CHAPTER 04

"What the fuck is going on here?" Ashley asked, unable to believe her eyes.

Adrian was kissing Irish right in front of her.

"You slut! You know what? It's high time you stop your little scheme. Adrian, lock her up in the dungeon. She can give birth there. Reject her now!" Frustrated, Ashley yelped while she shook her whole body.

They had already disengaged from kissing. Instinctively, Adrian put Irish down and protectively stood in front of her.

"I love you Ashley, but she...she is my mate. This is difficult for me too, my wolf needs her. I'm sorry...I can't." Adrian was conflicted as he went closer to Ashley.

"You know you're the reason I can't ... That I can't... " Ashley's voice broke as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was trembling, her hands clenching his shirt as she looked up to him and whispered, " You know you're the reason why I can't get pregnant. Why are you doing this to me?” Ashley's hurtful voice was speaking when Adrian raised his hand to hush her.

"Irish. Leave." He commanded.

Irish began leaving. It was obvious he didn't want her to hear what Ashley was about to say.

But as Irish left, she was determined to hear the rest of it, so she hid behind a door and listened carefully.

"I can't have a child because of that incident years ago. I went silent just to protect you, yet you love her now?" The last part of Ashley's sentence felt almost like a threat.

"I don't love her. Listen, I fight with my wolf just to stay away from her. But it's impossible. My wolf needs her to be stronger."

"Then reject her!" Ashley raised her voice as she ruffled her hair in frustration.

She seemed to realize her actions because the next time she talked, her voice went low. "You placed that lowly wench up here with us," Ashley raised her hand to illustrate.

"She eats the best food and then..." Ashley sucked in a deep breath. The whole idea that he loved his mate without admitting it was making her go crazy.

She continued. "Last night, you helped her massage her swollen feet and now you're kissing her. What else do you call love?"

Adrian folded his arms. "Ashley, if you think I love the lowlife, then you're mistaken. She's pregnant with our child, so she has to eat good food because our baby gets to eat it too. Also, the idea of giving her a room up here was so we could closely observe her. That way there is no chance to lose the baby."

"The baby came and now I've been forgotten? You know what, I'll just tell the whole pack..." Adrian hushed her.

"I'm sorry," Adrian replied, making Irish wonder why the proud and grumpy fellow apologized all of a sudden at the mention of telling something to the whole pack.

'Why does it sound like she has something against him?' Irish asked her wolf.

Irish went upstairs, disappearing into one of the rooms that had Its doors open without even checking.

Tears gushed down her cheeks. Her father had abandoned her, and on top of that, her mate didn't want her.

She cleaned her tears with the back of her palm. It didn't take long before she realized that she was in the wrong room.

She began leaving when she missed a step. She hissed. She was already tired of being clumsy. Thank goodness she held onto a table for support or she would have fallen already.

She steadied herself, but to her dismay, she had already scattered the pile of books on the table.

She began picking them up, stacking them together, and arranging when a certain document caught her attention.

It was labeled "EXCLUSIVE". She opened the file and to her amazement, it was tagged "INFERTILITY REPORT" Her eyes landed on a couple of names but one seemed familiar enough.

She began hearing the sound of feet shuffling and approaching the room, so she quickly arranged the files back.

Then the door creaked open and her eyes widened as Ashley stepped in.

Luckily, Irish had stepped away from that table and was moving towards the door since she had nowhere else to hide.

Once Ashley saw her, her eyes turned a darker shade as she suspiciously glanced at that table.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I must have stumbled into the wrong room," Irish answered curtly as she made to leave. Everything that was happening was too much for her and she didn't want more drama.

But Ashley was determined to cause trouble because the next moment she pushed Irish back, making her back hit the wall.

"Seducing my husband. Do you think that'll make him crown you Luna?"

"Can I leave, please?" Irish asked politely. Getting punished now for being rude to Ashley was not an option.

"No, no, don't. I just wanted to make sure you know your place. Because no matter how hard you whore around him, you'll remain the unwanted and unloved mate,"

Ashley laughed, then scoffed, "the pathetic breeder."

"I didn't ask for him to be my mate. I don't even want him." Irish said as she rolled her eyes.

"Exactly. Stay away from Adrian. He is mine." Ashley walked closer to Irish and leaned close to her ear.

"Once upon a time I used to care about that thing in your womb but not anymore, you piece of shit," she grabbed Irish's face, pressing the hollows of her cheek to hold her face in place as she stared into her teary eyes.

"Let's put it this way, it's either you stay away from him and live peacefully here or... You can kiss your damn baby goodbye."

Her words made her shiver and Irish froze. The seriousness in Ashley's eyes gave her a new strength-- she pushed her away and ran.

She ran across the hall, ignoring the maids and rushing to her room. Her wild beating heart was loud over her ears as she slammed the door and turned in the lock, stepping away from it like it was a bomb.

She huffed, shuddering as she pushed her hair out of her face, wrapping her arms around her protruding belly.

Ashley had meant every word and she saw it in her eyes. It wasn't just that she was hurt, she was betrayed by Adrian's actions and she hated that he now gave his attention to someone else.

This was bad. This was very bad.

Irish couldn't continue to live her life like this nor could she allow her baby to come into this world in a home like this-- ha! This wasn't even worth calling a home.

There was only one thing to do.

Run.