The demon might have been unsettling in his need to extract pain, but Dante was clever, and his cruelty came through quietly. Without needing to be broadcast.
Around us, there was a flurry of movement. Chains clinked, beasts roared, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the false king.
As if sensing my stare, he finally met my gaze. “How are you feeling?” he asked, eyes flickering down to my stomach. “You were fat before, but I think you might actually start showing soon. Twins have that effect.”
Bile rose in my throat, a familiar light-headedness crashing into me. It wasn’t even the fact that he called me fat—growing up the way I did, you got used to it. You rolled your eyes and moved on. But it was the mention oftwinsthat had me wanting to throw up.
“Why?” I finally managed, swallowing hard. “Why did you want me pregnant?”
Dante laughed, the sound jarring. “Why do you think I wanted that?”
“Because I heard someone mention Marion. She was thehealer who was brought in to help my mother.” My hands formed fists as a smile curled his lips. “She worked for you. She didn’t give me my birth control, did she?”
This laugh was different to the last one. It was dark, twisted, and the look in his eyes only confirmed it.
“I didn’t ask her to do it,” he admitted, leaning towards me. “But she certainly gave me something valuable. See, one of those little creatures growing inside you belongs to my brother. I don’t know which one—the Seer made sure of that. Fuck, I don’t know how she did it, but the charms she placed on you were expert level. Old as hell, too. No idea where she got them, but she managed to hide the babies from me, you, and your mates.” He shook his head, sitting back, but my heart only sank.
“Why?” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Couldn’t bring myself to trust him, either.
Dante shrugged, but he didn’t drop my stare. “Look, I’m as surprised as you, and she won’t talk. The only thing I could do was unravel those charms. Aren’t you at least happy to know you’re having his baby?”
“Not now,” I replied honestly. “Especially because I won’t live to see them grow, will I?”
“Ah!” He sat up, finally tearing his eyes from mine. Some of the pressure I’d felt dissipated, but not enough for me to breathe easily.
I watched closely as Dante bent over and grabbed something from the other side of the throne. At first, it looked like nothing important. Maybe a pile of cloth or something.
But then he tossed it at me through the bars of the cage. Out of instinct, I flinched away from whatever it was, which fell at my feet. All he did was laugh.
I finally looked away from Dante, heart pounding, to take in the item. It was wolf stuffy.
“You’ll live long enough to give birth, I can promise you that. Even hold them.” I tore my eyes from the small wolf to see Dante smiling. “Hell, I’ll even let you name them.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said, throat tightening. “How considerate.”
Something that resembled rage flickered in his eyes. That unhinged anger I’d heard from him before simmered close to the surface, but it couldn’t just be because I was mouthing off.
“One of those babies is going to be given back to your mates as a peace offering. The other will join the breeder room to be raised for my army. If they go against me again, I’ll kill it.”
There wasnothing left to say. He didn’t even need to tell me who the other baby belonged to. There was only one reason why he’d keep one of my children to join his army.
Elias.
I was forced to watch a few rounds of fighting between other shifters. These weren’t fights to the deaths. They were cage fights; tearing at one another until one went down, and then they were removed.
At some point, even the soldiers got in the ring.
But my mind was on Dante’s words.
Hehadn’tplanned for my pregnancy. I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse. Maybe Marion planned it as some sort of gift for him. He sure as hell liked it. Made certain he could still use the twins as leverageandsteal my power.
I was terrified to even think about what he could do with them. I might not be happy about having this forced upon me, but I wouldnotlet him take them.
Goddess dammit, I thought, tears burning my eyes. My nose was snotty with the tears I tried to hold back, but at least I couldn’t smell the blood anymore.
“My king, we have a…situation,” someone said, appearing behind my cage. From the corner of my eye, I watched Dante sit up straight, a growl leaving his lips.
“What?” he snapped, turning to whoever had approached.I tried to catch sight of the creature, but they’d moved to the other side of the throne.
