Kiara

I walked out of Alpha Maseno's office, weighing down what he had just said. He wanted my womb in exchange for my freedom. Would I be able to do that?

If it weren't for the fact that I was forced to undergo many abortions while I was still in Alpha Benna's mansion, I wouldn't have thought twice about saying yes to this.

The doctor who conducted my last abortion had told me that it would be hard for me to have kids in the future. He had said that it wouldn't be easy for my womb to nurse another baby.

I wish Maria could be here because she is the one who would have helped me with this. I would have admitted to her that I didn't forget any of my memories, but I was just scared that if I admitted that I remembered anything, they would take me back to Alpha Benna.

Because I was not watching where I was going, I bumped into someone. I raised my head to see who the person was, only to find that it was Dr. Kedeva.

"Maria, I want you to see something." He smiled down at me. I smiled back to wipe away the wrinkles of worry that had formed on my face.

Sure, doctor Kedeva," I nodded while following him to his office. He opened the door for me, and I murmured a thank you before walking in.

"Just take a seat, Maria; there is no problem." He smiled while pulling out the chair for me. "How are you feeling lately?" He then asked

"I have been much better; thank you," I smiled.

"What about the nightmares? Do you still get them?" he asked while pulling out a file from a drawer.

"Not anymore." I admitted. There were no nightmares. I only came up with that theory because I was about to be caught lying and saying that I had forgotten my memories.

"Mmh," he nodded while opening the file and looking through it, "I think the drugs helped." He raised his head and smirked at me.

"Yes, they helped." I nodded. All those drugs ended up in the toilet. I flushed them every time he or Maria brought them to me. "You said there was something you wanted to show me." I reminded him.

"Yes, that's what I am looking for, actually," he chuckled while rising from his chair. He walked to the book shelf, pulling out all the black files. He went through all of them and picked one.

"Here," he whacked it on the table. I coughed after the dust stuck to it was lifted into the air and came through my nostrils. "Sorry about that," he said while sitting. "You can open it, Maria, no problem," he then told me.

My hands shook and my breath itched away because I didn't know what was in there, and I opened the file and read through the broad letters written on the front page and raised my head to look at him. "I thought he burned them."

He knitted his brows in confusion, so I explained to him.

"When I escaped, Alpha Benna went through where I slept, and he found this manuscript. That evening, when his men successfully dragged me back to his mansion, he said he'd burn them."

"Well, he didn't." He shrugged while grinning like a fool. "I can see you now remember everything," he grinned at me again. I held my lips together, blinking my eyes rapidly. What the hell had I done? Couldn't I control myself?

"Don't worry, Maria. I am sure there is a reason why you chose to lie to everyone and say that you forgot your memories," he told me.

"You knew?" I asked in shock. He shrugged as a way of saying that he had his own ways of finding out that I was lying. "What about Maria? Does she know that I have been lying?" My heart thumped as I waited for his response. She took me as her little sister and never lied to them, but what did I do? "Does she? Tell me?" My voice wavered a little.

"You don't have to worry, Maria; I didn't tell anyone. Trust me." He said that, and I sighed in relief. "She would be coming to see you in the afternoon, by the way," he grinned.

"Really?" I felt excitement pumping through my heart. "Is she coming to see me?" I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice.

"Mmh," he hummed while leaning on his chair, "you were not that excited when I gave you that file."

Well, I... you won't understand." I smiled while closing the open file on the table. I was happy when he gave me my manuscript because it was my whole life; it meant everything to me, and losing it was like taking my soul away, but not as much as Maria's news that she was coming to see me.

I just couldn't believe it. Just a few minutes ago, I wished that she could be here so I could talk to her about what Alpha Maseno had asked me to.

"Can I leave?" I asked, already on my feet.

"Sure," he said, and I walked out of the office and skipped to my room. My mind went to Sony, and I gasped. When I told him that Alpha Maseno wanted a kid with me in exchange for protection, he was mad.

He asked if I was comfortable with that, and when I said no, he said he'd go and talk to him. Since then, I haven't seen him. I prayed silently, wishing that he wouldn't get into trouble because of me.

"Where are you lost?" A familiar voice asked from behind me.

"Mariaa," I called, running to her and jumping into her arms. "But doctor Kedeva said you were to come in the afternoon." I said this while getting down.

"Yes, but I changed my mind. I can see you are now lively and stuffy. You have healed completely, haven't you?" She asked me while docking to my level to kiss my cheek. She was taller compared to me.

Yes, I have." I hugged her again.

"Just now, when I was walking in, you were in deep thoughts. Is everything okay?" She asked.

