Chapter 14

I woke up many hours later and saw that it was now daytime and I was still alone in the locked attic. I wept when I remembered what had happened to me.
What would I do now? How do I escape from this place and get my baby back?
My breasts were heavy with milk and I longed to feed my baby with them but he wasn’t here. I wondered how he was doing; was he crying for me? Was he sleeping?
My answers finally came when someone unlocked the attic door and came in. It was Banjo, Tarik’s partner. He squeezed his nose in disgust when he entered the room and saw me lying on the floor.
“How can you breathe in this stinking room?” He asked, covering his nose with his hand.
“Where is my baby?” I asked him, ignoring his insult.
“Well, I have good news for you,” he said, still covering his nose. “The Luna wishes to see you in her room but first, you must get cleaned up and properly dressed before you meet her.”
“Where are Tarik and Lynda?”
“Stop asking me stupid questions and get up!” He shouted at me.
I was angry but this wasn’t the time to lose my temper. Meeting the Luna was a good thing. At least that meant that I wasn’t going to be left here in the attic to die.
Banjo grabbed my arm and dragged me roughly to my feet. I screamed in pain but he ignored me and continued to drag me out of the room.
“I didn’t come here to suffocate inside that stinky room with you,” he said when we were out of the attic.
“What is wrong with you? Can’t you see that I’m in pain?”
“I don’t care!” He yelled at me. “Now, follow me.”
He took me to another quarter of the palace that I had never been to before. He led me into a small room that was neater than the attic but only had a bed, a chair and a tiny wardrobe in it.
“This will be your room from now on,” he said. “There’s a bathroom over there. Go and clean yourself up inside, and when you’re done, grab a clean dress from the wardrobe to wear. I will be back in a few minutes to take you to Luna Elena.”
He left before I could ask him for food. I was starving and tired but I went ahead and did as he had instructed me. It felt good to have a warm bath after hours of being locked up in a stuffy attic.
As soon as I finished dressing up, Banjo returned with a tray of food. “Eat quickly,” he said to me and left the room again.
I didn’t like the way he was being mean to me but if being quiet and obedient was all I needed to do to find my baby, then so be it.
I ate my food hungrily, not minding that it didn’t taste so good. I could feel my strength coming back as I began to recover. By the time Banjo came back, I was no longer in pain and I could think clearly.
“Come with me,” he said and I followed him out of the room.
We arrived at the Luna’s room through the main entrance and not the secret corridor. When we went inside, my heart froze when I saw her.
She was carrying my baby and rocking him in her arms while he fussed and cried.
“My baby!” I exclaimed happily and ran to get him.
“Excuse me?” She asked, glaring at me. “Your baby?”
I was surprised by her reaction. “Yes, he is my baby. I gave birth to him last night.”
Elena threw her head back and laughed. “Aren’t you a funny woman, Jade?” She said, grinning. “Have you forgotten what you are in this palace?”
I was quiet. I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“Leave us,” she said to Banjo and he left immediately, shutting the door behind him.
“You are a slave,” she said to me coldly. “You belong to me and Alpha Jaxon, and that means that your baby belongs to us too. He is my child now.”
“No!” I screamed. “You can’t do that!”
She frowned at me. “The only reason why you’re still alive is that I need you to feed my baby for me. If not, I would have ordered Tarik to kill you last night while you were sleeping.”
I felt cold chills running down my body. I couldn’t believe what she was saying to me. I had thought that this woman liked me but I could now see that she had just been using me all along.
“Now that I have your full attention, listen to me carefully,” she said. “From this day, this boy shall be known as my son. You will be his nanny and you will nurse him until we no longer need you. Then you shall return to the harem to continue your duty as one of the Alpha’s sex slaves. Do you understand?”
I couldn’t speak because my throat was tight with fear and tears were running down my face. Of all the wickedness that I had experienced in my life, this was the worst.
“Answer me!” She shouted at me.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, I understand.”
“Good,” she said. “Now come here and feed my son.”
I stepped forward quickly and carried my son. My heart swelled with love the moment he entered my arms. I knew at that moment that I would do anything and everything I had to do to always be with him.
“You will breastfeed him for one year and after then, you will return to where you belong,” said Elena.
I couldn’t decide then who I hated more – Elena or Alpha Jaxon. How could she be so cruel to me? And to think that I once felt sorry for her for being childless. Now I know why the Moon goddess never blessed her with a child. She was too mean and ruthless to be a mother.
She sat on her bed and watched as I breastfed my baby. I sat on a chair beside her window and the sunlight from outside created a shining light around me and my son.
“I have decided to name him Victor,” she said.
I hated the name but I didn’t say anything. I had decided to name my son Domarius, which was a combination of my three mates' names.
It was the name I would call him whenever I was alone with him and it will become his official name once we regain our freedom from this horrible palace.
“I know that look in your eyes, Jade,” Elean said, watching me suspiciously. “I will advise you to give up any plans you have of escaping from this palace. I know that has been your plan for the past one year that you have been here.”
I remained quiet. I was determined not to let her know my thoughts or my plans.
“I will make sure that you are heavily guarded while my son is still in your care,” she said. “If you ever make the mistake of trying to run away with my child, I will make sure you suffer for the rest of your life. You will wish for death but it won’t come.”
“Why do you hate me so much?” I asked her.
She smiled at me but it wasn’t a friendly smile. “I don’t hate you,” she said. “I just want you to remember your place in this palace. You are not special and you will not be treated differently just because you gave birth to my son.”
Anger boiled inside me each time she called my child her son. How dare she? Did she think her threats were enough to scare me?
I have endured so much unkindness since I came to the Highlands but I will not sit back and let this wicked woman steal my child from me.
Luna Elena didn’t know anything about a mother’s love. She didn’t know that I would do everything in my power to get freedom for myself and my son or die trying.