A FEW MONTHS LATER
Amia's POV
"I already prepared a delicious meal for you. Would you like to eat it now?" Serai asked with a smile.
"Of course," I answered calmly as I rubbed my hand against my bump.
"Then I'll go and get the food; you just relax," she said and then walked out of my room.
Ever since I asked the lord to stop coming to my room, things had become so peaceful.
Only Lucian checked on me three times a week. Although he didn't stay long, he always made a few jokes to get me laughing. He also brought me a few books and cotton to knit and pass my days.
I was very healthy and doing my best to keep my word because my little sister, too, wasn't harmed in any way.
Rachel was nowhere to be seen, and that was a relief.
Was I happy? No, I usually felt lonely, and there were times my wolf and I missed our mate's closeness. But despite that, I was looking forward to meeting my pup, of whom I had no idea whether he or she would take after me or my mate.
"Here it is," Serai said happily when she walked in with a tray of food.
I quickly got up from my bed and rushed to sit at the table. I was starving.
She quickly served the food and stood with a smile.
"Aren't you going to eat with me today?" I asked sadly.
"No, my lady, we discussed this. At this stage, you are supposed to eat more," she answered.
"But I asked you to always prepare a portion for yourself," I complained as I ate.
"I wish I could, my lady, but there is a head servant who always makes sure the portions are only for you. If it exceeds the necessary portion, I might be put into an interrogation," she answered as I smiled sadly and continued to eat.
"It's not like she doesn't eat with you sometimes," my wolf purred.
"I know, but I always enjoy her company when we are eating," I answered in silence.
As I ate, I kept sighing sadly until the plates were empty.
Serai picked up the empty plates and excused herself.
I sat alone in the room, thinking of what to do when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.
I instantly moved my hand there as I tried to stand up but failed when the pain began to intensify.
Sweat was forming on my forehead, and my breath was becoming labored while my vision began to blur. My headache was piercing, and the sharpness of the pain was only becoming greater by the minute until I fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
When Serai burst in, running, she looked at me with widened eyes of fear and shock, and then ran out, screaming for help.
I felt warm liquid slide down my thighs, and the smell of blood hit my nose.
"No, no, no, please no," I cried out in pain.
When the doors opened, I picked up my mate's scent, Lucian's, as well as Serai's.
I groaned in pain when I felt hands go around me and push me backward.
"My lord, please step back. I'll try my best to heal the lady. She's bleeding badly; you need to calm down!" Lucian screamed as he moved his hands to my stomach.
I couldn't stop sobbing because I felt it. I had lost my unborn pup.
After a few minutes, my vision cleared, and I looked at Lucian, who had a pained expression on his face.
"Lucian," I whispered huskily as he forced a smile onto his face.
"You are okay; I got rid of the poison in your veins," he said as I looked at Serai, who was sobbing loudly, and then back at him.
"My pup?" I asked in a cracked voice.
He frowned deeply and then seriously looked at my mate, who was holding me close to his chest.
"My pup, Lucian!" I screamed out crazily.
"I'm so sorry, my lady," he whispered as I felt dizzy.
My chest was in pain, and I couldn't even say a word. All I could do was sob silently, even when my mate stood up with me in his arms and walked out of my room and into a huge bathhouse.
I closed my eyes and sobbed for what felt like an hour, losing consciousness a few times.
When I was woken up by the sound of a door opening, I forced myself to look around.
I was lying down in my room on my bed.
I swallowed hard and looked at the one who was approaching me.
"Who?" I asked bitterly, then bit my tongue when I picked up my mate's scent.
"What? Are you here to mock me for being a terrible dog who couldn't protect its own unborn pup?" I asked in a cracked voice as tears filled my eyes.
I was shocked when he moved and knelt down beside the bed.
He was about to move his hand and touch mine when I moved it.
"Who did this to me?" I asked powerlessly.
"Was it Rachel?" I asked as tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Yes," he answered in a low tone, shocking me even more.
"You let her do this to me, didn't you?" I asked as I sat upright.
When he couldn't respond, I raised my hand, digging my claws into his shoulders as I sobbed loudly and watched him hiss in pain.
"I curse the day I was mated to you; I curse it all!" I screamed at the top of my voice, then quickly moved my hands to my chest when a sharp pain pierced it.
I tried to breathe slowly, but I couldn't bear the pain. I felt like I was choking as I covered my mouth, coughing loudly and ignoring my mate's hand against my back.
When I dropped my hand and looked at my bloody hands, then at my mate, I widened my eyes. The cloth was ripped off his face, and he had a terrified expression.
He was one handsome bastard, that much I could see. His cheekbones and sharp nose only added to the beauty of his features. Yet that was useless now because, deep down, he was a rotten jerk.
"Is this the gift I get now that I'm dying?" I forced out the words as I coughed violently.
My mate frowned deeply as tears ran down his cheeks, astonishing me for a few seconds.
I wanted to feel bad for him, but I felt nothing.
"Your tears don't move me, Ezra. I still curse the day I met you. I actually wish I had been dead before I met you. You are the cause of all this; are you happy now?" I cut my sentence short and screamed out in pain when the agony shot through me again; this time, it felt like it was ripping my chest apart.
"Amia, please stop talking. The poison was infused with a dark spell; it spreads quickly when you talk. Lucian thought he stopped it, but he did nothing," he screamed out in tears as I looked at him coldly and then laughed in pain.
"This is how it ends, huh? It's actually not a bad way to go; I get to see you look pathetic," I forced out the words.
"I love you, and I have always loved you from the very first time I set my eyes on you, Amia," he whispered as tears continued to run down his cheeks.
"But because of the dark spell she put on me, my heart hardened. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't win. If I hadn't let her in from the very beginning..."she wouldn't have become so strong. But I can reverse it all, even if it costs me my own life," he said, then pulled out a dagger that was strapped to his waist.
I couldn't understand what he was saying as my vision slowly began to blur and my breath turned into pants.
"My nest has laws and customs you don't even know about. It also has forbidden things and magic that one should never use because they become corrupted and end up being evil, be it in this life or their next," he said in a whisper as he moved the dagger to his chest.
"If you die before me, it will all be useless, and it will end forever. For this forbidden spell to work, I have to die first," he said, then sniffed and smiled.
"I never thought I would ever perform such a spell in all my life, but if it means I would grant you a different life and a second chance at freedom, then I will do it, even if it means you hating me and remembering everything. I pray and hope that in your next life, you become free and love someone else," he said, and then pierced the dagger into his heart as I screamed out in panic and fear.
I moved and fell to the floor next to him, pressing my trembling hands on his wounded chest.
"You can't, Ezra. You do not deserve to die first, not after the hell you put me through," I forced out the husky words.
I hated him, but I never wanted him dead, not before he paid for his sins.
"I will make it right, Amia, so just let go," he forced out the words as I screamed for help, trying so hard to ignore the piercing pain in my chest.
When he began taking in short breaths, I shook my head, sobbing.
He smiled at me and then took in one long, last breath and released it slowly.
"Ezra?" I called in a low, cracked voice when his breathing stopped.
I moved my hand to his cheek and sobbed bitterly.
It was all over.
My father was going to kill my sister.
I had lost my pup and my mate. I had no reason to live or make it through because, either way, I couldn't stop the intense pain I was feeling that was now making me suffocate.
I rested my head against my mate's stomach with a smile as I coughed up more blood.
The present I was living wasn't the future the young me daydreamed or wished for. A part of me never saw this coming.
But if dying was the only way for me to rest from all the hell I had endured, then I was more than willing to welcome death.