She comes home.

Seven's POV

Isolde stepped out of the Maybach and the moment Lena saw her, a huge smile lit up on her face.

The surprise that had been there when Demarco and I arrived dissolved into open warmth as she moved forward without hesitation and drew Isolde into a hug.

I felt a wave of sadness hit me.

Why wasn't she that welcoming when I was here?

“Isolde. You came.”

Isolde returned the hug with a huge smile on her face.

“Aunt Lena. I didn’t want to impose, but the lower wards failed and Harris insisted on bringing me here.”

Harris closed the car door behind her.

He said nothing about the minor collision or the pharmacy run that had pulled him away earlier. Lena was already guiding Isolde toward the entrance and I remained where I stood.

Demarco’s eyes moved once toward my face, registering whatever expression I carried, then returned to the scene without comment.

It was as if they had both dismissed the fact that I was there.

Inside the foyer Isolde turned and offered me a smile with a surprised and innocent look in her eyes as if she had only just noticed I was there.

“Seven. I didn’t realize you’d be here.”

The lie was very obvious. She knew exactly where she was going. She had known I would be present. I answered with the same quiet tone I always used in this house.

“This is my husband's place. Of course I would.”

Lena brushed past the exchange and announced that Isolde would stay for lunch and no one disagreed.

For the next thirty minutes, no one spoke to me and I noticed how everything revolved around Isolde. Even with me there, Harris paid zero attention to me.

She remembered which tea Lena preferred and ordered it herself. She claimed the chair on Harris’s right without looking for permission.

When the first course arrived she mentioned how Harris had always hated the texture of certain root vegetables and how he grew restless before major pack meetings.

She even went on and told a frigging brief story about a childhood ranking challenge she and the brothers had once shared. I sat across from them and it dawned on me.

There was no way in hell I could take this woman's place or even be her.

Demarco remained silent through most of the meal. He ate almost nothing. When the second course was cleared I turned to him and asked what was wrong. He kept his gaze on the far wall.

“Nothing. I’m just remembering why I stopped coming home.”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head once and offered no further explanation.

Later, when Lena stepped away to speak with the staff and Harris had not yet returned from the call that had taken him outside, Isolde found me alone in the corridor outside the dining room.

The sweetness she had in her voice vanished as she downright glared at me.

She did not raise her voice.

“I never intended to interfere with the marriage. But you knew Harris’s wolf was damaged when you married him. You knew what he needed.”

She was telling me that she understood the scarred animal inside him better than I ever could. Then she shifted the subject without warning.

“Have you given up trying for a child?”

My stomach tightened before I could stop the reaction. I said nothing about the confirmation slip still hidden in my bag and Isolde’s eyes scanned over me as I held my stomach.

“Oh… Looks like you already have one. Tch.” She then walked away with a grin on her face and I felt uneasy but I said absolutely nothing.

Harris returned a short while later. His attention found Isolde first. There was no open display of affection, yet the damaged wolf inside him stirred in a way it had not stirred for me in months.

Lena stood between them and announced that Isolde would remain in the house for a time. The pack’s media attention had made her current situation difficult, and the family would provide safety until matters settled.

No one had asked for my opinion.

Apparently, the decision had already been made and I wasn't involved at all. I waited until the others moved toward the sitting room before I spoke to Harris directly.

“How long is she staying?”

He answered without looking at me for long. “I don’t know yet.”

I kept my voice level even though everything inside me had already begun to tighten.

“And you’re comfortable with her living here? In our home. Under the same roof. Without even asking me first.”

His expression hardened at once.

“Seven, stop. Isolde is family. She grew up in this house. The arrangement is temporary until the media dies down and the lower wards are fixed. You’re making this bigger than it needs to be.”

“I’m making it bigger? She walked in, claimed a seat at the table, and now she gets a room like nothing ever changed. This is still my marriage. This is still supposed to be my home.”

Harris turned fully toward me then, the patience in his tone thinning and I could tell he was annoyed.

“She needs safety. The pack is watching. If I turn her away it looks like weakness. I will not discuss this further in the hallway. The decision is made. You will not turn it into another fight.”

He stepped past me without waiting for a reply and I decided I was going to bring it up with him later. Arguing would change nothing and he had already made his choices without even asking me first.

***

Soon enough, dinner was wrapped up, I returned to the private rooms alone and took the pregnancy confirmation from my bag. I held the thin slip of paper and rested one hand over the place where the child already lived.

For a moment I almost reached for the phone to call Harris. Then I heard Harris and Isolde’s voices. I was about to move away as I had not intended to listen but I stopped moving when I heard my name.

Isolde was whispering so I moved even closer.

“Seven has been taking those herbs for months. You don’t know what they may have done to her body.”

Harris asked what she meant. Isolde answered that she did not want to accuse anyone of anything.

“I’m only saying... if she really is pregnant, you should make sure the child is yours before you celebrate.”

Harris went silent.

I stood in the dark of the room with my hand still pressed to my stomach and listened to the quiet that followed. He simply muttered, “Okay” and it felt like my head was spinning. I did not confront them.

How could he think the baby wasn't his?!

I walked back to the bed and sat on its edge, staring at the bedroom ceiling as my phone lit up on the bedside table.

The message came from the same healer who had confirmed the pregnancy only hours earlier.

“Luna Seven, please come back tomorrow. There is something concerning about your test results that I need to discuss privately.”