forest!"

"Though even the mangy strays refuse it—they catch one whiff and bolt. So I just dump it down the storm drains instead!"

The massive blood loss made my vision blur and darken around the edges. My wolf whimpered weakly in my mind before everything went black.

During my unconsciousness, Kathy continued her brutal routine, extracting one thousand milliliters from me daily without fail.

When I finally regained consciousness after the pack healer's desperate intervention, the omega nursemaids were already waiting with my pup, who was wailing from hunger.

My baby suckled desperately at my breast for what felt like hours, but nothing came. Not a single drop of milk.

"What are we going to do? The Luna's body doesn't have enough blood left to produce milk!"

"The young heir is allergic to formula—he can only keep down small amounts of bone broth. At this rate, he'll starve within days!"

I forced my weakened body upright, stumbling through the Pack House corridors searching for Ashton.

"Ashton! Please! I'm begging you! Stop letting her drain my blood!"

Before I could finish, Kathy clutched her belly and burst into theatrical sobs.

"Ashton! Elaine's pup is draining all her resources—all her blood is converting to milk for him, and now there's nothing left for my medicinal treatments!"

"Without the blood essence, how will our pup in my womb get proper nutrition!"

"That's not true, Ashton!"

"Kathy is lying! She's nearly bled me dry! She's trying to starve our son to death!"

Ashton's boot connected with my ribs, sending me sprawling across the floor.

"Elaine! Have you no shame!"

"I provide you with the finest meats from our hunts and the safest den in the Pack House! We only take one hundred milliliters of your blood—stop this pathetic performance!"

"If you refuse to nurse your own pup, then you forfeit the right to see him! Formula will sustain him just fine! I refuse to believe my own son will starve to death!"