A Great Loss

The heavy iron door creaked open, and I turned sharply, expecting to see Jesse coming in to taunt me. Instead, his men stepped in, their gazes taking over me with something sinister.

My breath hitched.

They weren't here to watch over me.

"Stay back," I warned, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to sound strong.

One of them chuckled. "The Alpha said to keep you in check. Said to handle you if you tried anything funny."

"No, No, he possibly wouldn't say that," I snapped, my heart pounding. "Jesse wouldn't—"

"Oh, but he did," another sneered, stepping closer. "He doesn't want you causing trouble, so we're going to make sure you behave."

Panic coiled inside me like a trapped animal.

Jesse had ordered them to keep me restrained, but did he know what they thought that meant? Did he care?

I backed up until my shoulders hit the cold stone wall. "Don't touch me."

The first man grinned. "Or what?"

The others laughed, closing in like predators circling wounded prey.

I took a step back, my shackles rattling as my pulse thundered in my ears. "Stay back," I warned, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my throat.

One of them chuckled, dark amusement flickering in his gaze. "Come on now, Luna," he taunted. "No need to be so scared. We're just following orders."

Orders.

My stomach twisted.

Jesse wouldn't… would he?

No. No matter how cruel he had been, no matter how much he hated me, he wouldn't allow this.

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. "Jesse won't allow this," I said firmly. "He told you to keep me locked up, not—"

A hand shot out, gripping my chin hard enough to bruise.

"You think the Alpha cares what happens to you?" the man sneered, his breath hot against my face. "He's too busy with her—his real mate. The mother of his child."

Juliana.

That name alone sent another wave of agony through my chest, but I pushed it down. I couldn't afford to break. Not now.

I struggled, jerking my head away from his grasp. "You're making a mistake," I gritted out. "When Jesse finds out—"

"When Jesse finds out, he won't care," another man interrupted coldly. "You're just an inconvenience to him."

I refused to believe it.

No matter how much Jesse despised me, no matter how much he wished I didn't exist, he wouldn't let this happen.

But as rough hands grabbed at my arms, forcing it down, panic swallowed me whole.

"No," I gasped, thrashing. "Stop! You can't do this!"

Their laughter sent shivers down my spine.

I screamed.

And for the first time since this nightmare began, I called out for him.

"Jesse!" My voice cracked, desperation leaking into every syllable. "Jesse, please! Help me!"

Silence.

Then a cruel voice whispered in my ear,

"He's not coming for you. Try using your bond to draw him here; as long as you're in trouble, he can sense it easily, so he would know if we're doing something we're not supposed to."

Tears burned my eyes. My heartbeat pounded in my skull, my wolf howling in fury and terror.

I tried again.

"Jesse!" My scream echoed through the cold stone walls. "Please! I'm begging you!"

Nothing.

Not even a whisper of footsteps.

He wasn't coming.

Pain.

It was the only thing I could feel.

It consumed me and burned through every inch of my body, leaving behind nothing but agony and emptiness. The cold stone beneath me felt like ice against my feverish skin, my breath shallow, broken sobs escaping my lips as I curled into myself. My torn dress clung to my trembling form, and blood—my blood—pooled beneath me, soaking into the cracks of the dungeon floor.

But it wasn't just my blood.

It was my baby's blood too. I screamed in horror. I was pregnant?

I had lost my child. The child I hadn't known I was carrying. The tiny life I never got the chance to protect.

A violent shudder wracked my body as I pressed a shaking hand to my stomach. The dull ache was nothing compared to the devastation settling inside me like a black void, swallowing me whole.

My child was gone.

The realization hit me like a death sentence, stealing the last of my breath.

I had lost my baby.

And Jesse had let it happen.

Fresh tears spilt down my cheeks, my chest tightening so painfully I thought I might die right there on the filthy dungeon floor. But I didn't. I kept breathing, kept feeling—despite how much I wished I couldn't.

A sudden wave of fury crashed through me, momentarily numbing the grief.

This wasn't just an accident.

It was murder.

Jesse had sent those men. He had let them do this.

Even if he hadn't ordered it, he had abandoned me here, ignored my screams, and dismissed my fear.

And now our child—my child—was dead because of it.

A sharp pain twisted in my chest, but I swallowed it down.

