Chapter 5

[Rose's POV]

I felt dizzy and thrashed around desperately. "Let go of me! Wade, you jerk!"

But against Wade's powerful Alpha strength, I was as weak as prey.

My throat tightened. My vision began to blur, and a sharp pain twisted in my belly. Suddenly, there was a faint kick from inside me. My pup was struggling!

Wade faltered for a beat, seemingly sensing the change. When he saw me clutching my stomach in pain, he finally let go. I collapsed bonelessly on the couch, gasping for air.

He let out a low, threatening growl. "From today on, you're not allowed to step out of this room. Until the pup in your belly is born, I don't want to see you again!"

With that, he shifted back into human form, turned, and walked away with Nina in his arms.

I stared at the photos scattered on the floor, my heart turning to ice. Tears flooded my eyes as I watched Wade leave. I dragged my drained body to the bed and shut my eyes, feeling utterly exhausted.

Poppy was just as devastated. She let out a heart-wrenching, anguished howl deep inside me.

…

The alliance meeting for all the werewolf territories was going to be held in the Flamestrong pack's lands. As the Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack, Wade had to attend.

When Nina found out, she kicked up a huge fuss about going with him. He refused, saying her belly was getting too heavy and it wasn't convenient for her to travel.

But she cried and whined about it every single day. His patience was worn thin by her constant tantrums. In the end, he gave in.

On the day of the departure, Wade showed up at my bedroom door. This was the first time he'd come to see me since our explosive fight.

By then, I was nearly nine months along. The pup inside me was more active than ever, and Wade could sense the faint trace of wolf energy coming from it.

"Rose," he started hesitantly, his tone unusually gentle. "When I come back, if this pup turns out to be my blood, I'll make it up to you twice over."

I looked at him blankly and made a single request. "Give me my phone back. You know I don't really have anyone to contact anyway."

His eyes glinted with a wolfish yellow light as he stared at me for a long time. He tried to use our mind-link to read my emotions and judge whether I was lying, but he seemed to have forgotten that he'd cut it off. Plus, my heart had withered and shriveled up.

After a moment, he had the butler, Allen Smith, bring my phone and hand it to me. He reminded, "Rose, take good care of yourself and the pup. Don't even think about running away again."

Once I had the phone in my hand, I just nodded obediently at everything he said.

Wade seemed satisfied with my submission. He turned to leave without saying anything else.

The moment his private jet sliced through the sky, I burst into wild laughter in the living room. Months of suffocating pressure finally had a crack to escape through.

Allen was relieved to see me smile at last. He hurried off to prepare a meal for me.

I finally felt my heart settle as I looked down at my phone. I immediately sent a message to my biological parents. No one knew that I'd actually found them three years ago.

Back then, my world had revolved entirely around Wade. I'd insisted on staying in the Bloodmoon pack and refused to go back with them to their pack.

They'd been reluctant to let me stay, but they'd still respected my choice. They'd only left me with one reminder. "If there comes a day when you're not happy, we'll come get you anytime. We will always have your back."

I'd never taken those words to heart before, but now, they were my only lifeline.

I stared at the countdown timer on my phone's screen. In ten hours, my parents would arrive at the Bloodmoon pack's territory.

I told them that Wade had arranged dozens of warriors to guard me, keeping me under house arrest at the villa.

On the other end of the line, Dad gave a soft, confident laugh. "Don't be afraid, sweetheart. Forget a few dozen warriors—even if Wade mobilized every warrior in his entire pack, he still wouldn't be able to stop me. Our family has never been afraid of anyone!"

I'd never seen the extent of our family's true power, but Dad's words were like a rock that pressed down the anxiety in my chest. I happily looked at the feast Allen had prepared and was just about to dig in when the dining room door swung open with a harsh creak.

Wade's mother walked in, followed by Nina's parents. The contempt and viciousness in their eyes were like poisoned blades that stabbed straight into me.

My heart sank, and my body went rigid as a terrible sense of foreboding washed over me. Poppy sensed the danger too and stirred uneasily inside me.