The Calm Before the Storm

**Shaun**

You’d think after years of settling pack disputes, facing rival Alphas, and making difficult decisions as an Alpha, I’d be immune to drama. But apparently, all it takes to shake me is one woman collapsing in my bedroom.

Alexa.

She dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, right in the middle of that chaos; Azula looking smug one second and shocked the next.

I should’ve rushed to her side. I should’ve done a lot of things. Instead, I stood there, frozen, while everything around me spiraled.

I had never imagined that saving my wife would come at the cost of losing her.

Alexa had been more than just my Luna. She was the woman I loved, the one I had promised to protect and spend the rest of my life with. I never thought there would come a day when she would look at me with so much hatred.

But what choice did I have?

Azula was the only one who could save her. If agreeing to her demand meant Alexa would live, then I was willing to do whatever it took.

Alexa might hate me now, but I believed she would eventually understand. Once the transplant was done and she was out of danger, things would be different between us.

I leaned back in my chair, my fingers tightening around the glass of wine I had been holding. My eyes drifted towards the shelf, where several photographs stood. One in particular caught my attention. I stared at it for a moment before getting up and walking over.

I picked up the frame.

Our wedding portrait.

I studied the smiles on our faces. Alexa stood beside me, looking happier than I had ever seen her. I remembered how tightly she had held my hand that day, as though nothing in the world could ever come between us.

Three years.

It had been three years since I made her my wife, and back then, I never imagined we would end up where we were now.

I took another sip of wine, my eyes still fixed on the photograph.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Come in."

One of the guards stepped inside and bowed.

"Alpha, the patrol reports are ready. There's also an issue at the eastern border that needs your attention."

I set the glass aside and returned the photograph to the shelf.

"I'll be there in a moment."

The rest of the afternoon passed in meetings, reports and the usual problems that came with running a pack. By the time I finally made my way home, the sun had begun to dip, and all I wanted was to retreat to my room.

But as I approached the door, I heard clothes rustling inside.

I frowned. I wasn't expecting anyone.

Pushing the door open, I stopped at the sight before me.

Azula stood in front of the wardrobe, one of its doors wide open. A dress hung over her arm while she reached inside for another. Several of Alexa's clothes had already been pulled out and thrown onto the floor. Azula's suitcase sat open nearby, with her shoes and folded clothes scattered around it.

"What are you doing?"

She glanced over her shoulder. For a split second, surprise crossed her face before she turned back to the wardrobe.

"Oh, Shaun. You're home."

I stepped further into the room, my eyes moving from the open suitcase to the clothes littering the floor.

"I asked you a question."

She placed another dress on top of the pile and brushed her hands together.

"I'm making room for my things."

I looked at her, then at the wardrobe.

"Your things?"

"Well, where else am I supposed to put them?" She gave me a small smile. "I thought it was time I moved in."

My gaze dropped to the clothes near her feet.

Then I noticed the sweater.

It was the ugly green one Alexa used to wear whenever she felt cold. She had worn it on our first date, tugging at its sleeves throughout the evening whenever she became nervous. I'd teased her about it until she threatened to leave me sitting alone.

I could still remember the way she had looked at me when I refused to let her forget it.

My fingers closed around the sweater.

"What are her clothes doing on the floor?"

Azula glanced down as though she had only just noticed them.

"I needed the space. Besides, she isn't here to wear them."

I slowly turned towards her.

"Put them back."

Her smile disappeared.

"Excuse me?"

"Alexa's clothes. Put them back where you found them."

She let out a frustrated breath and dropped the dress in her hand.

"Shaun, I'm only trying to make room for my things. Why are you acting as though I've done something terrible?"

I placed the sweater carefully on the bed.

"Because you have. This is her room too, and you don't get to throw her belongings around just because she's not here."

Azula folded her arms, her eyes moving from me to the clothes on the floor.

"I thought we were past this. You agreed to be with me. Why are you still holding on to everything that belongs to her?"

"Because this is her home too. And agreeing to your demand doesn't mean you can take her place."

Her expression tightened. She looked away, picked up another piece of clothing, then dropped it back onto the pile.

"Fine. Maybe there's something else you need to know."

I frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

She turned to face me, her fingers moving nervously over the fabric in her hands.

"I'm pregnant, Shaun."

For a moment, I thought I had heard her wrong.

"What?"

"I'm carrying your child."

I stared at her, searching her face for some sign that she was joking.

"Azula, don't play games with me."

"I'm not playing games!"

She snatched a paper from the bedside table and flung it towards me. It fluttered down, landing near my feet.

I bent to pick it up.

My eyes moved over the result. Then I read it again, slower this time.

Pregnant.

I looked up at her, the paper still in my hand.

"How long have you known?"

"Long enough."

"And you thought this was how you should tell me?"

A bitter laugh escaped her.

"What did you expect? You barely look at me anymore unless you need something from me."

I lowered the paper.

"Whatever is going on between us, you still don't have the right to throw Alexa's things around."

Her eyes narrowed.

"So even now, all you care about is her?"

