Chapter 6

Willow’s POV

“Here is what will happen,” Alpha Kelvin stated. “You will carry the child to term. You will deliver a healthy heir for this pack, and then you will disappear from Noah’s life permanently.

His eyes narrowed. “No contact, no communication, no trace of you left behind. Noah has a Luna now. He has a pack to lead and a future to build, and he cannot do that properly if he is still distracted by some lowlife omega from nowhere.”

The words hit hard. I clenched my jaw so hard it ached.

He was looking at me the same way he had looked at the walls of my room when he first walked in, like I was an inconvenience, like I was a stain that needed to be cleaned.

I swallowed.

He continued.

“In return, I will ensure you are taken care of before the birth. And after the birth, I will arrange somewhere for you to go outside of Pinecrest territory. You will have enough to start over for at least a year.” He stated it like he was being generous, like he was doing me a favour.

I stared at him.

“And my child,” I asked, my voice shaking slightly. “What happens to my child after I deliver this so-called heir?”

“The heir stays here. He belongs to the Pinecrest pack,” he replied simply. “He will be raised in the alpha house. Not that it will be any of your concern anymore.”

Something snapped in my chest.

“No.”

Alpha Kelvin raised an eyebrow.

“What makes you think that I would ever agree to that?” I grinded out, and I could hear my voice shaking even more, but I couldn’t stop it. “That I would carry a child for nine months, go through all of that, and then just hand them over and walk away? That is my child. Mine. You don’t get to —”

“Willow.”

His voice was quiet, but sharp and edged with something dangerous.

My mouth snapped shut.

Alpha Kelvin tilted his head slightly. There was no anger or irritation in his face. He wasn’t even bothered by my words.

“Dead or alive,” he stated coldly. “That is your choice. Those are the only two options on the table.”

His eyes narrowed even more.

“Do not forget what you are,” he continued, his voice dropped slightly to something even more dangerous. “You have no wolf. You have no pack. You have no family. You have nothing. The only reason you are standing in this room right now, alive, is because I chose to spare your life eleven years ago when your pack fell. That was my decision. And I can chose to take it just as easily.”

He was not raising his voice. He was not threatening in the way people did when they were angry. He was stating cold facts.

That was how I knew he meant every single word.

My hands were trembling where they were pressed against my stomach. I could feel my heart pounding hard against my chest. Some part of me wondered if the baby could feel it too. If something that small could sense the fear crippling me.

“You are not stupid,” Alpha Kelvin added. “So I will not waste my time by explaining this further. You understand the situation. You understand what I am asking and what I am offering. All that remains is for you to decide whether you want to live long enough to enjoy the life I gave you.” He straightened. “You have three days.”

He turned toward the door.

“Three days,” he repeated, without looking back at me. “I suggest you use them wisely.”

The door closed behind him.

I stood there for a long time, completely lost in thought, still paralyzed by cold terror.

When my legs couldn’t carry me any longer, I sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed both hands flat against my stomach.

There was a reason the Pinecrest pack was a feared pack.

Its Alpha was ruthless. 

I believed him. I knew he was capable of all he said and even more.

Alpha Kelvin did not bluff. He said what he meant and he followed through. I had watched him run this pack for eleven years. I had watched him make decisions that affected dozens of lives without flinching.

I pressed my hands harder against my stomach.

I had three days to make a decision.

No.

The word was very clear in my head. Clearer than anything else.

I was not going to stay here and wait three days to hand my child over and disappear.

I was not going to die in this room either.

I had to leave tonight, tomorrow — as soon as I could manage it without being seen. I had to get out of this territory before he decided three days was too generous.

I had nothing. I knew that. No wolf, no allies, no money, no plan. Nowhere to go.

And that was just the thing. I had nothing left to lose.