"No, actually, I wanted to talk to you." I sighed, and he held my hand as he pulled me to my room. She pushed me slightly so that I could sit on the bed as she pulled the chair up and sat close to me.

"Is everything okay?" She asked with concern written all over her face, putting my hands in hers.

"Alpha Maseno," I said.

"Mmh, what's wrong with him?" She urged me to continue.

"He proposed a deal. I give him an heir, and he'll protect me from the man I was running away from." I told her.

"Oh, he already told you." She pushed a falling strand of hair at the back of my ears.

"You knew?" I asked in shock.

'I kind of knew this was what he wanted. The elders of the pack have been pressuring him since he was twenty to look for an heir. Now that he's twenty-five, they are forcing him to find a luna and get a kid, or else they'll overthrow him." She told me.

"I won't get to keep the kid, you know. I won't have any rights over him. Once he's born, I'll leave here forever." I whispered, feeling the weight of these words weigh me down. "I am not sure if I can have kids." I told her what I had wanted to tell her all along.

"What makes you think so? I'm sure you will. Even if you can't, he won't do anything to you." She assured me.

"But this is the deal we had. I give him a kid in exchange for my security," I reminded her. She was taking all this lightly, but things weren't that way. I knew what these alphas were. If I won't be able to give him a kid, he will throw me out of his kingdom, and then I will get to wander around the streets.

I wouldn't get to walk around for so long anyway because I know how horrible Alpha Benna is. He has men everywhere, and it wouldn't pass a day before they saw me.

"Still thinking about that? Look, Maria, the reason Alpha Maseno called me here is because he wants me to carry out different tests on you. He wants to know if you are healthy enough to have a child. Don't drain yourself thinking about this, okay?" She leaned closer to me and caressed my cheeks.

I held her palm on my cheek, hoping that things wouldn't turn out to be wrong.

Half an hour later, my bedroom was knocked on. In a drowsy state because I was already falling asleep, I ran to it and pulled it open, only to see a maid grinning at my face.

"What?" I asked him

"Alpha Maseno wants to see you," she said. My heart skipped a bit.

"I am coming," I said while closing the door and retreating to my room. I tapped the sleeping Maria, who sat to look at me. "He wants to see me," I told her, nervousness gripping me like a second skin.

Did he already find out that it's impossible for me to give birth? Or did Dr. Kedeva tell him that I have been lying and I haven't lost my memories? A soft tap on my shoulder pulled me back into reality.

Maria, who was now standing beside me, smiled at me and nodded in agreement. Putting my flipflops on, I ran my fingers along the front of my dress and walked to his office.

My heart thumped wildly with each step I took forward. Reaching for his door, I took a deep breath and knocked.

I heard his deep voice from inside, asking me to get in. I pushed the door open and walked in. There was Dr. Kedeva, and I scanned my eyes around, searching for Sony, but he was nowhere to be seen. I had looked at his office when coming toward Alpha Maseno's office, but his door was closed.

"Have a sit." He signaled toward the chair in front of him. The air around him looked tense. He was mad, but I wasn't sure if he was mad at me or at Dr. Kedeva, whom I found there.

My inner self couldn't stop filling me with what-ifs. I had found Dr. Kedeva in there; had he runted me out already? But he had promised me not to tell anyone until I wanted to. "He can't do this to us." I assured my restless wolf, who was afraid of what might happen to us if our lies were figured out.

For the past month, she has been nothing but happy. She ran in the woods, caught her first prey, and did all the things other creatures could do. I wasn't selfish enough to snatch this happiness away from her.

Even if Dr. Kedeva had told Alpha Maseno the truth, I was determined to figure this out by feeding them lies, which I am sure they would believe.

"Deal or no deal?" He went straight to the question without beating around the bush.

"Huh, I…"

Listen, Maria, I know you might be worried about all this, but there is nothing to think about. I am not asking to have sex with you. I only need your egg." He said.

"What if... how sure are you that my eggs are healthy enough to give you an heir?" I asked while sucking on my lower lip.

"It's my doctor who can answer that, not me." He responded. When he saw me looking at Dr. Kedeva, he said, "It's Maria who will carry out all the tests on you, not him." He assured me.

I sighed, bowed, and made to walk out of there.

"You haven't responded, Maria." I stopped in my tracks.

"Let Maria run a test on me first. If I am healthy, sure, I can go ahead, and if I am not..." I trailed.

"Good. She will start the check-ups tomorrow. And here, have this." He passed a yellow file to me.

"Is it mine?" I asked.

He nodded, waving his hand to dismiss me.