Chapter 3

I woke up in a hospital room with morning light on the blanket and a doctor talking somewhere near my feet.

"She's seven weeks along. The collapse was shock. It's an unstable stage, so no more upsets, please."

My fingers went still on the sheet.

Five years I'd prayed for this.

I turned my head and found Dominic looking at me from beside the doctor. He looked thrilled. He also looked sorry, and there was something else there I couldn't read.

He crossed the room in three steps and reached for my hand.

"Mer. We're having a baby."

I moved my hand.

His stayed in the air. "I know you're angry. But what I feel for you is real. Eighteen years, Mer. You can't tell me that was fake."

There was a fire behind my ribs, and it was eating everything.

"You lied to me for six years, and now you want to talk about feelings?"

"Mer, I—"

"Get out. I want to sleep."

He sighed. "Rest. I'll be back later."

The door clicked shut.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed to go find the doctor, and that was when I heard Julian in the hallway.

"What the hell is this? How is she pregnant?"

I stopped.

"You gave me your word, Dominic. Only Felicity carries a Cross heir. You've had Mercy on those pills for years."

Pills.

I sat very still on the edge of the bed.

The first month on the island, Dominic told me the Cross line was thin, one heir a generation, and that a pup would make his parents accept me. He brought in a doctor. The doctor ran his tests and gave me the news gently. I'd have trouble conceiving. I'd need treatment.

So for five years, the pills came two weeks before every visit. And after every night with Dominic, I drank a bowl of herbal tea.

It was the bitterest thing I've ever tasted.

Dominic always had a piece of candy ready. He'd unwrap it himself and put it on my tongue and hold me while I got it down.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. I know."

With his candy in my mouth, I never minded the taste.

For five years I'd cried over my empty womb and apologized to him for it. The pills swelled me up, and I starved it off, and they swelled me up again. By the second year my wolf had gone so quiet and my nose so dull I could barely smell the ocean. The witch said that was the curse. I never complained once.

There was nothing wrong with me.

I just wasn't allowed to have Dominic's pup and get in Felicity's way.

Out in the hall, Julian's voice didn't change at all.

"This pup can't stay. Get it dealt with."

"This one was an accident." Dominic sounded hoarse. "But she's wanted a baby for a long time, Julian. And that procedure's hard on the body."

He was quiet for a couple of seconds.

"I'll send her back to the island with the baby. They won't touch Felicity's life at all."

"No," Julian said.

I turned the handle.

They both looked around.

Dominic went white. Julian's face did nothing.

"Why?"

I looked only at Julian. My voice wasn't steady, and I let it shake.

"I'm your sister too. My whole life, you've only ever loved one of us. Why?"

"You think you can compare yourself to Felicity?"

It came right out of him. He didn't even have to think.

"She's bright and sweet and people like having her around. You're a stone. You stand in corners and look wounded. Felicity brings everyone little presents every time she comes home. When did you ever bring anyone anything?"

He looked me over.

"You want to complain that we favor her? Take a look in the mirror first."