Talia POV

"Miss, we’ve now left Turin. Where exactly do you want to go?"

The driver asked after driving for more than an hour.

"Please help me find a nearby motel," I replied.

“Sure.” He replied positively, and a few minutes later, he pulled up to a decent motel.

"Here we are."

"Could you... lend me $1,000?" I asked the driver hesitantly."This necklace is worth at least $30,000."

He looked back at me with furrowed eyes. "We had an agreement, right?!I drive you out of the city, and you give me the necklace. How can you go back on your word? Besides, just because you say it's worth $30,000 doesn’t mean it really is. Now, get out!"

His words hurt me, but I had no choice. I got out and stood in front of the motel, having no clue what to do without money.

Just then, a group of men on motorcycles pulled up at the motel entrance.

"Well, well, look what a pretty little thing we have here,” A red-bearded man said with a smirk. “ Did some guy knock you up and dump you?”

Seeing the danger, I walked away, to which he got off the bike and followed me.

Oh god, princess, look at your swollen feet. Why don’t you be my woman? I’ll take good care of you."

He let out a sharp whistle, prompting laughter from his companions.

I quickly turned and tried to run into the motel, but they blocked my way.

Before I could scream for help, a strong voice echoed. "Let go of her!"

I turned toward the voice and froze.

Carson!

He stepped between me and a bearded man, his posture confident.

"I’ll give you $10,000 if you let her go. Otherwise, I’m calling the police," Carson said, his voice firm.

The red-bearded man gave Carson a once-over. "You her husband?"

Carson didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out his wallet and handed over all the cash he had.

"She’s just a pregnant woman. Let her go," Carson said politely, and the man ordered his group to leave.

Once freed, Carson turned to me. “Are you okay?

“Mmm…But how did you find me?” I asked curiously.

"There’s no time to explain. Get in the car. Damon’s on his way," he said, ushering me into the car.

Before I could even buckle my seatbelt, I caught sight of a black Lamborghini in the rearview mirror.

“Damon is alreay here, Carson!” Fear gripped my heart.

Carson sped off. but Damon’s car closed in even faster, and with a loud crash, his car rammed into ours.

I clung tightly to the door handle, my body drenched in cold sweat by the time Carson’s car came to a stop.

Before I could balance myself, Damon opened the door and yanked me out.

"Damon, how can you be such a bastard?! Talia is carrying your child!" Carson shouted, jumping out of the car and grabbing Damon by the collar.

But his strength couldn’t match Damon. He was just a human like me.

Damon sneered and pushed Carson to the ground with a single punch. "My child? This is probably just your excuse to protect your own."

"Alpha Damon," Abby cut in, approaching Damon with a small bag of white powder. "This was found in their car. It’s the same wolfbane that’s been used against our pack’s werewolves."

Damon sniffed the powder, his expression instantly darkening.

"I loved you so much, and yet you keep betraying me! You even conspired with your lover to harm my pack! Maybe I should’ve never trusted you malicious humans in the first place!" Damon shouted, his hand closing around my neck.

I wanted to defend myself, but I could barely breathe.

"Damon, have you lost your mind? We didn’t do anything!" Carson said, struggling to his feet and prying Damon’s hand away from my throat.

"The evidence was found in your car, and you still dare to deny it?" Damon snapped. "Abby, take them both to jail. I don’t want to see them again."

Abby nodded.

"Damon! I didn’t do anything! You have to believe me—I was framed!" I coughed and called after him as he walked away.

"Damon!"

He didn’t look back.

"This is your doing, isn’t it?!” Carson turned to Abby, his face reddened with rage. “You’re the one who framed us! You planted that wolfbane in my car.”

Abby instantly shifted into her wolf form and slashed Carson’s chest with her claws.

And before we could do anything, a police car pulled up and stopped right in front of us.

Talia POV

"Talia, you are accused of poisoning the Nightstar Pack, violating the Inter-Species Peace Act. According to criminal law, you are sentenced to three years of imprisonment. If you are dissatisfied with this ruling, you have the right to appeal..."

As I listened to the judge read my verdict, my mind went blank.

I turned my gaze to the plaintiff's seat, where Damon sat. His eyes were as cold as ice.

