Elana POV:
The mansion felt like a mausoleum.
I went straight to the master bedroom. I didn't grab a suitcase; I grabbed heavy-duty trash bags.
Wolves nest. We build safe spaces with our mate's scent. For years, I'd curated this room-pillows, blankets, photos-trying to weave our lives together. Now, I was tearing the nest apart.
I swept the framed photos into the bag. Glass crunched. I stripped the sheets that smelled like him and shoved them down the laundry chute.
I only packed what was mine. My sketchbooks. My charcoal pencils. The woman I was before I became "Emilio's Omega."
The front door slammed.
My heart hammered-a prey response.
"Elana?" Emilio's voice floated up the stairs.
I kicked the bags into the closet and walked to the landing.
Emilio stood in the foyer, loosening his tie. He held a small velvet box. He reeked of her. Under the expensive cologne, the smell of Hayden's peach perfume and baby powder clung to him like a second skin.
"Home early," I said, gripping the railing.
"Meeting ended sooner than expected," he lied, smooth as silk. He walked up, offering the box. "For you. I know I've been distant."
I took it. It felt heavy, like a bribe.
"Emilio," I said. "I want a baby."
He froze. The temperature in the hallway plummeted. His eyes flashed amber-his wolf was irritated.
"We have discussed this."
"Why?" I pushed. "I am your mate. Why is my blood poison to you?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not poison, Elana. It's biology. Moonstone is a target. We need an Alpha heir with dominance. Physical strength." He looked me up and down, his gaze clinical. "You haven't shifted. Your aura is practically non-existent. A child with you... it's a genetic gamble I can't take."
Gamble.
His eyes glazed over. Mind-Link. His expression softened into something I hadn't seen directed at me in years.
"I have to go," he said, buttoning his jacket. "Security breach at the north perimeter."
"Be careful," I said, my voice robotic.
He brushed past me, leaving a wake of lies and another woman's scent.
I went into the bedroom. He'd left his tablet on the nightstand. The screen lit up.
Hayden: [Leo has a fever. He's asking for Papa. Come back. The 'meeting' isn't over.]
I stared at the screen. Papa.
A sharp, twisting cramp seized my lower abdomen. I doubled over, gasping. It wasn't just heartbreak; it was a physical, searing pull in my womb.
Wolves don't get sick. Not like this.
I drove to the pack hospital, hood up, avoiding the VIP entrance. I went to the free clinic side.
Dr. Aris, a Beta who didn't care about politics, ran the wand over my stomach. He frowned at the monitor.
"Luna... Ms. Gomez," he corrected. "Symptoms?"
"Nausea. Cramps. Exhaustion."
He turned the screen.
"You're pregnant, Elana."
The room spun. "Impossible. Emilio gives me the herbal tea every morning..."
"Contraceptive tea dampens fertility, it doesn't nuke it," Aris said. "Especially with Fated Mates. Nature finds a way."
He pointed to a tiny, pulsing speck.
"But there's something else. The energy readings are off the charts. This isn't a weak pup, Elana. This fetus has an Alpha aura already. Maybe stronger."
I touched the screen. A baby. The thing he said would ruin him.
"Is it okay? The pain..."
"Stress," Aris warned. "Your cortisol is toxic. Your wolf is dormant, so she can't protect the pregnancy. If you don't find peace, your body might reject the fetus to save you. You need to be cherished, Elana."
Cherished.
I let out a dry, cracking laugh.
I was carrying the heir he claimed to want, while he played house with a woman who had tricked him with a child that wasn't Fated.
"Thanks, Doc."
I walked out into the corridor. I had to tell him. Maybe... maybe the biological imperative would snap him out of it.
