Chapter 7

Third-Person POV

At the same time, a Bentley rolled through Southridge Estates in the southern suburbs.

The villa community was more than 20 years old, and its infrastructure had begun to show its age.

The car stopped outside Villa 12, the home the Silvermoon Pack had sold.

The window lowered, revealing a flawless, handsome profile.

Ezra Garcia looked toward the brightly lit villa. Warm yellow light from a streetlamp fell across his eyes, but it couldn't hide his loneliness or the complicated emotions inside them.

He looked away and lit a cigarette.

His phone vibrated.

Ezra picked it up and spoke gently. "What is it, Pandora?"

Pandora's playful complaint came through the phone. "When are you getting here? I'm starving, and Zane won't even let me start without you."

Then Zane's deep, indulgent voice sounded in the background.

"Who asked me to remind her to watch what she eats? Now this is my fault?"

Pandora huffed.

"If you're hungry, go ahead and eat," Ezra said. "I'm almost there."

After ending the call, he crushed out his cigarette.

He gave the villa one last look, rolled up the window, and drove away.

Loretta's POV

I stayed in Silvermoon Pack territory that night.

For the first time in ages, I slept soundly.

There was no suffocating pressure from Alpha Zane and no mating-bond agony ripping through my soul without warning.

Grace was already busy in the kitchen when I woke.

She made a nutritious, thick soup just for me. She also packed a careful lunch into an insulated container for me to take to work.

I had told my family the night before that I had resigned and planned to work as Brody's assistant for one month.

At first, they refused to allow it. They insisted I stay home and focus on the pregnancy.

But I wouldn't change my mind.

My belly felt heavy, but I had no other physical problems.

Working would give me something to do. If I sat around all day, the lingering connection inside me would only drag my thoughts back to Zane.

When Levi saw how determined I was, he sighed and stopped arguing.

I tried to help in the kitchen, but Grace smiled and shooed me out.

I didn't insist. Instead, I leaned against the couch and took out my phone.

I wanted to find a prenatal Pilates class and start planning the rest of my life.

I had just chosen a studio and was about to schedule a consultation when I refreshed my social feed.

The next second, I froze.

A new post filled my screen. Its location tag showed an exclusive private members' club.

The post belonged to Zane's friend, Luca Wilson. I had added his contact information back when I was Zane's chief assistant.

He had uploaded several photos with a caption.

"Party night. P.S. These two are so sweet, I'm getting a sugar high. How much longer do we have to wait for the mating ceremony?"

Several photos showed Zane and Pandora together.

In the most striking close-up, Pandora leaned shyly against Zane's broad, solid chest. The man who treated everyone else like ice held her shoulder with one large hand. His lowered eyes overflowed with love.

Their sweet, heated chemistry seemed to pour straight through the screen.

Everyone in Zane's social circle knew he had already become my mate. In their eyes, though, a lowly Omega like me had no right to the Luna title.

Luca had made the post public now to humiliate me and flaunt Pandora's place over mine.

"Oh..."

Needles of pain stabbed through the mating bond again.

It felt as if a hammer had struck my heart. My vision went dark, and I could barely breathe. My weak inner wolf let out a hopeless whimper.

My hand shook as I turned off the screen.

I went onto the balcony and let the cold wind hit my face, forcing myself to calm down.

Don't care, Loretta. Stop torturing yourself.

My hand moved to the high curve of my belly. My heart felt weighed down by stone.

Once Zane and I formally dissolved the mating bond, he would be desperate to make Pandora his mate.

They would soon have children of their own.

He loved Pandora so much. He would surely give their child all the fatherly love in the world.

But what about my daughter?

Was she destined to be rejected and forgotten by her own father from the moment she was born?

"Loretta, breakfast is ready," Grace called gently from the living room.

I snapped back to myself and took a deep breath. Only then did I realize tears had gathered in my eyes.

I wiped them away and hurried into the bathroom.

By the time I came out after washing my face, I had hidden every trace of my pain.

Hudson drove me to work after breakfast.

I didn't say a word the entire way.

He glanced at me with concern. "Loretta, what's wrong?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to say anything.

"You're pregnant," Hudson said patiently. "You can't keep everything bottled up. It isn't good for you or the baby."

Silence filled the car for a long time.

At last, I forced a bitter smile and tried to sound casual.

"It's nothing. I just saw proof that Zane really loves someone else. It was hard to accept. But I'll work through it, so don't worry about me."

I made it sound like nothing.

Hudson's hands tightened around the steering wheel. His eyes were full of pain for me.

After a long pause, he said, "Time dulls everything. It'll get better, little by little."

"Yeah," I whispered.

The car stopped outside the office building. I got out and headed inside.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, a familiar, overpowering Alpha aura closed around me.