<h4>Chapter 702: AWAKE</h4>


    ONE


    I woke with a violent gasp, my body jerking upright as though something had ripped me out of deep water.


    My chest burned.


    My lungs screamed.


    For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was or who I was.


    The first thing I did was clutch my stomach.


    My hands pressed hard against the familiar curve, panic flooding me so fast it made me dizzy.


    Then a slow, insistent roll beneath my palm, followed by a sharp kick that felt almost indignant.


    Relief crashed through me so powerfully my vision blurred.


    "I’m here," I whispered hoarsely. "I’m awake. It’s okay."


    The room was dark, moonlight spilling through the tall windows in pale ribbons. The heavy curtains stirred faintly with the night breeze. Everything was exactly where it should be.


    Except me.


    My heart still raced as though I were being chased.


    I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat there, breathing through the lingering tremor in my hands. My skin felt too tight, like it couldn’t contain everything that had been poured into me.


    It hadn’t been a dream.


    I knew that with the same certainty I knew my own name.


    Dreams didn’t freeze time.


    Dreams didn’t let you touch memories that weren’t yours.


    Dreams didn’t sing songs that rewrote your soul.


    My mother.


    The sound of her voice still echoed inside my chest, low and aching, threaded with love and warning.


    The way she had looked at me, like she had always known me. Like I had never been lost to her at all.


    I pressed my knuckles to my mouth to keep myself from making a sound.


    She wasn’t a wraith.


    The word felt ugly now. Small. Cruel.


    A lie.


    My father had lied to me.


    The realization sat heavy and sharp, like a stone lodged just beneath my ribs. I hadn’t wanted to believe Maelis.


    I still didn’t fully want to. But my mother? my real mother, had confirmed it in a way no one else could.


    He had known.


    He had known what I was seeing and had chosen to poison it.


    I slowly leaned back against the headboard, staring up at the ceiling as pieces began to slide into ce whether I wanted them to or not.


    The medicine.


    The way he insisted I take it every night, framed as concern.


    Protection.


    The midwives.


    Lydia.


    The rebels.


    Punished. Executed. Dangerous.


    Necessary.


    My jaw tightened.


    And then there was the ring.


    The jagged red stone I had seen on his finger, catching the light just long enough to make my stomach twist. I hadn’t imagined it. I knew that now.


    Corrupted.


    My mother’s word echoed in my mind, heavy with grief.


    He was a good man... once.


    I drew in a slow, careful breath and rested both hands on my belly, grounding myself in the steady presence beneath my skin.


    "I don’t know what to do yet," I whispered. "But I will figure it out."


    The baby shifted again, a gentler movement this time, almost soothing.


    I sat there until the shaking finally stopped.


    Then I moved.


    Quietly.


    Carefully.


    I slipped out of bed and crossed the room barefoot, the cool stone floor sending a jolt through my nerves. I paused at the window and peered out into the morning air.


    The castle grounds were peaceful. Guards patrolled in pairs, their movements unhurried, confident.


    A perfect illusion.


    I touched the emerald ne at my throat.


    It was cool. Silent.


    But I could feel it now, not as a burden, not as a mystery, but as something listening.


    "Help me," I whispered to it, feeling foolish and desperate all at once.


    Nothing happened.


    Still, I didn’t take it off.


    I returned to my bed just as a soft knock sounded at the door.


    My heart leapt.


    "Yes?" I called, forcing steadiness into my voice.


    The door opened a crack, and Another of my maids Ang, stepped inside, her expression gentle and careful.


    "Did you rest well, mydy?" she asked quietly.


    I studied her face in the dim light, searching for something that might betray where her loyalty trulyy.


    "Yes," I said after a moment. "I did."


    She smiled, visibly relieved. "That’s good. You need your strength."


    She crossed the room and ced a folded nket at the foot of the bed before hesitating.


    "Your father asked me to check on you," she added. "He was... worried."


    Of course he was.


    "I’m fine," I said softly. "Please tell him that."


    She nodded and turned to leave, then paused.


    "If you need anything," she said, meeting my eyes, "anything at all you only need ask."


    Something about the way she said it made my chest ache.


    "Thank you," I replied honestly.


    When she left, I locked the door.


    The click sounded louder than it should have.


    Iy back down, but sleep didn’te again. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my mother’s face, felt the urgency in her hands as time began to move again.


    Reach out to Bale.


    The name sat uneasily in my mind.


    Bale the man I had feared. The man whose shadow loomed over so much of my pain.


    The man my mother imed would always choose me.


    I didn’t know what to believe anymore.


    But one thing was clear.


    I couldn’t confront my father. Not yet.


    Not while I was trapped inside his walls. Not while my wolf was still locked and my body heavy with child.


    I needed to watch.


    To listen.


    To pretend.


    The thought made something sour curl in my stomach, but I swallowed it down. Survival had taught me this lesson long ago.


    Smile.


    Nod.


    Endure.


    I woke up wayter in the morning.


    When servants came to dress me, I let them.


    When breakfast arrived, I ate.


    It seemed like a usual day since I had arrived here and yet.....


    But something fundamental had shifted.


    I was no longer the same.


    I had changed.


    There were so many secrets and I needed to find the answers.


    I heard a soft knock at my door.


    A servant went to check.


    She curtseyed and my father stepped in.


    I almost choked.