Dorian pulled Willow deeper into the shadows of the garden until they were completely hidden from view.
The darkness wrapped around them like a blanket and she could barely see his face even though he was standing so close to her that she could feel the heat coming from his body.
He pushed her gently against the stone wall of the garden, leaning down until his face was inches from hers.
Willow's breath caught in her throat and her entire body went rigid. She could smell him and it made her dizzy in a way that she did not understand or want to understand.
His eyes were dark and intense as he looked down at her and she felt her heart start to beat faster in her chest.
There was anger radiating from him but there was something else too and it made her skin feel hot and her mind feel foggy.
"What were you thinking?" He asked and his voice was harsh and cold like steel. "Running away in the middle of the night like a fool. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you out there?"
Willow tried to push away from him but he kept her pinned against the wall with his body and she realized that she could not escape. She was trapped and the realization made her want to scream, but also made her body react in ways that confused her.
"I don't care," She spat. Her voice shook, but she forced the words out anyway. "You don't want me here. I heard what you said to your beta. You think I am weak and useless and not fit to be Luna, so why do you care if I leave?"
Dorian's face went dark and his jaw clenched even tighter. He leaned closer to her until their foreheads were almost touching and Willow could feel his breath on her skin.
"You were listening at my door," He growled and it was not a question. It was a statement and his tone made it clear that he was furious that she had overheard his conversation.
"I had to deliver your tea," Willow said with tears starting to form in her eyes as she thought about the words he had said about her. "I heard you talking about me like I was garbage. You said I was weak and not fit for anything."
"You should not have been listening," Dorian growled. He reached up and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
His thumb brushed across her cheek and Willow felt her body respond in a way that made her angry at herself for feeling anything for him at all.
"You don't want me," She gasped and the words came out broken and desperate. "You made that very clear. So let me go. Let me leave this place."
Dorian's eyes flashed with something dark and dangerous and he moved even closer to her until there was barely any space between them. His hand moved from her chin to the back of her neck and he tangled his fingers in her hair.
"You are not going anywhere," He said and his voice was so low and intense that it made her entire body shiver. "You are mine and you will not run from me again."
"I am not yours," Willow spat out at him and she tried to push against his chest but he was immovable like stone. "You made it clear that you do not want me. Magnus said you could just use me to have a child and then throw me away. So let me leave before you have to do that."
Dorian pulled back from her just enough that he could look her in the eyes. His expression was so angry that she thought he might hit her. But he did not hit her.
Instead he leaned down close to her ear and spoke in a voice that was so quiet and so dangerous that it made her blood run cold.
"If you ever try to run away again," He said slowly and deliberately, "I will make sure that when you are pregnant with my child, I will take that child from you the moment it is born. You will never see it again. You will never hold it or care for it or know what happens to it. Do you understand me?"
Willow felt the words hit her like a physical blow and she could not breathe. The thought of losing a child that she had not even conceived yet made her feel like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.
She shook her head, trying to deny what he was saying but she knew that he meant every word.
"You cannot do that," She whispered but her voice was weak and she knew that he could do whatever he wanted because he was the Alpha and she was nothing but a slave.
"I can do whatever I want," Dorian said, releasing her from his grip. "And I will if you ever try to leave again. Now get back to your room before someone finds us out here together."
Willow stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened and what he had threatened to do.
She thought about running but she knew that he would catch her and she thought about what it would mean to lose a child.
The thought was unbearable and it made her feel like she was drowning.
So she turned away from him and she started walking back toward the palace on shaky legs.
Her tears were streaming down her face and she could barely see where she was going but she kept moving forward because she did not know what else to do.
She made her way through the darkened hallways and up the stairs toward her small room.
She did not look at anyone and no one seemed to notice her even though she felt like her pain and her despair were written all over her face for everyone to see.
When she reached her room, she closed the door behind her and she let herself fall onto the bed.
She curled up into a ball and she cried until there were no more tears left and her body had nothing left to give.
She was trapped and she knew it and there was nothing she could do about it because the price of her freedom was too high and she could not pay it.