The sounds of monitors beeping rouse me from my sleep, but the sterile scent of a hospital is what makes my eyes shoot open. I have only ever been in a hospital once and that was to see my mother before she died, but I will never forget the smell. Even on my worst days when Mikhail would punish me with a silver whip, he would never take me to a hospital to heal up. This can only mean one thing…I’m not where I’m supposed to be.I sit up way too quickly and my head spins; my hand quickly flies to a throbbing head, but I don’t dare cry out. Showing something hurts you is the first sign of weakness and after everything I’ve been through, I am anything but weak.The question remains; where the hell am I?I remember running from Mikhail’s men, bleeding and bruised, but from what I can tell, I am mostly healed now. I ran into an alley and looked behind me, only to run straight into a brick wall. No, that’s wrong; I ran into someone, a man with red Alpha eyes. He pushed me into an open door

“Alpha Nikolaos,” I call out and he stops just as he reaches the door. He doesn’t turn to face me, instead, he turns his head to the side. “If I had to say yes, how would this work? Would we have to-”“No.” He says with finality. “We would artificially inseminate you during your heat cycle; I won’t touch you.”He then walks out and I find myself letting out a breath I wasn’t aware I’d been holding. But would it make this easier knowing he won’t touch me? I never wanted children, I just wanted peace and now I might have to make the decision I am not comfortable with at all.I wonder why he wants a child. He could probably choose a beautiful mafia princess as a concubine and have children with her, so why choose me? Come to think of it, he probably has hordes of women at his beck and call. Then again, he mentioned that it would be easier to choose a nobody like me, so I don’t have a claim on the pup.Not that I would want to after escaping afterward; well, not that I would be able to,

It’s been a week since they brought me into the SilverCrest Pack, and a week since I’ve seen another person besides Josef, my supposed bodyguard. They’ve moved me to another bedroom; there are no bars on the windows and my door does not get locked, but I am a prisoner nonetheless.I’ve healed completely, though, and according to Josef, the pack doctor will be coming to see me from tomorrow to start with the insemination process. The last time I saw her, she asked me about my heat cycles and when they usually occur. I’ll be coming into my heat in three days’ time, but this time things will be different for me.Mikhail had me on medication to suppress my heat, and so did my father. I’ve never truly experienced it to its fullest before… To say I’m scared is putting it lightly.“You’re deep in thought today,” Josef says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look toward him and offer him a light smile. He’s been kind to me, nothing like the warriors I’m used to, so it’s made the transition

I open my eyes and stretch like a cat in the sun, a smile slipping onto my lips at how relaxed I feel. Wow, I slept extremely well last night; I didn’t even have nightmares to plague me. You would think after being scared of going into heat would -I freeze when the scent of spice and leather hits my nose and I sit up quickly… Then the memories of last night come flooding back and my face heats up.“Oh, Goddess!” I exclaim, remembering how I begged the Alpha to help me find relief during my heat. His command to keep my hands above my head, the way he played with me, teased me, brought me to climax until I fell asleep under the cloud of ecstasy. All that, but he didn’t have sex with me, thank Goddess.I need to get to Doctor Lilah and tell her to do something about this; I cannot go through what I did last night, it is mortifying!Rushing into the shower, I get cleaned up and afterward, remove all the linen from my bed and open the windows. The Alpha’s scent has to get out of my room,

The black cotton dress hugs my body tightly, and I admire how it gives the illusion of curves when I have clearly been starved all my life. It has been a week since my positive pregnancy result and Josef has informed me that Alpha Nikolaos would like to see me this evening. My closet has been filled with clothing in all shapes and sizes according to my body type and how it will grow. From evening wear to comfort clothing and fuzzy slippers. The lush robes are a favorite of mine!So, I decided to wear this dress to my meeting with the Alpha…not that I am much to look at, anyway.Dull brown curls, dark brown eyes, and a body showing years of neglect. There’s nothing overly special about me, just the fact that I am carrying his child. I am nervous, though, since he wants to speak with me. We haven’t seen each other since the night of my first heat and that mortification still burns hot in my chest. Thank Goddess that won’t be recurring, though.As soon as I leave here, I’ll be on heat