Tasting 311

311–Akira Is Free Now

Nora:

As they finished their discussion, Royal Beta stepped forward to announce their decision. “After you

give birth, you will fight mutant rogues every night. There will be an audience, and they will place

bets. Your victories will allow you to spend time with your baby, but only after you are administered

wolfbane, as we cannot risk you escaping.”

Brody smiled frequently. The prospect of money and popularity for his pack seemed far more

appealing to him than his love for me.

I knew no one would ever make me their priority; even my parents had not. But there had been a

flicker of hope in my heart that I might be loved by my fated mates one day. That hope had now

vanished.

“And until the birth of that child, you will be a servant of the pack,” Royal Gamma said, walking up to

me and grabbing me roughly.

“Prepare a silver electric anklet for her,” Brody ordered, and hist subjects nodded. I was taken out of

the room and sent to the maid. quarters, the area designated for servants.

But I noticed that, unlike the rooms for the maids, mine was quite different. It was very narrow and

tiny, with almost no ventilation since even the single window in the room was blocked. The small

bed had a severely worn–out mattress. Just looking at it made me wonder how much my back

would ache from lying down on it.

“Make sure you don’t lose this baby. It will make our pack rich again,” Royal Gamma said coldly,

throwing me into the empty room with a single mattress in the corner before slamming the door

shut.

311–Akira Is Free Now

I stared into the distance, struggling to hold back my tears.

“Shed your tears, Nora. We cannot afford to be weak for our baby. So cry tonight, as someone alive,

but from tomorrow, we will live only for our child,” Akira whispered.

“They didn’t reject us, Akira. Now, every time they sleep with their chosen mates, we will feel the

pain.” I said, overwhelmed with worry and uncertainty about how to take care of myself.

“We are so young. I don’t know anything about being pregnant,” I broke down, burying my face in

my hands and sobbing.

“I’ll help you,” Akira said, struggling to hold back her own tears, trying to appear strong for me.

“But if we keep thinking about our mates and Brody’s cold-

heartedness, we’ll only get ourselves into trouble. And why should we care about anyone else now

that we have our baby? The three of us will be enough for each other.

Her words brought a huge smile to my lips. I nodded in agreement and cleared my throat.

“Feeling better?” she inquired, and I flashed her a broken smile. I know the next few months will be

very hard for me, but I’ll get through them. I’ll do anything for my babies, and starting now, I’ll stop

living for anyone other than them.

“I will never let them take this baby from me. I’ll forget this baby has a father,” I hissed, my fists

clenched.

“I’ll become a warrior, take my baby, and run away. I’ll leave and never look back at these pathetic

people who chose everything else over me,” I declared, lying down on the mattress.

311 Akira is Free Now

That’s when the door opened, and Clara stepped in, making sure she didn’t enter fully.

“What do you want now?” I no longer kept my tone respectful. I was a prisoner here, someone who

wasn’t wanted or accepted.

“Look at your attitude. I thought you were just mean and greedy. I didn’t know you were-” Before she

could finish, I let out a loud groan, cutting her off.

“Since you know me so well now, you must have heard how I handled the Royal Gamma’s attitude.

Do you want me to come over there and do the same to you? Because trust me, I’ll do it gladly,” I

gave her at creepy smile, noticing her smirk quickly vanish.

“And don’t think I won’t do it. Ever heard of a sane person losing their mind? They become deadly.”

My threat seemed to have frightened her because she quickly stepped back and exited the room.

“Rot here, you deserve this,” she muttered hastily, not having the courage to say it while still inside,

then slammed the door shut.

I could see the guards assembling outside to make sure I didn’t try to

escape.

Akira was right. We no longer needed to fear. She could come out anytime since she was now an

asset to the pack, and they wouldn’t dare execute her. At least, that much I had realized about these

power- hungry and greedy pack royals.

My back ached, and I felt a strange heartache. After hours of crying alone, I eventually drifted off to

sleep.