A bitter smile crept onto my face. "Damon, if I told you I truly did nothing, would you believe me?"

"No." He answered without a moment of hesitation.

I looked at Abby, sitting next to him, and my mind cast back to Carson’s words–

Talia!! Abby set us up. She was the one who told me to come save you, but Damon showed up right after.

I took a deep breath and faced Damon again. "Damon, it’s Abby! She is the one framing Carson and me!"

"Motive?" Damon sneered coldly, his eyes full of mockery. "Abby has countless scars on her body from protecting me and the Nightstar Pack. She would never do anything to betray the pack. But you? Your parents were killed by werewolves. I saved you out of kindness, but it turns out you got close to me just to seek revenge on werewolves!"

"No, that’s not true. I truly loved you! I can never dream of hurting you.”

"Love?! You rejected me—is that love? You slept with another man and even got pregnant—is that love? You poisoned my pack—does that count as love, too?" Damon’s expression grew grimmer, and his voice sharpened. "You’re not worthy of love, and you don’t deserve mine!"

Each accusation struck me like a dagger, and my knees buckled. I realized that anything I said wouldn’t matter.

"Your Honor, I’m pregnant. I request a suspension of my sentence," I said, placing my hand on my abdomen.

"You can give birth in prison.” Damon interrupted before the judge could respond. “Did you think being pregnant would shield you from the consequences of poisoning my pack? No way."

"Do you really hate me this much, Damon? I asked, tears streaking my face. “Do you want me dead this desperately.?"

Memories of our tender moments flooded my mind—his kisses, his caresses, his sweet words—all of it now felt like a cruel joke.

At that moment, I almost wished the child in my womb wasn’t his.

"I’m not as cruel as you! I only want you to face the punishment you deserve." Damon’s voice broke my reverie.

"Damon, I didn’t do it, believe me!” I screamed at Damon with all my might as two police officers escorted me away. “I didn’t do anything! One day, you’ll regret this—I hate you!"

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t even once look back.

***

Perhaps because I was pregnant, I was assigned a solitary room.

I received some special treatment with my meals. Even the doctor visited regularly for checkups. However, the room was damp and cold, without windows or sunlight. I could feel the weight of the environment affecting not just me, but also the little ones in my belly.

“I’m sorry. It’s Mommy who’s making you all suffer,” I whispered to my unborn children as I gently caressed my stomach while curled up on the small bed.

“Talia, someone’s here to see you,” a prison guard announced, knocking on my door.

I froze for a moment. Could it be Damon?

I hurried to the visitation room only to find Carson, not Damon.

“Carson?! You here? How did you manage to come here?” I asked, surprised. “Weren’t you imprisoned like me?”

“No, my father paid for my bail,” he explained.

I should have guessed. Carson came from a wealthy family. They owned a vast medical conglomerate.

“Carson, you and me both know nothing has ever happened between us, then why did the paternity test claim you as the father of my children? Did you do it on purpose?”

Carson gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“Talia, I admit I’ve been selfish and arrogant before, and I might have caused you trouble. But I can’t do something this despicable, especially to you. I’m damn sure, Abby is behind all this. What I don’t understand is why she’s targetting us? ”

“I’m sorry, Carson.” I reached out and held his hand. “I didn’t mean to doubt you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He gave an assuring smile.

“Can I ask you for a favor? Can you deliver the real paternity test for my baby—and yours—to Damon? Even though I no longer held any affection for Damon, I had to think about the three babies growing inside me. I didn’t want them to come into the world as orphans.”

Carson shook his head, regret etched on his face.

“Coming here was already done behind my parents’ backs. My father won’t even let me leave the house anymore. Besides, Damon already sees me as a criminal. There’s no way I can get close to him.”

I sighed in disappointment.

“No, problem.” I smiled at him.“Thank you for everything you did for me. I know it was you who made sure I was treated here gently.”

“What do you mean, me?” Carson looked puzzled.

“I mean the guards. They’ve treated me kindly—Giving me good food, no hard labor. Of course, it must be you.”

“No, It wasn’t me.” Carson confessed.

“Oh…if it is not you, who can be? Carson, I’m so worried. I just want my babies to be safe. They are my only family now.”

