Chapter 1

Avery’s POV

Slow tears leaked out of my eyes from the amount of pain wracking through my entire body.

I could hear the doctors whispering some incoherent gibberish into my ears but I paid no attention to those because I was too flustered and too in pain to listen.

My stomach contracted so painfully that I had to hold on to Erik’s collar for support but unfortunately, my hands were pried away from his neck by the doctor who said that I was beginning to choke my husband.

I could feel a kind of painful tightening sensation around my lower back which made it quite impossible for me to sit up or even stand altogether but it didn’t stop there, instead it began spreading like a virus in a wave-like manner until it got to my stomach.

My fingers slowly flew to my abdomen during one of the series of contractions and I gasped when I felt how hard it had suddenly become.

Just when I thought it was about to be over, I felt a new kind of burning sensation down there, a tingling that felt as though my veejay was being stretched wide by some kind of external forces.

I could feel the baby’s head about to slip out from me, I could feel the beads of sweat that had clustered around my forehead and nose and even entered my eyes until everywhere stung.

And I suddenly could not take it anymore; I felt too weak and my body too drained to push on. I slowly closed my eyes when I felt a sudden calm wash over me.

It was peaceful and soothing, and with it came a very peaceful darkness.

The loud cry of a baby rang through the room and I felt myself smiling, smiling because my long awaited baby was already here but my face fell when I thought about me.

Am I that weak that I cannot even pry my eyes open anymore? I wanted to see my baby but my eyes felt too heavy to open, even my body felt like it was on fire.

I felt a peaceful king of darkness try to overcome me, to pull me into itself and at first, I tried to fight it but it was stronger; it wrapped its cold arms around me, pulling me into its abyss.

I closed my eyes slowly, allowing the darkness to take control; and it did, it did take control. It drew me into itself, pulling me downward until I was fully immersed into its darkness.

One thing was certain, I liked it here..

***

My eyes fluttered open slowly when I heard two people talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers and I listened because I was curious about what they were talking about and why they’d decided to whisper.

One of the reasons their discussion spiked my attention was because one of them sounded suspiciously too alike with Erik, my husband and I wondered why he was in this sort of heated argument with the doctor.

“Your wife’s haemophilliac, Mr Ashford and so we need to start treatment immediately or she dies.” The doctor’s gruff voice sounded stern as he talked to Erik.

“Doctor, my wife doesn’t have Hemophilia.” Erik argued blindly.

I smiled at his ignorance; Erik didn’t know shit apart from pack duties and coming home to a willing wife. He doesn’t know anything aside from his meals and whatever the hell was happening to Alpha Luke or Alpha Trent’s pack.

He doesn’t know the kind of pain I went through each day with being haemophilliac but not administering treatments.

Erik was my husband, and the Alpha of Shadow brink pack. He had become Alpha shortly after we got married, that is, after I passed on the mantle of leadership to him.

He was never born into royalty, I was. But then suddenly, as if possessed by some sort of demons, he changed from being that all too sweet husband he was a couple months before our wedding and a couple months into it.

He became crazy, a psycho who was extremely engrossed in his pack duties, momentarily forgetting that I gave him that job in the first place. He longer spent time with me, was no longer caring, and to even worsen matters, he cut me off my wealth.

What was his excuse? We needed to start planning/saving for the future.

Did I believe him? No.

Did I let him go on with it? Yes.

Why? Because I loved him.

Thinking about it now, I realized I was stupid to have allowed him to have access to all of my money while I had access to none aside from the peanuts he occasionally gave to me which weren’t enough to buy my medications.

The doctor’s voice cut through my thoughts, which made me refocus my attention on their conversation;

“She needs treatment, I don’t understand what you’re implying, Sir.” I could sense the agitation in his voice. Could notice that he was extremely pissed but I wondered about what Erik must’ve said to get him this riled up.

“And I am saying that you cut her off this life’s support! She doesn’t need it and I am not giving you the consent to continue with her treatment!” Erik seethed.

I felt my body get covered with goosebumps at the implication of what Erik had said. He wants me dead! And he wants the doctor to do it now that I need help the most.

“Mr Ashford, are you implying that I kill your wife?” The doctor asked incredulously and I understood his worry because I was shocked too. I never expected Erik to do something this terrible to me, I have never even thought about it.

“Yes!” Erik snapped, “kill her! I’ve been looking for the perfect opportunity to kill her off and now that some medical condition I never even knew about has presented itself, let us allow it Kill her!”

“And the baby…?”

“The baby would be fine with me, I’ll take proper care of her.” He replied to the doctor.

“…and I’ll get going now, finish the job while I go get you your money.” He added.

I felt my heart break into a million pieces. I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe that Erik had wanted me dead all these while.

I felt a single tear drop from my eye but didn’t wipe it off even as it left an itchy trail down the side of my face until it stopped just around my ears.

I heard the sounds of the doctor scurrying around the room, trying to go on Erik’s errand but I said nothing and simply let him do it.

I had nothing left to live for if the man I was in love with wanted me dead. I heard the doctor unplug something and heard the loud noise it made as it had been successfully disconnected from my body.

It suddenly felt as though I couldn’t breathe, and that the weight of the world was on my chest. My eyes droopped slowly but I didn’t fight it; I didn’t fight the darkness that was quickly wanting to take over my soul.

Before everything went dark, I begged the moon goddess, begged her to give me another chance at life; a healthier chance at that without hemophilia nor the kind of gullibility I had displayed in this life.

Another fresh set of goosebumps ran over the length of my body but this one felt different, it was ethereal. I closed my eyes this time, expecting darkness and it came soon after like a cloak, covering me.

It took me with it and everything I had, including my soul and my naivety…