Third Person’s POV
The packhouse was eerily quiet when Alpha Kael returned. The familiar scent of dominance and power still clung to the walls, but something felt off. The absence of Meredith’s scent. He strode into their shared room, expecting to find her curled up in bed, broken and weak—exactly where she belonged. But the bed was untouched, the sheets still neatly arranged.
She wasn’t here.
Kael’s jaw clenched, irritation flashing through him. He would deal with her later. For now, he had other priorities.
With a frustrated sigh, he moved toward the wooden dresser, pulling open a drawer. He reached for the velvet box that held a necklace—one he had picked for Rachelle. She had been whining about jewelry again, and Kael, wanting to appease her, had planned to gift it to her tonight. But his fingers brushed against something unexpected.
A folder.
Frowning, he pulled it out and flipped it open. His sharp, golden eyes scanned the first few words on the medical document. Then his whole body went rigid.
Pregnancy Report.
His grip tightened on the edges of the paper as he read further. The date was recent. Only a few days old. His heart thundered in his chest. Meredith was pregnant. Again.
A curse ripped through him, the paper crumpling in his fist. No. She can’t have this child.
He had already made sure the first one never saw the light of day. He couldn’t allow this one to live either. His breathing grew heavier. He had been careful, ensuring Meredith never defied her place, never thought she could rise above what she was. And yet, she had been carrying his heir without his knowledge?
Anger burned hot in his veins. She needed to come back. Now.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone, dialing her number.
Ringing.
Again.
No answer.
Kael growled, his wolf bristling beneath his skin. Where the hell was she?
He tried again. Nothing. Frustrated, he dialed another number—a healer he knew from the western territories, one Meredith had been familiar with. When the call connected, a calm yet slightly nervous voice answered.
“Alpha Kael,” the healer greeted.
“Where is she?” His voice was clipped, demanding.
A slight pause. “Meredith?”
“No, the damn Moon Goddess,” he snapped. “Of course, Meredith! Tell her to pick up her damn phone. Now.”
The healer hesitated. Then came the words that made Kael’s blood freeze. “Alpha… Meredith was here. She was in the patient ward thirty minutes ago, but now she’s gone.”
Silence.
Kael’s fingers tightened around his phone, his knuckles turning white.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“I—I don’t know, Alpha. She was resting with… uh, but when I checked just now, she wasn’t there.”
A dark, menacing growl rumbled deep in Kael’s chest. His wolf stirred, furious, restless.
Meredith had disappeared? He forced himself to stay calm. “What about the pregnancy report?” he demanded. “I just found it in our room. Is it true?”
The healer hesitated. “She… hasn’t told you?” Kael didn’t respond, only waiting. “Yes, Alpha. Meredith was confirmed pregnant a week ago. And the child is healthy.”
The words crashed into him like a storm, sending an unsettling chill through his body.
His child. Another child. No.
He wouldn’t allow it. Before he could respond, the healer continued, almost too casually.
“I thought she would have shared the pregnancy news with you… along with the fact that she got her hearing back.”
Kael’s world tilted. “What did you just say?”
“That she got her hearing back. It happened about a week ago. You didn’t know?”
Kael barely heard the rest of the healer’s words. His entire body stiffened, the room spinning around him. Meredith. Could hear. For a whole week. He staggered slightly, his breath coming in sharp, shallow pants. How? How had he not noticed?
She had heard everything. Everything. His callous words. The way he dismissed her. The way he talked to Rachelle in his arms while she lay bleeding on the ground.
He swallowed, his throat dry. No.
That wasn’t the worst of it.
As if the Moon Goddess was toying with him, another blow came just moments later.
The television screen in his room flickered to life, a news broadcast filling the silence.
Kael barely paid attention—until he saw it.
The headline burned into his mind like a curse.
PRINCESS MEREDITH IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER DEVASTATING ACCIDENT.
His breath caught in his throat. His heart pounded, a sickening dread settling in his gut as the screen switched to an image.
A woman, unconscious in a hospital bed.
Her long, dark hair. Her delicate features.
His mind reeled.
Meredith?
No.
His Meredith was an omega. She had no royal blood.
Yet…
His eyes locked onto the screen, and realization slammed into him like a thousand bricks.
The princess of the Eastern Territory.
She looked just like her. Too much like her. And her name…
Meredith.