They left not too long after that; I was left alone, crying uncontrollably, lying on the cold floor.

And then, as the sound of footsteps echoed through the dimly lit prison, I forced myself to sit up. I knew that walk. I had memorized the steady, confident rhythm of his steps long ago.

He was finally here. After everything that had just happened.

The heavy door creaked open, and Jesse stepped inside, his golden eyes sharp as they landed on me. He didn't look concerned. He didn't even look angry. Just... irritated.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my fingers digging into the rough ground as I tried to steady myself.

He stood there, watching me in silence for a moment before sighing. "I came here to tell you that you shouldn't run your mouth so freely, If not it wouldn't end in just imprisonment"

My nails scraped against the stone. "I lost my baby."

His expression didn't change.

I pushed myself up, my entire body trembling, but I refused to stay on the ground like a beaten animal. "I was pregnant, Jesse." My voice wavered, but I forced myself to continue. "Your men… your men killed our child. They forced themselves on me. They said they were acting based on your orders."

Jesse exhaled through his nose, his lips pressing into a thin line. Then he let out a short, cold laugh.

"Really?" His voice was laced with condescension. "That's what you're going with?"

My stomach twisted. "What?"

Jesse took a step closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over me. "You expect me to believe that? That you just happened to be pregnant, and now you've lost it? That my men assaulted you?"

I stared at him, my blood running cold.

He didn't believe me.

No—worse than that. He thought I was lying.

My lips parted, my breath shaky. "I didn't know I was pregnant," I whispered. "But I was." I wrapped my arms around my abdomen as if I could still protect what had already been taken from me. "And now I'm not.

His golden eyes darkened, unreadable. For a fleeting second, I thought—hoped—I saw something else there. But then, just as quickly, his expression hardened.

"You're being dramatic again."

The words were a slap, raw and merciless.

A choked sound left my throat, something between a laugh and a sob.

Dramatic.

That was all he had to say?

"I lost my child," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Our child. Look at the blood on the floor. It belongs to our baby."

Jesse tilted his head slightly, his gaze unmoved. "And I'm supposed to just take your word for it? You probably cut yourself in between your laps, just to make it believable. It's not something you're incapable of doing anyway.

I blinked, unable to process the depth of his cruelty

I took a step back, inhaling sharply.

"You killed my child, Jesse," I whispered, my voice raw. "And you don't even care."

He scoffed. "You keep saying that, but there's no proof, Athena. No proof you were ever pregnant. No proof you lost anything."

I stared at him, my entire body trembling.

No proof.

No proof that I had carried his child.

No proof that I had lost the only innocent life I had left inside me.

No proof that he had destroyed me.

A slow, bitter smile curved my lips. "That's what matters to you? Not the pain I went through, not the betrayal, not the fact that I was begging for your help while your men—" My voice broke, and I swallowed the sob threatening to escape. "All you care about is whether or not you have to feel guilty?"

Jesse's jaw clenched, his hands balling into fists. "You always twist things, Athena. Always making yourself the victim."

I laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. "Making myself the victim?" I whispered. "You locked me away like an animal. You let your men do whatever they wanted to me.

His jaw clenched, his voice dropping lower. "You're looking for pity. And I won't give it to you."

A bitter, broken laugh tore from my lips.

"Pity?" I breathed. "You think I want your pity?"

Jesse sighed, rubbing his temples as if I were the one exhausting him. "Athena, I don't have time for this. Juliana—"

"Don't say her name!" My voice cracked, raw with pain.

His gaze flickered, but he didn't flinch.

Jesse remained silent, his expression unreadable.

Then he sighed, taking another step forward.

I tensed, every muscle in my body screaming at me to run, even though there was nowhere to go.

"You're going to stay here much longer," he said smoothly. "I don't want rumours flying around right now because of things you might say."

My breath caught. "You—"

He leaned down slightly, his voice dangerously low. "I won't have you spreading lies about me, Athena."

My throat tightened. "I'm not lying."

His lips curled into something that might have been a smirk, but there was nothing amused about it. A shiver ran down my spine.

Jesse turned toward the door, his hands slipping into his pockets like this was nothing more than a simple conversation.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to make him see what he had done.

But instead, something inside me broke.

I straightened, wiping the tears from my face, my hands balling into fists.