THE UNWANTED GUEST

I wake up to the sound of laughter.

For a moment, in the haze of sleep, I think I’m dreaming. Laughter never echoes in this house. The penthouse is a mausoleum of marble and silence, a place where joy goes to die.

Then, the nausea hits me.

I scramble out of bed, barely making it to the ensuite bathroom before I empty my empty stomach into the toilet. My body shakes, cold sweat prickling my skin. Morning sickness. The books said it would start around week six, and right on cue, here it is.

I rinse my mouth, splashing cold water on my pale face. I look at my reflection. Dark circles bruise the skin under my eyes. I look like a ghost.

“You have the title. You have the house… Isn’t that enough?”

Kael’s words from last night replay in my mind, a jagged loop of cruelty. No, it isn’t enough. It never was.

I dress quickly in a pair of high-waisted trousers and a loose cream blouse, careful to conceal the nonexistent bump. I need coffee. I need caffeine to survive whatever fresh hell today is going to bring.

I walk downstairs, following the scent of brewing coffee and… pancakes?

I stop in the doorway of the kitchen, my hand tightening on the frame.

Elena is there.

She is leaning against the granite island, holding a steaming mug—my mug, the hand-painted one I bought at a potter’s market last year. She is wearing a silk robe that is alarmingly short, her blonde hair falling in perfect, artful waves around her shoulders.

She is laughing at something Kael is saying.

Kael is sitting at the breakfast bar, a plate of pancakes in front of him. He is smiling. Actually smiling. His eyes are crinkled at the corners, his posture relaxed. He looks like a different man. He looks like the husband I always wanted but never got.

The domesticity of the scene hits me like a physical blow. They look like the couple. I look like the intruder.

Elena spots me first. Her blue eyes sharpen, scanning me from head to toe with a look of veiled amusement, before softening into a mask of sweetness.

“Oh, good morning, Evelyn!” she chirps, her voice sugary sweet. “I hope you don’t mind—I woke up early and the chef wasn’t here yet, so I decided to whip up some breakfast. Kael used to love my blueberry pancakes when we were kids.”

She says it innocently, but the subtext is loud and clear: I know him better than you. I feed him better than you.

Kael stops smiling. He turns to look at me, and the light in his eyes dies instantly, replaced by that familiar, cold indifference.

“You’re up,” he says. It’s not a greeting; it’s an observation.

“It’s my kitchen,” I say, my voice stiffer than I intended. I walk over to the coffee pot. “I think I can manage breakfast in my own home.”

Elena pouts, looking down at the floor. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to be helpful. I didn’t mean to overstep.”

Kael slams his fork down. The sound echoes like a gunshot.

“Don’t start, Evelyn,” he growls. “Elena is a guest. She made a nice gesture. Don’t be a brat about it.”

“I’m not being a brat,” I say, pouring coffee with a shaking hand. “I’m just saying that we have staff for a reason. Elena is a guest, as you said. She shouldn’t be cooking.”

“I don’t mind,” Elena says softly, placing a hand on Kael’s forearm. Her fingers are manicured, her nails painted a perfect baby pink. She leaves her hand there, marking her territory. “I know how busy Evelyn is with… whatever it is she does all day. I wanted to help.”

Whatever it is she does all day. The insult is wrapped in velvet.

“I run the pack’s finances,” I snap, turning to face them. “I manage the estate, the charity foundations, and the logistics for the Alpha’s council. I don’t just sit around.”

Kael rolls his eyes. “It’s busywork, Evelyn. Don’t pretend you’re running the pack.”

He stands up, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He leans down and kisses Elena on the cheek—a lingering, intimate gesture that makes my stomach churn violently.

“The pancakes were delicious, El,” he says softly. “Thank you.”

He grabs his suit jacket from the back of the chair. “I have a council meeting. Elena, take the day to settle in. Buy whatever you need for your room. Put it on the pack account.”

He walks past me without a word. No kiss goodbye. No acknowledgement. Just the breeze of his cologne as he leaves me alone with the woman who wants to replace me.

The front door shuts.

Elena’s smile drops instantly. She takes a sip from my mug, her blue eyes cold and calculating.

“You look tired, Evelyn,” she says, her voice devoid of the earlier sweetness. “Rough night? I heard Kael shouting. He really hates it when you cling to him.”

I grip the edge of the counter. “What do you want, Elena?”

She sets the mug down. “I want my place back. Kael and I were supposed to be together. Everyone knows it. The only reason he married you was because of that stupid contract your grandfather forced on him.”

She walks around the island, stepping into my personal space. She smells like expensive vanilla and Kael’s sandalwood soap.

“He doesn’t love you,” she whispers, leaning in close. “He tolerates you. And now that I’m back… how long do you think that tolerance will last?”

“He is my husband,” I say, lifting my chin. “We are married.”

Elena laughs. It’s a cruel, tinkling sound. “Paper burns, Evelyn. Wolves mate for life. And Kael’s wolf? He’s never recognized you, has he? He’s never marked you.”

My hand flies to my bare neck instinctively. It’s the source of my deepest shame. Three years, and no mating mark. Kael always claimed he wanted to keep our relationship “professional” until the contract was renegotiated, but I knew the truth. He was saving that spot for his True Mate.

“I have work to do,” I say, turning away so she doesn’t see the tears gathering in my eyes.

“Run along then,” Elena calls out as I retreat to the hallway. “Oh, and Evelyn? I’m moving into the Blue Suite. The light is better there.”

I freeze. The Blue Suite is the room right next to Kael’s.

I don’t go to my office. I tell the driver to take me to the Pack Hospital instead.

I wear a hooded coat and sunglasses, keeping my head down as I enter the clinic. I don’t want anyone to see me. Rumors in the pack spread faster than a virus, and if anyone sees the Luna visiting the OB-GYN, Kael will know before I get home.

