Chapter 3 Five Years Later

• “How is she?”
• My eyes twitched as a faint voice registered in my head. Concern laced his voice, making me groan. Loud beeping drowned out the rest of his words as my head stirred to the clashing sounds.
• My eyes suddenly snapped open as images of me running with a bloodstained dress and bloodied hands, jolted me awake. I was petrified by the amount of raw fear the images had brought with it.
• My eyes scoured the white, unfamiliar room and my heart rate sped up. My breaths echoed in my head as I tried to grasp where I was.
• I looked down, surprised to find tubes hooked to my body, connected to various machines and I figured one of them was responsible for the loud beeping.
• My eyes burned, aching as they begged to remain shut. I didn't need to be told where I was, the only question that bothered me was how I had made it to a hospital.
• The last thing I remembered was running into a car—
• A loud gasp tore through my lips at the realization that those images weren't from a wicked dream contorted by my mind to haunt me. They were real, I had actually lived them.
• The door suddenly burst open and a tall man with untamed waves that fell past his shoulders, walked in with a shorter blonde wearing a lab coat, standing beside him.
• He stared at me in surprise then relief before turning to the doctor who donned his stethoscope and quickly approached me.
• He began checking me out, flashing a light in my eyes before writing something down on a clipboard. The two unfamiliar figures had my heart-beats skyrocketing.
• The doctor turned to the monitor and a look of panic flashed across his face. Pain tore through my lower body, making me grasp the sheets as I tried to work through the pain.
• Heat traveled down my body, mapping sweat on my skin. I cried out in agony, writhing in my sheets at the unimaginable pain. My hands dragged down to my belly and panic raced through me.
• “My child, how is my child?” I gritted my teeth as another wave of pain sliced through my stomach.
• I needed to be sure he was okay.
• “That's the thing, miss… if you want to save them, you need to undergo an immediate cesarean section. We have detected poison from your blood tests and it's of a very potent make. I'm honestly surprised as to how you're still alive but if you want a chance to save yourself and your children, you need to consent to a C-section.” His tone was gentle as he prepared a drug and positioned the syringe on my wrist.
• My head was swimming, unable to understand anything but one thing stuck me. They? Who were the ‘they’ he kept referring to?
• Through bouts of sweat and pain, I grabbed the doctor's hand. Veins protruded on my skin as I screamed at them, “I don't understand.” I withdrew my hand from him, afraid to accept whatever was in that syringe.
• He stared at me like I was confused then after a few minutes, his eyes widened in realization “You didn't know?” He put down the syringe.
• My clueless expression had him nodding in understanding, “you're carrying twins… a boy and a girl. Though they're not in the best shape at the moment, you can still save them if a decision is made before an hour runs out.”
• I threw my head back, groaning in pain. The man who had wrinkles stretched on his face, a little streak of white hair that stained his jet black curls, dressed in tailored pants and a casual shirt, walked forward.
• The man glanced at the doctor who immediately nodded in understanding, “I'll give you time to make a decision, press that button when you've made up your mind.”
• Once the doctor was gone, the man gently approached me with tender eyes. He ran his eyes over my suffering body and let out a heavy sigh, “you need to undergo the C-section… it's the only way to save them and yourself.”
• I managed to squeeze him a glare between my suffering, trying to contemplate my choices. Letting a bunch of strangers convince you to sign away your right to refuse getting cut open, didn't seem reasonable.
• But neither was anything that had happened in my life so far. Inasmuch as I didn't trust them, I also didn't want to be the reason why my children died.
• Hell, I was yet to recover from the fact that I was carrying two. How could Maurice have missed that very crucial part of information?
• I wasn't even sure how I planned to take care of one child let alone two when I had nothing on me. Anger seeped through my veins at the unnecessary strain Blaine was putting me through.
• He was the reason why I was in such a difficult mess.
• “Who are you? Where am I?” I hissed at the jolt of pain that raced up my spine.
• “Ask me those later when you're not in danger anymore.” I scoffed at his reply.
• Of course I'd always be in danger, I was a runaway… a rogue because I had no plans to renew my oath to Crimson Valley.
• I laughed at myself. As if Alpha Blaine would consider making me a rogue when my head would make a better interior decor.
• “I need to know who you are before I sign myself away to a fucking knife.” I was scared and my fear was manifesting in the form of aggression.
• After letting out a sigh of defeat, he slowly began, “Freya Octavia Demont, are you not?” He monitored my face and like my expression had been what he had anticipated , he smiled.
• I blinked at him in confusion. I was yet to wrap my head around how he knew my full name. My last name was something my father had always instructed me to keep my surname a secret.
• “I've been looking for you Freya… we have a lot to talk about but first you need to make sure you and your children are okay. Don't worry about any expenses to be made, I will gladly handle them.” His tone was soothing with an aura that reek of power.
• Right on cue, the door opened and the doctor walked in with a hopeful look in his eyes. He bowed his head at the man standing next to me then focused his attention on me, “have you made up your mind?”
• I looked at the man and he urged me forward with a little head nod. I rubbed my stomach and turned to him then in a weak tone said, “I consent… Please save them.”
• ****
• Five years later.
• “Were you satisfied with the meeting?”
