The Alpha's Unwanted Bride novel Chapter 702

Chapter 702: AWAKE

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 place 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.

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