At the sound of our conversation, Ramsay bristled. He edged closer to me and uttered a low warning growl. The Madame blinked slowly at him, unbothered, like he was a dog safely behind a fence and posed no threat to her.
“Is this the father?” she asked.
“One of them,” I replied evenly.
A few people surrounding us chuckled, but the Madame didn’t. She held my gaze, then finally said, “Very well.”
Nobody spoke again until we reached the settlement. Low huts dotted the clearing, smoke rising from their fires. Thin forest surrounded the settlement. The looming mountains were more noticeable from here than in the wolf territories. They cast a purple shadow across the land that was impossible to ignore.
I frowned. I didn’t like how close they were. We were right in the heart of enemy territory, with the gryphons’ lands right above our heads.
“Take them to my hearth,” the Madame said.
Ramsay and I had no choice. Her guards led us towards the largest hut. Though they hadn’t harmed us yet, the thought of being a captive in someone else’s home filled me with dread. The wolf within me writhed and cried out for freedom. To be a wolf meant being free--but right now, there was nothing I could do but obey.
She followed, then dismissed the guard after we had been properly tied up and placed before the fireplace. Ramsay leaned on me, his breath coming out shallow and weak.
“If you let him die, I won’t do anything for you,” I warned the Madame.
To my surprise, she nodded. “He will heal.”
I glared in defiance. “He’d better.”
She left, then returned with a single guard carrying a wooden bowl filled with water. He placed it in front of Ramsay. I felt irritated that he was being forced to drink like a dog, but at the same time I couldn’t deny that I was deeply relieved that he wasn’t being treated even worse.
“What do you want from me?” I demanded. “Just tell me. You already know I’m an omega, and that I’m pregnant.”
The Madame steadily met my gaze. “I cannot tell you yet.”
My temper flared. “What kind of answer is that? If you’re going to kill me, you might as well just get it over with!”
“Mathe,” Ramsay croaked. He was trying to scold me, but the hoarseness of his voice just made him sound pathetic, and I grew even angrier that he was hurting so badly.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” the Madame repeated. “That’s not our intention.”
That didn’t work,I thought irritably.Maybe I just have to try a different tactic to get the information out of her.
“I can easily break these restraints,” I warned her. The rough hemp rope was bristly and uncomfortable against my wrists. “If I shift, they’ll come loose.”
But she wasn’t fazed. She looked at Ramsay. “You won’t do that. You wouldn’t leave your mate behind. And he is too weak to do anything right now.”
She had seen right through my bluff. My shoulders slumped. I felt defeated and helpless.
Ramsay shot me an apologetic look, as if any of this was his fault. I averted my gaze. I didn’t want him to feel sorry, even for a moment. Defiance surged in my blood. Whatever these people had in store for me, I wasn’t going to let it happen.
The conversation died. The guard gave us food and water, then placed us in an empty room. It was dusty and dark, likely a storage room, but the Madame had the decency to give us pillows and a blanket, which was more than I expected for being held hostage.
I was too anxious to sleep. I stared up at the exposed wooden beams in the ceiling, wondering how the hell I’d gotten myself--and Ramsay--into this mess.
I thought he had been asleep already, but his soft voice called out in the darkness.
“Mathe.”
I turned to him. His eyes were half-lidded and weary, his face devoid of his usual joy. My heart shattered. I never wanted to see him like this.
“I’m--” he began, but I cut him off.
“Don’t say it. Don’t say you’re sorry.”