Dr. Thorne is an older beta, kind and discreet. He has been the pack doctor for forty years. He ushers me into a private room, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Luna Evelyn,” he says gently. “You look pale.”

“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.

His eyes widen behind his spectacles. “I see. And does the Alpha know?”

“No,” I say quickly. “And he can’t know. Not yet.”

Dr. Thorne nods slowly. He runs the ultrasound in silence. The cold gel makes me shiver. I stare at the monitor, seeing the grainy black and white image.

“There,” Dr. Thorne points to two tiny, flickering heartbeats.

Two.

“Twins?” I whisper, my hand covering my mouth.

“Twins,” he confirms, smiling softly. “Strong heartbeats. About eight weeks along.”

But his smile fades as he looks at my vitals on the screen. He sighs, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his coat.

“Evelyn,” he says, dropping the formal title. “I have to be honest with you. Your stress levels are dangerously high. Your wolf is weak.”

“I haven’t shifted in a year,” I admit. “I’ve felt too drained.”

“That’s the bond,” he explains grimly. “Or the lack of one. Being an unmated Luna is taxing on the body. Being rejected or ignored by your mate while carrying his pups… it puts a massive strain on your system. The pups are drawing strength from you, but you aren’t getting any strength from the Alpha.”

He looks me dead in the eye.

“If you endure a major trauma—a physical attack, or a forceful rejection—you will lose them. You might not survive it yourself.”

The air leaves my lungs.

“Rejection?” I whisper.

“If Alpha Kael were to… sever the tie formally,” Dr. Thorne says delicately. “The shock to your system would be catastrophic in this state.”

I nod, numbly wiping the gel from my stomach.

Kael can’t reject me. He won’t. He might hate me, he might want Elena, but he wouldn’t risk killing the mother of his children, would he?

But he doesn’t know they exist, a dark voice whispers in my mind.

“I’ll give you some prenatal vitamins,” Dr. Thorne says, printing out a prescription. “And Evelyn? You need peace. You need to be cherished. Can you get that at home?”

I think of Elena drinking from my mug. I think of Kael’s cold eyes.

“I’ll try,” I lie.

When I return to the packhouse, it’s late afternoon.

The atmosphere in the house has changed. It feels hostile.

I walk into the living room and stop dead.

My wedding photo—the large, framed portrait that hung above the fireplace—is gone. In its place is a generic oil painting of a forest.

“Where is it?” I ask a passing maid, my voice trembling.

The girl, a young omega named Sarah, looks terrified. She clutches a duster to her chest.

“Miss Elena… she said the photo was tacky,” Sarah whispers, looking around to make sure no one is listening. “She ordered the staff to take it down. She said the Alpha agreed that the room needed ‘freshening up.’”

My hands curl into fists. That photo was the only proof in this house that I existed. That I mattered.

“Where is she?” I demand.

“In the garden,” Sarah says. “With the Alpha.”

I storm out to the back terrace. The rage is boiling over now, overriding the fear, overriding the sickness.

I find them by the rose bushes—my rose bushes, the ones I planted myself when I first moved in, trying to make this cold fortress feel like a home.

Elena is holding a pair of shears. She is hacking away at the blooms, cutting off the white roses and letting them fall to the dirt.

Kael is standing nearby, watching her, a glass of scotch in his hand.

“What are you doing?” I scream.

They both turn. Elena looks surprised, her hand freezing in mid-air. Kael just looks annoyed.

“I’m pruning,” Elena says innocently. “These bushes were overgrown. I’m making room for red roses. Kael prefers red, don’t you, darling?”

“You are destroying my garden,” I say, my voice shaking. “Just like you destroyed my living room. Who gave you the right to touch my wedding photo?”

Kael steps forward, placing himself between me and Elena. Protecting her. Always protecting her.

“It’s just a picture, Evelyn,” he says, his voice dangerously low. “Stop acting like a hysteric. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I’m embarrassing myself?” I laugh, a broken, jagged sound. “You allowed your mistress to take down your wife’s picture and you think I’m the one being embarrassing?”

“Mistress?” Elena gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. “Kael, I didn’t… I never meant…”

She starts to cry. Fake, pretty tears that glisten on her cheeks.

“See what you’ve done?” Kael snarls at me. He wraps an arm around Elena, pulling her into his chest. She buries her face in his shirt, sobbing theatrically.

“Apologize,” Kael commands.

I stare at him. I stare at the man who is supposed to be my partner, my protector.

“No,” I say.

Kael’s eyes flash gold—his wolf rising to the surface. The Alpha Command slams into me, a physical weight pushing me down, forcing me to submit.

My knees buckle. I fight it. I fight it with everything I have, clutching my stomach to protect the twins.

“I said,” Kael’s voice is like thunder. “Apologize to her.”

I gasp for air, the pressure crushing my ribs. If I don’t submit, he’ll crush me. If I do submit, I lose the last shred of my dignity.

“I’m… sorry,” I choke out, the words tasting like ash.

The pressure lifts instantly.

Kael looks at me with pure disgust.

“Get out of my sight,” he spits. “You are unfit to be a Luna.”

I scramble to my feet and run. I run back to the house, back to the guest room—because I can’t bear to go to the master bedroom anymore.

I lock the door and slide down to the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees.

I can’t tell him. Not now. Not when he looks at me like I’m a monster. If I tell him I’m pregnant now, he’ll think I’m using the babies to get rid of Elena. He’ll take them from me. He’ll give them to her to raise.

I close my eyes, tears streaming down my face.

Dr. Thorne said I need peace.

I realize then, with a terrifying clarity, that I won’t find peace here.

I have to leave.