Wolf Prince [Moon Bound Book 2]

14 ➤ Alpha of the Knights

Eleanor lay on the bed for what seemed to be an eternity until finally the wall beside the bed flickered and turned to glass. As she sat up, the portal became more and more visible. Through it, came Beth, but she was not alone. Caleb was with her. Eleanor didn't know him, but she knew plenty about the man who loved Ludovica before Dmitri. At the thought of what her friend went through, pain spread in her heart.

Isaac was feeling that same pain.

She held a hand against her trembling lips and tried to fight the tears rising. Beth crawled into the bed and hugged her, stroking her hair like a mother would to her child.

"I don't know what to do," Eleanor whispered, scared that someone might hear her.

"First, we must focus on hiding the baby."

"How can you do such thing?"

"With a simple shadowing spell."

Eleanor shook her head. "Walter has the right to know."

"I'm not afraid of Walter."

Eleanor lifted her head from her friend's shoulder and met her concerned eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Eleanor, you are married to Walter. This is adultery."

Eleanor pulled back and ran a hand through her hair. "And adultery is punished by death." A humorless laugh erupted from her rosy lips. "The Queen would be more than happy to cut off my head."

"Eleanor," Beth leaned closer. "If you wish to terminate the pregnancy—"

"No. Of course not!"

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"Why should I punish an innocent life for something I did? It's not the baby's fault."

"How are you going to hide the belly from Walter? The spell will not help with that."

"I don't know."

There was an long silence before Beth asked, "Are you at least going to tell Isaac? He is the father and—"

"And what? What do you want me to do? If I tell Isaac, he will not want me to hide the pregnancy. Everyone will know and—" Eleanor's tears came back in full force at the thought of everyone treating her baby as they had treated her. No. She wouldn't permit that to happen.

She stood and made a run for the portal, but strong arms held her against her will. She struggled against Caleb, but he didn't release her.

"Eleanor, you cannot run from this," Beth said as she stood from the bed.

"I can't stay here. I can't have my child here." She went limp in Caleb's arms. Beth came to her and placed her hand against her flat stomach. "You haven't been eating well. You need to start taking good care of yourself."

Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut when images of her father beating her for no damn reason flashed before her. She shook her head. "Beth, I can't stay. How can I stay here when everyone will hate my child. I'm not married to Isaac—"

"And he is your true mate. What can they say? The pull is stronger than anything in this world." Beth glanced at Caleb. "Isn't it babe?"

Caleb released Eleanor when she stood upright. "It sure drew Ludovica and Dmitri together."

"It used to be so rare for mates to find each other," Eleanor muttered. "Now, it seems that they're crossing paths more often."

"Yes, perhaps because the rogues and pack wolves are living amongst each other," Beth said with a smile. "If Dmitri would have never fought beside Ludovica, Caleb and I would have never crossed paths. Neither would have Alfonso and Isabel."