Chapter 46 SHACKLED LUNA
OLIVIA’S POV
Darkness.
I was running barefoot through the forest, branches clawing at my arms, thorns scraping against my ankles, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
Somewhere ahead, a child was crying–shrill, panicked wails that echoed through the trees and pierced straight into my soul. My legs burned with exhaustion, but I pushed harder, desperate to reach that sound.
Through the thick fog and underbrush, I finally saw them–a shadowy figure disappearing between the trees, a tiny bundle cradled in their arms.
My child.
I don’t know how I knew, but I knew–that baby was mine. That cry, it tore me apart.
“Stop!” I screamed, my voice cracking as I stumbled after them. “Give me my baby!”
The figure moved faster, slipping between trees like a phantom. I chased blindly, tears streaming down my cheeks, ignoring the sharp branches slicing into my skin.
“Please!” I sobbed. “That’s my baby! Please–come back!”
They didn’t stop.
But I did.
Only for a second.
Because I saw them turn back, just slightly–and that’s when I saw it. Those eyes. Those unmistakable golden eyes.
Dominic’s eyes.
My baby… he had Dominic’s eyes.
Fueled by a burst of adrenaline, I leapt forward and lunged. My fingers grasped the bundle, yanking it away. The figure vanished into mist, evaporating like smoke between my arms.
I cradled the baby against my chest, panting, shaking.
“And then-
The world shattered.
I gasped awake, the scream still lodged in my throat. My chest heaved as I stated wildly around the dim, unfamiliar room
Not the forest.
Not the baby.
Just me. Still here Still trapped
I blinked rapidly, trying to push the dream away but it clung to me, wrapping around my chest like a vice.
The same sharp, metallic chemical smell from before filled the air could barely lift my my ankles too. A dull pain throbbed at the base of my spine and through my lower belly.
they were tied at the wrists, and
Chapter 48 SHACKLED (UNA
+25 Bonus
I was too weak.
Too slow.
Too… helpless.
Tears stung my eyes, but I clenched my jaw. I wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not again.
“Please,” I whispered into the silence, not even sure who I was pleading to. “Just let me go. I’ll give you anything. I swear. I’m Dominic Blackwood’s mate–his Luna. If it’s money, land, power–whatever it is, he can give it to you. Just… just let me go.”
No one answered.
They never did. I have been pleading to them ever since they brought me here, but no one ever answers.
The only reply I received was the echo of my own voice and the familiar click of the door unlocking moments later.
They came, just like they always did.
No words. No emotion.
One of them–a man with cold eyes and surgical gloves–rolled up my sleeve. I winced as the needle pierced my skin for what felt like the hundredth time. They took my blood like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.
But they were careful. Too careful.
They weren’t just collecting it. They were experimenting.
What were they doing with it? Why are they collecting my blood?
Why me?
Why my blood only? There were other Lunas there too, why not them?
I lost track of the days. Maybe weeks. All I knew was that with every visit, I grew weaker. And with every whisper of my baby’s movements inside me, I grew more determined.
I had to escape.
For my pup. For our pup.
I waited until one night when the hall outside was silent, the shadows longer than usual, I slipped free from one of the ankle restraints after loosening it for days, I even had to pop my thumb to loosen the strain around my wrists.
I crept toward the door, each step agony.
And then–I heard it.
A voice.
A conversation through a cracked door across the hall.
“…She’s still alive, but barely. He’ll pay more the longer she lasts.”
“Doesn’t matter. The blood’s all we need. The rest… she’s just a vessel. Even if she dies during the process we will try to keep her body fresh so that we can draw inore.”
“Did you tell him?”
“I used the voice modulator. He thinks it’s one of the Crescent rogues.”
That voice… muffled, altered–but familiar.
Chapter 45 SHACKLED LUNA
Why did it sound so familiar?
I moved closer, heart pounding–and then I stepped on a loose floorboard. It creaked.
The door slammed open.
Rough hands grabbed me, yanked me backward, and threw me hard against the wall. I gasped, clutching my stomach in panic
“No!” I screamed, “Please–my baby!”
“You were warned,” one of them growled. “No escape attempts.”
A sharp blow landed across my cheek. I collapsed to the floor, pain exploding through my ribs and skull.
Curled up in the darkness, blood trickling from my lip, I whispered to the Moon Goddess, “Please… if he ever loved me–if he ever cared at all–send him. Please, let Dominic find me. For the sake of our child.”
But deep down, I wasn’t even sure if he was looking.
Or if he’d already replaced me.
P
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
