Chapter five

Diana

“Wake up!”

A violent shake startled me awake. My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dim light of the room. Dante stood over me, his face a mask of fury.

“What did you do?” His voice was like a whip, lashing through the air. “What did you do!”

Confusion gripped me as I tried to sit up, only to feel the cool sheets against my bare skin. I froze. Beneath the covers, I was naked. My heart dropped into my stomach.

“I—I don’t understand,” I stammered, clutching the sheets tighter around me.

“You poisoned me!” he roared, his voice vibrating through the walls. “You drugged me so you could—so you could get into my bed? Are you that desperate?”

“No!” I cried, shaking my head frantically. “That’s not true! You were poisoned. I—I saved you. I brought herbs to help you… I swear by the goddess that you were unconscious and I tried to help you..”

“Lies!” His hand slammed against the wooden bedpost, making me flinch. “You think you can play innocent? That I wouldn’t see through your tricks?” And before I could say anything more, his cold voice rang out. “Guards!”

“Dante, please!” I begged, scrambling to my knees on the bed. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You have to believe me. I didn’t touch you!”

“Yet you're naked beneath me when I woke up.” He sneered. “So much for not touching.”

Two guards burst into the room, their heavy boots thudding against the floor.

“Take her to the dungeons,” he ordered coldly. “Three days. No food.”

“No!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “I didn’t—please, Dante, listen to me!”

But he didn’t even look at me. His jaw was set, his eyes colder than I’d ever seen them.

The guards grabbed my arms, dragging me out of the room as I continued to plead. “I saved your life! How can you do this to me?”

He turned his back, dismissing me as if I were nothing.

I was thrown to the damp and cold bare floor of the dungeon. The air is heavy with the scent of mildew. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, and the icy floor seeped into my bones. Each day felt like an eternity, but the worst part wasn’t the punishment. It was the ache in my chest, the growing realization that Dante truly hated me.

He hadn't faked it when he told me he rejected me before I get to know him. I wish I could just leave, but my mother's health wouldn't let me.

Even when I was released, the punishment didn’t stop. Every mistake, no matter how small, was met with harsh words or impossible tasks. Yet despite his cruelty, I found myself drawn to him.

I didn’t understand it. How could I care for someone who had rejected me, humiliated me, and left me to suffer? And yet, whenever I saw him, my heart betrayed me, aching for something more.

---

A month later, nausea overtook me for days. I brushed it off at first, assuming it was from the stress of the pack's unending demands. But when it persisted, I visited the pack physician in secret.

Her words shattered the fragile world I’d built around me.

“You’re pregnant,” she said softly, her kind eyes watching me.

I stared at her, my mouth dry. “No... there must be some mistake.”

“It’s not a mistake,” she said firmly. “You’re about four weeks along.”

My knees wobbled, and I sank onto the chair beside me. Pregnant? My hand instinctively rested on my stomach. There was no one else it could belong to. Dante.

My mind raced. How could I hide this from him? Would he even believe me?

No, he had to believe me. That night with him was my first and only time. I resolved to tell him. He deserved to know the truth.

“You must not tell anyone.” I demanded, my eyes pleading.

“Your secret is safe.” She replied as I stood to go.

The mansion was unusually quiet when I returned. The staff was busy preparing for the New Moon Festival, leaving the halls deserted. I made my way to Dante’s study, where I knew he would be, my heart pounding with every step.

I stopped at the heavy wooden door and raised my hand to knock when voices drifted through the crack.

“I’ll handle her,” Lilian’s voice purred, her tone laced with venom. “We’ll say she’s been unfaithful. You know the punishment for adultery.”

“You're so smart my love.”

Dante replied, his voice as cold as ever.

My hand fell to my side, trembling.

“Don’t worry,” Lilian said with a cruel laugh. “No one will question it. She’ll be gone after the full moon festival..”

I stumbled back, my breath coming in shallow gasps. Gone? They were planning to kill me.

Dante wants me dead so he could be with her.

Tears blurred my vision as I fled down the hall, my chest heaving with silent sobs. I barely made it to my room before the dam broke.

I collapsed onto the floor, my cries muffled by the thick rug. They wanted me dead. Dante, the father of my child, wanted me dead.

For the first time since I came to this pack, I allowed myself to grieve—not just for the life I’d lost but for the hope I’d foolishly held onto. I had believed he would change, that he would see me, that he might even care for me one day.

But now, I know better.

I wiped my face and rose shakily to my feet. I couldn’t stay here. Not for him, not for the pack, not even for the faint hope that things might improve. I had to protect my child.

The next week was the New Moon Festival. The entire pack would be busy celebrating, and no one would notice if I slipped away. Until then, I had to survive.

“Your Father doesn't want you baby.” I let out, rubbing my stomach as if soothing him. “I'll protect us at all cost.”