• Dario's voice had me snapping up from the papers I had been carefully scrutinizing. It was a contract proposed by neighboring Alpha's and it rubbed off on me the wrong way.
• Tossing the papers aside, I leaned into the leather swivel chair, “I don't like it. It seems a little too fishy, they're proposing too little and requesting too much in return.”
• He laughed, that laugh of his that I had come to understand portrayed how impressed he was. “I'm glad we both feel the same.”
• He rounded the room, pausing by the rather fanciful bar to pour himself a drink, “care for?”
• I laughed at his arched brow and politely declined, “you know I don't drink…”
• “You can always make an exception.” He gulped his drink, his grip on his black came that had a silver Wolf-head, tightened.
• Over the years, I watched him age rather slowly. The black of his hair slowly fading away. The wrinkles on his face hadn't stretched a bit. He almost looked the same as he did five years ago when he walked into that hospital room.
• He wasn't a man to speak much but when he did, it was to discuss important matters like my origins and his pack affairs.
• Over the years, I had learned that he had worked hand in hand with my father. Dario was his best friend and biggest ally and on the day the massacre that rendered me orphaned happened, he had been away on a business trip.
• He couldn't make it back in time to save my father and by the time he had made it back, I was nowhere to be found. He claimed he had searched everywhere for me but with my surname having been changed, it was a rather difficult task.
• I wasn't surprised though, my mother's surname was a rather popular one.
• His hair was wrapped in a neat bun. His thick brows neatly arched. He had strong genes and I honestly wished old age would be this fair to me.
• He was a skilled fighter with a tactical approach to leadership. I was proud to say that I had learned a lot from overtime, including how to fight.
• He took a seat opposite me and crossed his legs, letting out an exhale, “your father would be so proud to see you now. You know, you're just like him in every way. You have his will and your mother's gentle soul.”
• I lowered my head. I barely remembered my parents and with every year that passed, I doubted how real my memories of them were.
• “Why don't you tell them your decision?”
• I blinked at him in disbelief. I knew Dario had made me a member of his pack and treated me with genuine love and respect, giving me the status of his daughter, but putting me on such affairs was a very big move.
• Not that I cared what anyone had to say but I feared it might give off the wrong impression to the council.
• “I don't know about that, Dario… you're still the Alpha, such issues should be discussed by you and you alone.”
• He threw his head back in deep laughter, “you're thinking about this too much—”
• “Mummy, Cane is being a bully.” Cara's disturbed whine had both our heads turning to the door that had just been barged open.
• “Don't believe her, Mummy. I only told Cara that she can't have her iPad if she wasn't done with her homework.” Cane defended with hands in the air.
• Cara, who had hopped into Dario's arms, was now staring at me with tears in her eyes. She knew very well how to exploit his affection for her.
• Cane, also seeing this, rushed into Dario's arms making Dario laugh at their antics. He loved them like they were his and never relented to spoil them.
• “Alright, why don't you guys let grandpa rest? Okay?”
• They faced Dario and planted kisses on either of his cheeks before jumping out of his arms and heading to the door. I watched their tiny bodies disappear through the door and sighed.
• Doctor Erin had been worried that a premature delivery would affect their cognitive development but the goddess had been fair enough to grant me their proper development.
• The only trouble was the undeniable resemblance to Blaine which Dario had noticed as time went by. My marriage to him was something I was very reluctant to discuss but Dario and he was very understanding with me.
• Though I knew he must have been aware of it considering the fact that he had searched for me. How else would he have been able to find me?
• “They're a perfectly healthy bunch.” He remarked.
• “Indeed they were.” My voice cracked as many unwanted thoughts flashed through my mind.
• I feared Blaine discovering them.
• Sensing the shift in my mood, Dario reverted the conversation back to work, “you'll have to get used to standing in for me, Freya. You're my daughter and it's time they accepted your role in my pack.”
• “Yes but—”
• “No buts Freya because not only will you be representing me in the meeting but also at the Alphas’ ball.”
• My mouth hung open, “I don't understand.”
• “There's nothing to understand, Freya. You can't keep hiding away in the shadows… you know very well that I'm aging and in the absence of my son, you're the next person of royal blood to represent me.” Dario said with eyes scrutinizing me.
• “Where is Layton exactly? He's been absent for quite some time now.” I asked, lifting myself to pour out a much needed glass of whiskey.
• “The rogues have been very relentless, we suspect an uprising is brewing. Which is why you have to stand in for me at the ball and report back any findings… my presence there would lead to decorum.” His eyes narrowed in an implying manner and I swallowed down the glass.
• I understood his words. He suspected foul play from the other Alpha's and what better way to confirm his suspicion than to have someone else go in his stead. He didn't need the pretence his power would warrant.
• There was a reason why I had purposely kept myself away from official meetings and it was because I feared the presence of one man alone. Blaine Mortimer.
• “You can't keep hiding from him forever, Freya… sooner or later you're going to have to confront him.” Dario sighed.
• I poured myself another glass, downing it in one go. He wasn't wrong, I had known my path with Blaine would cross again sooner or later… I just wasn't expecting it to be too soon.
• “Who he knew was Freya Rodriguez… he's yet to meet Freya Demont and you know a Demont is never one to cower away.”
• And I was going to make him pay for all the torture he had put me through.