Chapter 05

Chapter 05

KIERAN

After leaving Calista locked in her room, I headed to the courtyard to meet Beta Daryl.

Immediately, he began discussing Brielle and the unborn child.

What should have been a brief discussion kept dragging on.

He brought up one issue after another.

Brielle's pregnancy. The servants she would need. Her meals and proper nutrition. Her comfort and safety. Preparations for the future heir.

I gradually realized he seemed to be deliberately prolonging the conversation.

Every topic eventually circled back to Brielle and the child.

"Alpha Kieran, I think Lady Brielle is much more suitable as your Luna."

"She's a warrior, a Beta's daughter, and she's also capable of giving the Pack a strong heir." He continued, "Compared to Lady Calista who's wolfless and has been unable to produce an heir for five years."

My jaw clenched.

"This is simply about the Pack's stability rather than personal preference and I feel—"

"That's enough." An impatient growl tore from my lips.

Daryl stepped back, slightly startled.

I swallowed hard. "Brielle's pregnancy does not change my feelings. I only feel friendship and comradeship towards her, nothing more. I accepted responsibility for the child because it is my duty as the child's father."

I continued, "But responsibility towards Brielle does not mean I intend to marry her."

My face hardened as I spoke further. "Calista is my mate and my only Luna."

Daryl hesitated. "I understand that but the pack needs a strong heir and the elders will not remain patient much longer."

I cut him off with a growl. "My word remains. Calista's position as Luna is not up for discussion."

Daryl nodded but further words seemed to play at the tip of his tongue.

Just as I was prepared to end the argument, my wolf suddenly became restless.

My brows furrowed.

"Fenrir, what's wrong?"

His agitation intensified, a warning growl echoing through my mind.

Something was wrong.

Realization dawned in seconds.

"Calista..." The words barely left my lips before my feet began moving on their own.

I had locked her in our room after telling her I would return.

A sense of unease settled over me as I walked out of the courtyard.

I tried to ignore the uneasiness but Fenrir refused to calm down.

Panic slowly set in.

Daryl called from behind but I ignored him completely.

I rushed back to the Alpha House.

I entered the room expecting to find Calista there.

Inside, the room was empty.

Her belongings were missing.

My heart dropped low.

She left...

Panic surged to the surface and I began checking the room frantically.

I checked the surrounding areas for any sign of my mate.

"Calista?" I called over and over, but no answer came.

Fenrir grew more restless as the clock ticked away. His growls echoed relentlessly through my mind.

I searched the whole Alpha House but found nothing.

Had she truly left in anger to force me to choose between her and Brielle?

Frustration boiled inside me.

I immediately summoned my Gamma and ordered every guard in the Estate to begin searching for Calista.

"Find out exactly what happened after I left the room," I ordered my Gamma.

He left immediately to question the servants and the guards on duty.

I remained in the bedroom, burying my face in my palm.

Calista's scent still lingered throughout the room.

I looked around again, noticing the things she left behind and the belongings she took.

Sweat beads formed on my forehead.

I tried to convince myself that she simply left in anger and would eventually return.

But Fenrir remained restless.

The longer I waited, the more uneasy he became.

My Gamma returned after a while, but his hesitant expression immediately told me that he had discovered something troubling.

I rose heavily to my feet at once.

"Speak." A commanding growl tore from my lips.

"Shortly after you left, Luna Calista called for a guard, asking for water and food but the guards outside refused. She was also mocked for defying you and being unable to provide an heir. She eventually appeared to faint from hunger and thirst."

My jaw dropped, my lips parting in shock.

All these happened under my roof?

"Bring every guard on duty to me right now."

Every guard who had been on duty lined up in a formation before me.

I spoke calmly. "Which one of you refused my Luna food and water?"

Hesitantly, a guard stepped forward.

He lowered his head. "Her Grace had angered you, and I assumed you no longer wanted her treated with respect, so I—"

A menacing growl tore from my lips, my pheromones surged through the room, and everyone went rigid.

"How dare you?!" I growled, anger exploding.

Everyone dropped to their knees, trembling beneath the pressure of my Alpha aura.

"Throw him in the dungeon!" I ordered my Gamma after regaining control.

"Get Brielle in here," I added after being told she had come into our room.

Brielle walked in, feet heavy like she was tired.

My jaw remained tight. "What were you doing in my room?" I demanded.

She didn't flinch. "I was passing by when I saw the door wide open. I only went in to check if you were there. That's when I found Calista unconscious, so I tried to help," she answered, sounding concerned and innocent.

My brows furrowed.

Then she continued, "I figured she was emotionally unstable. When I tried to help her, she only yelled at me to stay back, telling me how much she hated me and you. She then went further to curse that child in my belly. She sounded so angry but I truly never expected her to actually abandon the Pack."

Something bitter formed a lump in my throat.

Calista said all of that?

I could not believe she would curse Brielle's unborn child.

She had always been gentle and kind.

Even when the Pack insulted or disrespected her, she usually suffered quietly.

Whenever she became upset in the past, I could usually comfort and calm her down.

I remembered how much she had endured over the years because of being wolfless and childless.

Then I remembered the previous night's argument. Calista had accused me of betraying our mate bond. She had asked for a divorce, and I had refused to let her leave. Instead, I locked her in this room.

For the first time, I feared I might have pushed her too far.

As I stood in the middle of the room, thinking about the past, I noticed something partially hidden behind the bedside lamp.

It was the gift box Calista had been holding when I returned from battle.

I remembered seeing it in her hands earlier.

Because of everything that happened—the argument, Brielle's pain, and Daryl's meeting—I never asked what was inside.

I picked up the box and carefully unwrapped it.

I opened it expecting perhaps a gift from Calista.

I froze.

A pregnancy test.

I looked at it.

Two lines.

My breath stopped.

She was pregnant.

The realization hit me like a blow.

My mind flashed back to yesterday.

“I'm pregnant too.”

I had thought she was saying it because she wanted me to send Brielle away.

I had doubted her.

She had been telling me the truth.

And I hadn't believed her.

Calista had been pregnant when I accused her of making trouble.

She had been carrying my child when I left her locked in the room.

She had asked for food and water afterwards, and my guards had refused her.

My hands began to tremble.

Panic overwhelmed everything else.

Now she was somewhere outside the Pack alone and pregnant.

Fenrir reacted violently at the thought of Calista being in danger.

I immediately ordered my subordinates to search every possible route out of the Pack.

"Find my mate."

My voice turned cold.

"Bring Calista back to me. No matter what."