After spending the whole afternoon resting at the hospital, Perry dragged her tired body back to the hotel just before dusk. Every step felt heavy; she looked completely drained. The truth was-she wasn't ready for any of this. A baby? She hadn't even figured out her own life yet.
Clutching her mouth, she suddenly doubled over as another wave of nausea hit her. She dry-heaved right there in the lobby. Gina, just off work, happened to catch sight of her and rushed over in alarm. She wrapped her arms around Perry's trembling frame.
"Babe, what's going on? Talk to me, are you okay?"
Perry gritted her teeth and let out a faint whisper. Her voice was barely audible. "I'm just... starving. Can we grab something to eat first?"
Worried sick, Gina guided her to the hotel restaurant and poured her a glass of water. "Now spill-what's really up?"
Perry's eyes brimmed with tears, her expression sinking into sadness. "Gina, I... I'm pregnant. What am I supposed to do?"
"What?!" Gina nearly dropped her glass. Her hand flew to her mouth, overwhelmed. "Wait-no way. This has to be from that night, right? But we still don't know who that asshole even is! What are we gonna do?"
Perry's face showed raw panic. She said nothing at first, then barely managed, "I honestly have no clue."
Gina shot her a look-worried, furious. "Perry, we need to track him down. He deserves to know!"
She banged her fist on the table, eyes fierce with frustration. Perry, meanwhile, gave a helpless shake of her head, exhausted and bitter. That hollow pressure in her chest made every breath feel like a chore.
"And then what?" she muttered. "Force him to admit it's his? Act like we're meant to be mates and play house together?"
Gina didn't budge, locking eyes with her. "You at least need to know who he is, Perry. Leave the rest to me-I'm going to figure this out."
Perry didn't have the heart to argue. She gave a tiny nod, distracted, and flipped open the menu.
"Let's just eat something first, Gina, I'm really hungry."
The meal was quick and tense. Afterward, Gina brought her down to the hotel's security room. Perry's chest tightened as the door clicked shut. Her breathing turned shallow-part of her needed the truth, but another part wanted to run from it. What if the answer broke her?
Her mind rewound back to that night-it was all shadows and heat and him. His hands, his body-it all felt so painfully real. She hadn't really seen his face... but now that she thought about it, the build, the feel... he reminded her of Richard.
Could it really be him? That thought sent little jolts through her, nerves firing everywhere.
Gina was all business as she told Riley, the guy in charge, to pull up the hallway footage from that night. But after combing through countless files, that day's videos were mysteriously gone. Gina narrowed her eyes and frowned.
"Why's this the only day that's missing?"
Riley looked super awkward. "Maybe there was a system glitch... I can't recover it."
"What the hell are you guys even doing? You can't even get this right?" Gina snapped, clearly pissed off. She took a deep breath, then turned to Perry with a concerned look. "Sweetie, do you think you can recover it?"
Perry sat quietly in front of the computer, not saying a word. A few years back, she'd picked up some hacking skills from a guy she knew-she was a fast learner, and recovering a video file like this wasn't really tough for her.
Still, she hesitated. What if, once that video was played, she saw an alpha who already had a mate?
Gina, more desperate than Perry to find out the truth about that night, had kicked Riley out so they'd have the room to themselves. She sat next to Perry, her voice gentle. "I know it's hard, but you can't keep running from this."
Perry rubbed her nose, clearly flustered. Then she nodded, her tone firm. "You're right. No matter what it is, I need to face it."
It didn't take her long to recover the footage. Gina leaned in, eyes locked on the screen.
"I knew it! Byron totally lied back then," Gina said, trying to stay calm. "Look, Richard went in and never came back out. See? And right after that, it was you who went in. Then there was that female wolf-she walked out after like a minute. Maybe Richard called her, but by then, you were already inside..."
The tension on Perry's face slowly melted into shock. Her stomach twisted, and her thoughts scrambled. "So it really was him. Richard Scott. But... why didn't he say anything?"
"What a jerk alpha," Gina fumed, anger bubbling up. "He slept with you and said nothing. Not even a word after. Then he asks you to help his little brother like it's no big deal. What kind of person does that?"
Perry felt like she'd been stabbed right in the heart. Her mind spun in circles. "He acts like that night never happened. Like I don't matter at all. He chased me, kissed me... then kept getting close to Mara like nothing was wrong."
Tears welled up in Perry's eyes. Her sorrow hit like a wave and just kept crashing down. Her heart felt like it was collapsing in on itself. She clutched her chest and didn't say a word, drowning in despair.
"I can't stand that bastard anymore," Gina exploded, shooting up from her seat. She grabbed Perry's hand and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, we're going to find him. He's got some serious explaining to do. Just 'cause he's an alpha doesn't mean he gets to treat people like this!"
Hidden in the corner, Riley had seen everything. As the girls left, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Belen's number. "Alpha Belen! They got the footage back. They know."
"Damn it!" Belen's voice roared through the speaker. "How the hell did they recover it?!"
His face twisted with fury, he kicked the wall hard enough to shake it. After a few harsh breaths, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Keep your eyes on them. I want to know every move they make next."
"Yeah, yeah, got it," Riley replied with a flattering laugh, but in his head, he was already scheming how to squeeze more out of the deal. Belen had paid him off to erase the security footage from the Crown Regent Hotel-and the money was way too tempting to say no.
Chuck, Gina's alpha dad, had asked about it once, and Riley had thrown Richard under the bus, claiming it was his request. Chuck hadn't thought much of it. Now, he was spinning a new tale-said the system had glitched. No one would suspect a thing.
--
Gina dragged Perry straight to the top floor. They stopped in front of Richard's room and Gina knocked hard, but nothing.
She glanced over at a cleaner nearby. The woman's answer only made her more annoyed. "Alpha Richard hasn't been staying here these past few days. Might not be in today either. Ms. Layton, I can unlock the door for you, there's no one inside."
Gina waved her hand, frustrated, and let out a sigh. "What now? That jerk isn't even here anymore... Wait-he must be at Bloodmoon Pack. Let's go find him!"
She turned to pull Perry along, but Perry shook her off. Gina looked over, surprised, only to see the crushed look on Perry's face. Perry covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to go. What's the point? Just to get humiliated again?"
Her voice cracked, raw and full of pain, and Gina couldn't bring herself to keep pushing. Perry stood there, lost in thought, thinking, "How can I stop him from being with Mara? I can't be some pathetic side chick raising his kid."
She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Gina finally reached out and hugged her.
"Did you just change your mind? Weren't we set on making him pay?" Gina said softly. "Don't worry, I've got your back. He's not gonna hurt you."
"That's not it," Perry said weakly. "I just... I don't know how to face him."
"And the baby?" Gina asked, helpless now.
Perry looked down and gently rested her hand on her still-flat stomach. She let out a long sigh. "I don't know."
"You're still so young, Perry... You don't even have a mate yet!"
"I know. But I've made up my mind. I won't hurt my child," Perry said, her voice steady now.
Her eyes held firm resolve, but Gina could still see the pain behind them. "Whatever you decide, I'm with you. If you want to have this baby, I'll help you raise it. We're a team-no one's messing with you, I swear."
Gina looked her right in the eyes, her tone serious and full of certainty. And that made Perry tear up again. Gina's unwavering support made things just a little less unbearable.
"Thanks, Gina."
Now Perry had to start figuring out how to keep her pregnancy under wraps.
The thought itself felt like a brick on her chest. After parting with Gina, she dragged herself back to her room. It was late before she finally managed to fall asleep.
One thing she knew for sure-Richard could never find out.
