Fated To Rise

Chapter 5

Pain ran through my skull, it was sharp and relentless. My breath comes in ragged gasps as I sit up, my fingers trembling against my mattress. The dream—no, the vision or whatever I will call it lingers in my mind like a warning I don’t yet understand.

I saw flashes of silver chains. Blood was pooling across a cold metal table and wolves were screaming in agony.

I grip my head tightly, trying to push the images away, but they won’t fade. It wasn’t just a nightmare. It felt real to me.

A knock at the door rips me from my thoughts, jerking me up immediately and the door swings open before I can respond who was at the door.

And madam Yvette steps inside, her eyes narrowing as she is trying to understand what must be wrong. “The Lycan King requests your presence.”

My stomach knots as she mentioned that.

Killian has been distant lately, and it was unpredictable. For some moment, his gaze was fixed on me as if I was something precious to him—then, just as quickly, like a flash, he turned cold, like I was nothing at all to him. Leaving me confused if I ever met anything to him.

I follow Yvette, my mind still trapped in the vision. As we stepped into the hall, Killian was standing near the windows, his golden eyes gazing at the moonlight.

Yvette left me there. I called her back but she was already gone.

I was left alone with him. He didn't look at me immediately, but I could feel the weight of his attention as soon as I entered the room. Nervous ran down my spine.

“Come here,” he murmured with low commanding voice.

The command in his voice sends a shiver down my spine, and I obey even when I question myself what the call may be about, I had no answer. His fingers twitch at his sides as if he’s resisting the urge to reach for me. I swallowed hard, I understood. I can feel it now—the mate bond was pulling between us like an invisible thread. But Killian is fighting it. He was holding it hard.

“I am asking this question for the second time” he paused and stare into my eyes.

Wondering what the question he was about to ask was, my hands were trembling and I couldn't look into his eyes.

“What have you been hiding from me?” he asked.

First I was taken aback by the question. My mind is wandering with questions.

Did he find out I was pregnant? I hid the expression quickly and stiffen in amusement. “I don’t know what you mean by that”

His gaze sharpens as if he was searching my face for answers. “That’s a lie, I need nothing but the truth.”

I hold my breath tightly, waiting for his fury to come crashing down on me—but before he can press further, the doors burst open without a request. A warrior rushed inside, his face filled with urgency.

“My King—intruders.” he dropped. Panting heavily.

Killian’s expression hardened, his glance moved to the guard. “Where?”

“The outer borders. We caught one alive.” he murmured.

My pulse quickens as Killian walks past me, his presence was like a storm rolling through the hall and he was ready to destroy anything in his way. I have no choice but to follow him behind.

When we reached the dungeons, the scent of blood and wolfsbane filled the air. A man was chained to the stone wall, his body slumped, and his breathing was ragged. But it’s not the prisoner that makes my stomach drop—it’s the insignia burned into his shoulder.

Damien’s family crest.

Killian notices it at the same time I do. He turns slowly, toward that his gaze unreadable as he observes it.

“Do you know who sent him?” he asked me.

I hesitate for a while, but there’s no use lying to him as that would attract more punishment to me.

“Damien’s mother.” I dropped.

Killian’s lips curl in something like amusement, but his eyes are deadly at the same time. “Of course,” he said.

Before he can issue an order, the prisoner lifts his head and spits blood onto the ground, turning his glance at him. “You can kill me, but it won’t change anything. She’s already marked.” he dropped.

My body went frozen. “What?”

The man grins through broken teeth and fakes a smile. “She belongs to the Goddess’s Bloodline. And they’re coming for her and must have her”

Killian’s entire body tenses beside me, his claws coming out. It was clear he was angry also. He reaches forward and grips the man’s throat, lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease. “Who is coming?” he asked him again.

The prisoner only laughs, not minding the pain he was passing through. Then, before anyone can react, his body convulses violently, his eyes rolling back into his head. He begins to seize, foaming at the mouth before going completely still.

He was dead.

A poisoned capsule he was. He was never meant to survive and was only used to pass a message across.

My heart pounds as the reality settles in. I watched him die.

This wasn’t just an attack—it was a warning that something greater was coming my way.

A chill races down my spine, and for the first time since arriving here, true fear grips me. I had become afraid of Killian.

Watching the way he killed the stranger sent shivers that he may also do the same to me if he finds out I had something I was hiding from him.

I’m not just being haunted by the dream. I was being haunted physically and now I am claiming pregnancy.

Before I can speak, something sharp pierces my neck. It was a sting. A whisper of pressure. Then darkness crashes over me. I was having several aches.

I’m falling.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever wake up again. All I cared was for my unborn child to survive this plaque that had befallen me.