"Azula, this is my room. Alexa's room too. You don't get to decide that you're moving in."

Her lips parted, but no words came out at first. Then her eyes filled, and she quickly turned away, wiping at her cheeks.

"Then where exactly am I supposed to go? You agreed to be with me, Shaun. You made me believe I had a place in your life."

"I never promised you this."

She looked at me again, her sadness giving way to anger.

"Fine."

She snatched her clothes from the bed and began stuffing them into her suitcase. The fabric caught against the zipper, and she yanked it free with an irritated curse.

"Just remember this when Alexa needs me. I'm done. I won't be donating anything to her. Let her find someone else to save her."

"Azula, wait."

She dragged the suitcase towards the door and looked back at me.

"Don't bother looking for me when you realize what you've done."

I took a step after her. I couldn't afford to let her walk away like that. Whatever had happened between us, Alexa still needed her.

Before I could reach her, hurried footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"Alpha!"

A messenger appeared at the doorway, breathing heavily. His eyes moved briefly to Azula and her suitcase before settling on me.

"What is it?"

"It's Luna Alexa, Alpha."

My attention sharpened.

"What about her?"

"She's missing from the infirmary."

The words made me stop.

"What do you mean, missing?"

"The staff can't find her. They've searched the rooms, but she's nowhere to be found."

The paper slipped from my fingers.

I didn't wait for another explanation. I pushed past the messenger and hurried down the hallway.

The journey to the infirmary felt longer than it should have. By the time I arrived, several members of the staff were gathered outside Alexa's room, speaking in hushed voices.

They fell silent when they saw me.

I pushed through them and went straight inside.

"Where is she?"

The healer in charge stepped forward, his head lowered.

"Alpha, we've been trying to locate her."

"Then why haven't you found her?"

He hesitated.

"We don't know when she left. Her room was empty when the nurse went in to check on her."

My eyes moved to the bed.

The sheets were rumpled, one corner hanging almost to the floor. Her medications were still on the small table beside it, untouched.

I walked closer, my eyes moving over the room as though she might suddenly appear from somewhere.

"Who was watching her?"

A nurse standing near the wall stepped forward.

"I was on duty earlier, Alpha. I checked on Luna, but I had to attend to another patient. When I returned, she was gone."

I turned to her.

"You left her alone?"

"Only for a short while. I didn't think—"

"You didn't think?" My voice rose. "You knew how weak she was. You knew she could barely stand without help, and you still left her unattended?"

The nurse lowered her head. Nobody else dared to speak.

I looked back at the empty bed, trying to make sense of it.

Alexa couldn't have gone far. She was still recovering, and the healer had warned me about how easily her condition could worsen.

Unless someone had helped her.

The thought made my jaw tighten.

"Search this entire infirmary. Check every room, every corridor and the grounds outside. I want to know how she left and where she went."

"Yes, Alpha."

"And if I discover that anyone here was careless with her safety, you will all answer for it."

The staff scattered immediately.

I remained beside the bed, staring at the empty space where Alexa should have been.

Where could she have gone?

She wasn't well enough to travel anywhere on her own. Even walking a short distance had become difficult for her. The healer had warned me that she needed rest, not another strain on her already weakened body.

A commotion near the entrance made me turn.

An older woman hurried into the room, clutching something in both hands.

"Alpha! Alpha!"

I recognized her as one of the cleaners.

"What is it?"

She approached cautiously and held out a piece of cloth.

"I found this outside, near the infirmary gate."

I took it from her.

The moment I recognized the material, my fingers tightened around it.

It belonged to Alexa.

I turned it over, and my eyes settled on the dark stains spread across the fabric.

Blood.

For a moment, I couldn't move.

My thumb brushed over one of the stains before I looked up at the cleaner.

"Where exactly did you find this?"

"Near the exit gate, Alpha. I was cleaning there when I noticed it." Her voice faltered as she glanced at the cloth in my hands. "I thought..." She swallowed. "I thought something terrible might have happened to Luna."

I looked at her sharply.

"Don't make assumptions."

But even as I said it, my eyes returned to the bloodstains.

I tried to convince myself there had to be another explanation. Perhaps she had injured herself while leaving. Perhaps the cloth had been stained earlier.

Anything but what the cleaner was suggesting.

I turned towards the guards waiting outside.

"Get everyone out. I want the grounds searched immediately."

Within minutes, the pack was in motion. Guards spread out around the infirmary, checking the surrounding buildings and searching every path that led away from the grounds. Others followed the roads leading towards nearby settlements.

I refused to sit around waiting for reports.

Alexa was out there somewhere, and I intended to find her.

I went with the guards, the piece of bloodstained clothing still weighing heavily in my mind.

I had spent the entire day convincing myself that Alexa would eventually forgive me. That all I needed was a little time to make things right. But as I searched the grounds with her bloodstained clothes still fresh in my mind, one thought refused to leave me. What if, by the time I found her, I was already too late? No. I would find her. I had to. And when I did, I would make things right between us, even if it took everything I had.