Chapter 27

“Is it true?” She asked Hycinth. “Is Lola carrying your child?”
“Yes, Mother. It is true,” Hycinth confirmed. “Who told you.”
“She did,” his mother replied. “Her belly is beginning to round and I wanted to know why such a skinny girl was growing big in the middle. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There was nothing to tell,” he replied. “I knew everyone will find out about it eventually, so why should we announce it prematurely?”
“I am not everybody!” She snapped at him. “Don’t you realize what this means, Hycinth? Lola is carrying your heir.”
“His heir?” I asked angrily. “Her child cannot be named the heir. I am the Luna of the pack, I am the one to produce the heir.”
“So, why haven’t you?” She fired back sassily. “We have been waiting for nearly a year now, haven’t we?”
I was speechless.
“Please, don’t speak to my mate in that manner, Mother. I don’t like it.”
“And I don’t like how you act like a wimp when you are near her,” she replied. “I know you’re madly in love with her but that shouldn’t rob you of your senses.”
“Mother…” he warned her.
“I am disappointed in you, Hycinth,” she said. “You are denying your first child and keeping his existence a secret when he should be living under the same tent with you. You should be ashamed of yourself. Your father would be rolling in his grave right now.”
“Mother, please. Stop being so dramatic.”
“Dramatic? Is that what this is? Do you even know the danger of what you’re doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you have any idea how the rest of the pack will react when they find out about this?” She asked him. “Do you want to lose your respect with them? Do you want them to see you as a weak Alpha?”
That question got Hycinth thinking and it worried me too. I didn’t want the pack to hate me because they thought I was keeping Hycinth from claiming his child. Whether I liked it or not, that was his heir and everyone had to know about it.
“She’s right,” I said to him. “The pack shouldn’t find out about the child through gossip. You should announce it to them by yourself.”
He stared at me in wonder. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I replied sadly.
He sighed with relief and hugged me very tightly. “I love you, Jade. You’re the best!”
That evening, the announcement was made. Everyone in the pack rejoiced and a feast was thrown to celebrate the good news.
Following his mother’s suggestion, Hycinth began to share our tent with Lola because that was supposed to help him bond with the baby before its birth. I was then given a tent nearby where Hycinth could come to visit me whenever he wanted.
Once again, I was sharing my mate with my enemy and I was practically abandoned. I could hear the two of them having sex all night, every night and it made me jealous. Hycinth hardly touched me when he came to meet me because he had used all of his energy on Lola.
“I thought you said Lola and the baby would never come between us?” I asked him one evening when he came into my tent.
“You gave me your word, Hycinth. What has happened since then?”
He sighed tiredly. He had been having sex with Lola earlier because I heard their loud moans and the sticky sounds of their private parts colliding with each other.
“I am here, am I not?” He asked impatiently and lay on my bed.
“What you’re doing to me isn’t fair Hycinth,” I told him tearfully. “You claim to love me but I hardly see you anymore.”
“Please, stop complaining,” he groaned. “I came here to relax, ok?”
I was hurt by the way he was dismissing my feelings but I didn’t want to quarrel with him. I went to lie down beside me and all I could smell was Lola’s scent and the odour of their lovemaking. It made my stomach roll, so I stood up and went outside instead.
Things became worse for me after Lola gave birth to her son. He was named the Alpha’s heir and the pack celebrated his arrival with many days of festivities.
Lola’s attitude towards me drove me into depression. Hycinth’s mother didn’t help matters either because she kept calling Lola the Luna. Soon enough, the rest of the pack followed her lead until I was unofficially demoted to being a regular member of the pack.
It was as if history was repeating itself all over again. I prayed and hoped that I would get pregnant but that never happened. Instead, Lola became pregnant again barely eight months after giving birth to her first child. I became miserable.
I started to spend much of my time away from the rest of the pack every day. I hiked in the woods and went solo fishing at a nearby lake. I fantasized about running away many times but I never had the guts to do it. Besides, where would I go?
One day, I remembered the Lycan that saved me from my former Alpha mates in the southern woods and wondered if he was still there. Should I search for him? Would Hycinth look for me if I left?
These thoughts made me restless for days until I couldn’t bear them anymore. Finally, I made up my mind to leave the Gypsy Pack. I waited until the time of Lola’s childbirth before making my move.
While the entire pack was in a frenzy as they waited for their unofficial Luna to become a mother again, I sneaked out of the camp and raced to the ports near the Highland sea. I had taken a knife with me and I used it to chop off my ridiculously long hair.
I didn’t want anyone to recognize me by my hair. I dumped the excess hair on a heap of burning trash in a neighbouring village before I continued my journey.
At the ports, I was asked for money before I would be allowed to get on the southbound boat. Since I didn’t have any on me, I gave the captain my necklace with the wolf head. He accepted it gladly and let me onboard.
Once the boat started sailing, I felt free again. The wind blew my shoulder-length hair and caressed my scalp. I smiled happily and felt the weight of the world lifting off my thin shoulders.
I was free and couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the world had in store for me. I was ready for an adventure of a lifetime.