I woke up with morning sickness and apparently to the smell of my own vomit and the flutter in my belly kicking like it was trying to punch its way out. The basin was already there but I barely made it before everything came up again. My hands shook on the cold stone. The witch's mark on my chest flared so hot I gasped, a thin red line pulsing under my skin like it was a cane mark.
Darius came up behind me in a heartbeat, one hand rubbing my back, the other holding my hair. "Easy," he muttered. His voice was rough from no sleep.
Kane handed me a cup of water into my without speaking. Rylan paced by the window, axe already strapped across his back, staring south like he could burn my father's camp with his eyes.
I rinsed my mouth and straightened. The room spun for a second, but the latent alpha blood pushed back hard. "I'm fine. The kid's just letting me know it's awake."
Darius's palm settled low on my belly. The flutter answered, stronger this morning. "You're not fine. You're pale as the snow and the mark is burning worse."
I shrugged his hand off and reached for a clean tunic. "Then we use it. My father sent a messenger last night. White flag. He wants to talk."
The brothers went still.
Kane's eyes narrowed. "You didn't mention that."
"I was busy puking." I laced my boots, fingers still trembling. "He's offering terms. Return me and the child or he burns every woman and pup in Frostfang. His exact words."
Rylan's grin turned ugly. "Let him try."
Darius caught my wrist before I could stand. "You're not going anywhere near that messenger."
"Watch me." I pulled free and headed for the door. The bond screamed in my head — all three of them pushing fear and that new, sharp protectiveness straight into my chest. I felt Kane's wolf pacing right under his skin, ready to snap.
The great hall was already packed when we got there. The pack had celebrated the night raid hard. Cups still sat on tables, blood still stained the floor from yesterday. They fell quiet when I walked in between the brothers, hand on my belly out of habit now.
The messenger waited in the center, white flag hanging limp from his spear. He was young, barely more than a boy, eyes wide when he saw me. "Gamma Voss sends this," he said, voice cracking. He held out a sealed scroll. "He says the witch has already spoken to him. Return the traitor and the bastard she carries, or every woman and pup in Frostfang burns when the full moon rises."
The hall went dead silent.
I took the scroll, broke the seal, and read it myself. Same threat. Same silver chains mentioned at the bottom like a fucking footnote.
My stomach twisted, but not from sickness this time. From pure rage.
I looked the boy dead in the eye. "Tell my father I said no. Tell him the bastard he threw away in chains is the one who's going to end him. And if he touches one woman or pup in this pack, I'll carve his heart out myself and feed it to the wolves."
The messenger paled. He backed toward the door.
Kane moved first. His knife was out before I could blink. The wolf surged so close to the surface that his claws punched through his fingertips and his eyes flashed gold. "You heard her. Run."
The boy ran.
Kane didn't stop. His breathing turned ragged. The bond screamed in my head: his wolf fighting the shift, fighting the curse that was chewing harder because of the pregnancy. He took one step toward the door like he was going to chase the messenger down and rip him apart.
I grabbed his arm. "Kane. Stay with me."
He jerked like I'd burned him. His eyes met mine, storm-gray and wild. For one terrifying second I thought he was gone. Then he blinked, claws retracting with a wet click, and the wolf slid back under his skin.
The hall stayed silent. A beta near the front; the same one who'd nodded at me yesterday cleared his throat. "My queen… is this worth it? Five days of blood for a human girl and a child that might not even survive the full moon?"
The words landed like a slap.
Rylan's axe came off his shoulder in one smooth motion. Darius stepped forward, ice-blue eyes flat and murderous. But I felt the crack run through the bond: doubt, exhaustion, the pack starting to wonder if keeping me was going to get them all killed.
I walked straight to the beta before any of the brothers could speak. My hand stayed on my belly. The flutter kicked hard, like the kid was listening.
"You want to hand me over?" I asked him quietly. "Go ahead. Open the gates. Tell my father I'm waiting. But when he puts those silver chains on me and takes the child, remember this moment. Because the next time the witch comes looking for payment, she won't stop at me. She'll come for your mate. Your pups. Your sisters."
The beta looked at the floor. The hall stayed quiet.
I turned back to the brothers. The bond was still humming, but the crack was there now; small, ugly, real.
Darius pulled me against his side. Kane sheathed his knife, but his hands still shook. Rylan kept the axe ready, eyes on the pack like he was daring anyone else to speak.
Five days left.
My father was coming with silver.
The witch was coming for the child.
And now my own pack was starting to wonder if I was worth the blood.
I pressed my palm harder against my belly and told the small life inside me the only thing I could.
We're not running.
Not from him.
Not from her.
Not from anyone.
[By the time her body and belly bump began to show, the tension in the pack had already changed…]