Chapter 6

Loretta's POV

As I sat there lost in thought, someone knocked on my door.

"Loretta, your dad and brother are home," Grace called from the other side.

I pushed down my heavy emotions, set the album aside, and opened the door.

The sight of the two men who had just walked in warmed my heart.

"Dad! Hardy!"

Hudson and Levi both turned toward me.

"I brought you a gift. Come see if you like it." Hudson smiled and set a shopping bag on the coffee table.

I hurried over, delighted. "What is it?"

Hudson took out an elegant designer jewelry box and handed it to me. "Open it."

Inside was a beautifully made gold bracelet.

"Thank you. I love it."

"Good." Hudson reached out and rubbed my hair with brotherly affection.

He had also brought gifts for Grace and Levi.

The gloom hanging over me vanished. The house filled with the warm, comfortable feeling of family life.

Only here, with my own pack and family, could my tense nerves finally relax.

Hudson looked at my rounded belly. "When are you due?"

My stomach really was as big as some women were late in pregnancy.

"Not for another two months." I stroked my belly as I answered.

"Did you find out the sex?" Levi asked, surprised.

Grace seemed to realize what he meant, and worry tightened her face.

Traditional, powerful packs could be brutally strict about the sex of an Alpha family's heir.

"Yes, we did," I said quickly, trying to reassure them. "But former Luna Margaret cares a lot about this baby."

Levi finally relaxed. "That's good. As long as you have the baby, you and Zane will work things out eventually."

I lowered my eyes in silence. A crushing weight settled over my heart.

I had no idea how to tell them that Zane despised me and had already said he would reject me as his mate.

I couldn't hide it forever. Besides, I had decided to move out of the Razor Pack residence and come home.

When I saw the dinner Grace had prepared, I decided to wait until after we ate.

Hudson had co-founded an AI startup with a friend.

When they launched Arcline AI two years ago, Levi hadn't hesitated. He invested most of his savings as startup capital.

The company was now growing fast in the AI industry. Hudson's latest business trip had been to secure a crucial partnership, and the negotiations had gone extremely well.

Levi, meanwhile, had been arranging the sale of Preston Realty and the Silvermoon Pack's remaining business assets.

The payment from the Razor Pack had kept the company alive until now, but changing course had proven too difficult. In the end, the business couldn't survive.

Levi was getting older, and his inner wolf was weakening by the day. He no longer had the energy he once did.

He believed in Hudson's company, so he decided to sell the Silvermoon Pack's holdings and invest all the proceeds in Arcline AI.

At dinner, Levi shared more good news. He and Grace were finally going to become mates and hold a mating ceremony.

Grace's eyes turned red at once.

After years of quiet devotion and care, she would finally have the ceremony she had waited for.

I felt nothing but happiness for them.

I knew why Dad had waited so long. Deep in his heart, part of him had never stopped thinking about the mate who left.

Even now, I didn't understand why my mother had insisted on abandoning the pack.

I couldn't bear to ruin such a warm, happy day.

But there were cruel truths none of us could avoid forever.

I took a deep breath and spoke softly.

"Dad, Grace... Zane plans to reject me as his mate."

The laughter around the table stopped.

The air seemed to freeze, and every face turned serious.

Levi lowered his head and pressed his lips into a hard line.

They had all known this could happen. No one had expected it so soon.

The Silvermoon Pack and the Razor Pack were technically connected through us, but Zane and I had never held a public mating ceremony.

Our packs had no contact or business ties.

Zane was the Alpha, yet he had never once set foot inside Silvermoon Pack territory.

I always came home alone. Levi and Grace would carefully prepare holiday gifts. Former Luna Margaret accepted them out of politeness, then handed them all to the Omega servants.

Zane's mother, Ellis, had even thrown their gifts into the trash right in front of me.

She had sneered and told me to stop embarrassing myself with "garbage from an inferior pack."

Zane had only warned me to stop trying so hard to please them when it was pointless.

Going our separate ways had always been a matter of time.

I pressed my lips together, then continued.

"It won't happen until after the baby is born. I've also promised Professor Winslow that I'll begin my program at the University of Cambridge next February."

Hudson looked at me seriously. "Good. You should go. You shouldn't be trapped in a rotten marriage. I'll always support you."

Levi let out a long sigh filled with guilt and helplessness.

"This is my fault. I failed you as a father."

Tears finally spilled from my eyes, but somehow my heart became calm.

Wrapped in the safety I had found too late, my family and I finished our dinner together.