Chapter 4

Three days until the full moon.

Two knocks on the door. Cain stood outside.

"You haven't been home in days, Ivy. We need to talk," he said.

I followed him through the deep forest of the territory, all the way to the lake.

I recognized this place. The spot where he'd marked me four years ago. The old oak was still there, claw marks still etched into its trunk.

Cain leaned against the tree. Didn't speak.

The lake reflected the moon. Wind swept across the water.

Then he reached up and stroked my hair.

My entire body went rigid.

It had been so long since he'd touched me like that.

"About Serena," his voice dropped low, "I want to explain — that child is actually—"

His phone exploded with sound.

Serena's voice poured through the speaker, broken and breathless, laced with sobs: "Cain! I'm in the south woods — there are rogues — I'm hurt — please hurry —"

Cain's face changed in an instant.

He let go of my shoulder.

"Wait here for me."

Then he shifted. The sound of bones breaking and reforming was brutally loud in the silence by the lake. A massive black wolf hit the ground and tore into the southern tree line without looking back.

I stood alone at the lake's edge. His palm's warmth still lingered on my forehead.

Less than ten minutes ago, he'd been standing right here. In the place where we began four years ago.

Something moved in the brush.

Not Cain.

Three rogues closed in from three directions. These weren't ordinary strays — they were large, coordinated, moving like they'd been trained.

I shifted, but my wolf form was never built for fighting. An Omega's frame had no advantage in a three-on-one attack.

I dodged the first one. The second tore open my hind leg. The third locked its jaws on my shoulder blade.

Blood poured from the wound, soaking the fallen leaves beneath me.

My vision started to blur.

The last thing I remember was the sound of patrol sentries howling in the distance. Then nothing.

I woke up in the healing center's storage room.

Not a treatment room. The storage room. A cot, surrounded on all sides by supply crates and rolls of old bandages.

The healer was crouched beside me, applying salve to my arm. Her touch was gentle, but I still hissed from the pain.

She leaned close, almost whispering in my ear: "You're pregnant. About thirteen weeks. The baby's fine, but you've lost too much blood. You need complete rest."

I grabbed her wrist. My nails dug into her skin.

"Don't tell anyone."

The healer opened her mouth.

The door swung open.

Beta Reid walked in. His gaze passed over me for less than a second, then turned to the healer.

"Alpha's orders. Prepare a batch of rare prenatal herbs and send them to Serena's quarters immediately. Use the best stock we have."

The healer hesitated. "But the patient here—"

Reid pulled a bottle of standard recovery tonic from his coat pocket and set it on my cot. "This'll do."

He turned and left. The healer was called away. The door closed behind them.

The storage room was mine again.

Through the wall, the healer's assistant was talking to another pack member. Every word came through the thin wood, crystal clear.

"The Alpha had three treatment rooms in the main wing cleared out — all for Serena. Other pack members who get hurt just have to wait. The healer's stationed outside her door around the clock. Even her meals get brought in."

"Well, of course. Miss Serena's carrying the Alpha's firstborn. Who'd dare cut corners?"

I looked down at where I was lying.

Storage room. Cot. One bottle of standard recovery tonic. The bandage on my arm half-wrapped before the healer was pulled away — blood had soaked through the gauze, spreading in a dark ring at the edges.

I was carrying his child too.

Three days later, I could walk.

I sent Dr. Laurent a message.

"I'm ready. Come get me."

The reply came in thirty seconds.

"Already waiting at the territory border."

I packed my things and slipped out the healing center's back door.

A truck was parked at the border. Healer Laurent stood beside it. When he saw me, he didn't ask a single unnecessary question. He just opened the back door.

As the truck drove toward Silvercrest territory, the full moon rose through the window.

The moment it reached its peak, my face went white. My wolf let out a cry of anguish.

Pain cut through me, deep into the bone. But I let out a breath of relief.

The mate bond had finally broken.