Chasing His Betrayed Luna by KiKi Jones

11. A Hefty Price

AURELIA

Hiding in plain sight has always been one of my few talents. Although | have always been singled out, | have also

perfected the act of blending in and making sure | was not seen by the prying eyes of anyone who could prey on

me...

And by anyone, | meant everybody that | had cacross in the past months, including Alpha Raiden's men.

Alpha Raiden...

For someone who doesn't give a shit about me, he was quite persistent to find me. | knew he was sending his

men out to every corner and small town so he could trapagain and punish me. That was his style.

But | beat him this time. After all, | had survived the harsh world that | found after | escaped the Dark Moon Park.

I survived for eight months, moving from one rogue territory to another, from one small dangerous town to

another. | discovered that there was a whole different world beyond the territory of Dark Moon Pack where | have

been all twenty-one years of existing as my pathetic self.

"Move it!" Someone snarled behind me, breaking my chain of thought and causingto stagger. "It's a

dangerous place for a pretty pregnant woman to be walking alone at night, don't you think?"

"I'm not alone." | stuttered, holding my belly as | pulled Dakota's old coat aroundto shield my baby bump

from the world.

"You wish." The man behindsnorted before walking ahead of me, blending with the dark and leavingto

navigate the familiar path with my terrible eyesight.

Actually, | did wish | wasn't doing this alone.

| wished | could have a partner who would experience this withand supportwhile our baby grows in my

womb. | wished | didn't have to walk alone at night, carrying bags of junks. | have cacross many refugees in

the past months and most of them had their mates traveling the brutal world with them. | have settled in towns

with sof them but at the end of the day, we all had to move and go our different ways because being

together for anything longer than two months would attract rogues or even Alphas who didn't want any refugee

group to grow stronger and likely stage an attack.

It's been crazy out here and even though | was currently staying in a small town with less than twenty wolves

around, | was grateful to be here with my baby and away from my ex-mate.

Eventually, | arrived in my current hideout- an abandoned hut house in the middle of a town where dangers loom

around like air itself. The Goddess knew that | didn't know where | was and how far | had traveled.

This world and lifestyle aren't what | want for my unborn child.

1 only have a few weeks left to find a pack that would be willing to accept someone likeas its member.

"You will get the best of the best, baby. | promise you that." | whispered to my baby, caressing my belly after |

laid on one of the blankets that Dakota had packed for me.

Taking a stroll at night has been the only way | could stretch my legs for the past few days. | didn't want to be

seen in town so | preferred walking at night and doing my small shopping at night as well.

I munched on the stiff pastry I called dinner, flushed it down with water, and fell into the arms of sleep, resting

even though I was still conscious of my surroundings. Letting my guard down would be a mistake. A mistake that

would most likely costmy life and that of my baby. That was a price | wasn't willing to pay.

"Tomorrow will be a better day." | chanted those words to myself just like | have been doing for the past eight

months, shutting my eyes for the day.

Or at least that was what | thought.

However, hell broke loose sooner than my stiff and heavy body could handle. One minute | was snoring softly,

the next minute hadfrowning in my sleep due to the commotion outside, and before | could even open my

eyes or hide from whatever was causing the noise, | was yanked off my blanket in one swift motion by an

unknown force.

"Gotcha." A rotten smell invaded my nose, that one word resounding in my ears just as my eyes flew open,

horror clouding them.

Perhaps keeping my eyes closed would have helpedassthat | was having a bad dream but | knew better

than to keep them close because not only were my feet dangling in the air, but my heart was beating fast

enough to rip itself out of my chest.

"You were hard to find, sweetheart." The foul smell attacked my nostrils again and while I struggled to make out

the face of the person whose strength could hold a heavily pregnant woman in the air like | weigh nothing, the

feminine voice boomed again. "I won't enjoy killing you but | have to kill you because there is a hefty price on

your head-"

"Please, don't." | whimpered, still unable to make out her face in the darkness of my temporary home. She was

here to kill me. | didn't bother to ask why nor did | ask her who placed a price on my head. "Spare me. For my

baby's sake."

| felt her eyes shift to my stomach as she slowly letdown on my feet. She would letlive. She is a woman

as well and | have nothing to worry about- | thought to myself despite my pounding heart and trembling frame.

"You are pregnant." She stated, stepping closer to me.

"Yes." | breathed unevenly, taking a mental note of the woman's strong physique, my eyes scanning her with

every step she took towards me. "I'll never go back there and you can claim the price on my head but please

don't kill me." She could have the money. Alpha Raiden sure has a lot of that to give and he clearly hasn't given

up on finding and killing me.

"You shouldn't be pregnant. How are you-" Her voice broke and she stopped walking when my back hit the wall,

trapping me. Her fingers settled on my belly, causingto inhale sharply and hold my breath.

Sillyheld on to hope as those fingers accessedbut all hope was lost when the woman beforebegan

to laugh heartily. My eyes widened in shock when her fingers dug into the skin of my stomach, hurtingas she

announced, "Even better, sweetheart. Ripping the baby out of you and taking its body along with your head will

earn us more money."

Us?

She wasn't alone?

My world stopped spinning when | heard more cries and grunts from outside. | shook my head, begging as |

crumbled, squatting against the wall in order to shield my baby from the vicious killers Alpha Raiden had sent

my way. Why wouldn't he give up on me?

What have | ever done to deserve the hell he was hellbent on lockingin?

"I won't be dying today," | muttered, my free hand searching the floor for anything that could save me.

The woman laughed, "Oh, sweetheart. You'll be dying and I'll be presenting your head to-"

The rest of her words died in her throat when | sprang to my feet, threw myself on her, and stabbed her in the

neck with the rusty fork | found on the floor when she was gloating.

Adrenaline crackled within me, turning my fear into rage as | pushed the fork even deeper, with the intention to

kill because no one else could know about my baby... she wouldn't live to tell that story. | gritted, pushing the

metallic fork even deeper, ignoring her blood as it gushed all over my body and the floor.

| didn't realize that | had killed someone until a voice yelled from outside, "She is in here. June found her..."

June... That has to be her name. The nof the woman | killed to keep my baby safe.

| didn't wait around to be found by June's friends.

Leaping over the window of the hut regardless of my weight, | left everything | owned behind and jumped out

just as the door opened again. | didn't look back to count but | knew more than four people were hot on my heels

asl ran.

I ran blindly and it didn't surprisewhen | stumbled, crashing to the floor with zero hope of rising again.