“ I promise I will do everything to ensure your children are born safely,” Carson said in an assuring tone. “It’s my fault you were falsely accused by Damon. If I hadn’t pursued you, maybe Damon wouldn’t have rejected his own children. I owe you that much.”

After Carson left, an uneasy feeling crept into my heart.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the doctor’s warning during my last prenatal checkup. I feared something might go wrong during childbirth.

The doctor had told me I was carrying triplets, and my uterine wall was stretched dangerously thin. The risk of severe bleeding during labor was high.

If something were to happen to me, who would take care of my children?

With this thought, I picked up the pen and wrote a letter to Damon.

“Damon, I want to see you—just one last time.”

Talia POV

One day passed, then two days, then three days, and by the fourth day, Damon finally arrived.

I should hate him- hate him so much that his thought itself made my teeth gnash.

But for the sake of the child, I still invited him over.

"Speak. Why did you want to see me?" He stood strong and powerful in front of me as his cold eyes bore down on me.

"Damon, I know no matter how much I explain, you won’t believe me. But I’ve something to ask from you.” I started, my voice shaky. Damon, I was your mate, and you have loved me once, right? So, If I die, can you please set up a trust fund for my child? Just give them enough to survive and get an education. That is all I want now., please.” I begged, sincere and humble.

Damon’s lips curled up. "Talia, it seems I have spoiled you so much in the past. You actually want me to take care of your and another man's bastard child! Why don’t you ask Carson?"

"The child isn’t Carson’s!"

"Are you still trying to say that the child is mine?" Damon sneered coldly.

I helplessly shook my head, my heart bleeding.

"I don’t want to prove anything, Damon! All I want is to secure my child’s future and for that I can do anything you ask for.”

"Oh is it?! Then please me," Damon said, grabbing my neck and leaning in close to whisper in my ear.

Then, he grabbed my hand and placed it over him. Through a layer of fabric, I could clearly feel his arousal.

Even though there was nothing left between us but hatred, my cheeks too flushed. Also, the scent and warmth from his body seemed to soothe the long-standing emptiness and loneliness inside me.

"If I please you, will you agree to take care of my child?" I asked, meeting his eyes.

"Yes," Damon whispered, biting my neck at the same spot where he had once marked me.

Old memories flooded my mind. He had once carried me up a cliff. In that secluded, far-away place, I had given myself completely to him. He marked me, and the sharp pain, along with strange warmth, had rippled through me. I couldn’t see the bond, but I knew that from that moment on, our fates were intertwined.

But why? Why did we end up like this?

I slowly unbuttoned his shirt and gently caressed his chiseled muscles. And as I was about to kiss his lips, he pulled away.

I snapped myself out of the old memories.

No, Talia, this is just a transaction. We are no longer the same as before.

I, at once, got down on my knees and unbuckled his belt, taking his hard out.

"Damon, you can't back out," I said, looking up at him.

"Say it, you're mine," Damon suddenly yanked my hair harshly and pulled me to his manhood.

"Damon, I’m yours."

"Say you're a slut."

"I... I am a slut." Tears slid down my cheeks.

"Talia, you used to pretend so well! Only now can I see clearly, you're nothing but a bitch."

I didn’t reply and put my mouth on the job.

As he released, Damon left without a word.

I had never seen this side of Damon before; it was more beastly than a wild animal.

In the past, because I was an ordinary human, Damon used to be very gentle and caring with me. Every time we made love, he would gently ask me, "Does this hurt? Is it comfortable?"

But today, he treated me as nothing more than an outlet for his release.

The only thing I liked about him was he didn’t harm my children. And I also believe that he will keep his promise.

After all, during the year we were together, he never broke his word not just to me, but to everyone in his pack as well.

The days after I met Damon, things changed in prison, too. The food got better and better.

The guards even brought me some baby care books.

I curiously read it and followed the methods and exercises mentioned in it. Time flew by quickly, and before I realized it, five months had passed.

The movements of the babies grew stronger.

My belly had gotten so big that I could hardly lie down to sleep anymore.

I was carrying triplets, so from the start, my belly was much larger than that of a normal pregnant woman.

The gynecologists in the prison also increased in number. I didn’t know if that was too arranged by Damon. I haven’t heard from him since that day.