Chapter 3

The day Leah's pregnancy was announced, I lost access to the west wing.

No formal notice. No explanation.

I was taking inventory in the apothecary when I noticed that several calming herbs I used regularly had been marked with red seals.

I reached for them, but the guard on duty stopped me.

"Sorry, Miss Alice. You're not permitted to use these."

I froze.

"These are part of my formulas."

The guard just repeated himself.

"Alpha's orders."

That's when it truly hit me. I no longer had a place in this pack.

That afternoon, I was summoned to the main hall.

Nicholas stood at the desk, flipping through a ledger.

I stood there for a long time before he finally looked up.

"You've been moving assets around?"

I nodded.

Nicholas pressed his lips together. After a pause, he said, "You've been using funds from the herb revenue your mother left you. That was registered with the pack."

I frowned.

"I have the right to use it."

He corrected me.

"You used to. Not anymore."

My head snapped up.

"What does that mean?"

Nicholas closed the ledger and looked at me.

That look didn't seem like looking at a living person. it was more like dealing with a piece of trash that he couldn't figure out where to throw away.

"Leah is pregnant. She needs a stable environment. And your recent behavior makes it hard not to read into things."

I suddenly understood.

It wasn't that I'd done something wrong. It was that I was still here at all.

His tone grew colder.

"Alice, you're being irrational. You've always had a skewed sense of where you stand."

My throat tightened.

"I never—"

"You have."

He cut me off.

"You've always thought you had some kind of special place with me. But the truth is, you were just convenient. You stayed out of the way."

The words hit like an axe to the chest.

"Things are different now. Leah is carrying my pup. I won't tolerate anyone who might upset her."

He looked at me, voice deliberate.

"Including you."

The air went cold.

He let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

"Do you think if you leave, I'll regret it? Is that what this is?"

My fingers clenched.

"That's not what I'm thinking."

"Then what do you want?"

He stood and stepped closer.

"You want me to abandon Leah while she's pregnant? Or do you want me to let your little drama ruin her emotional state right before the ceremony?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word pressed down on me.

"Everything you're doing right now—it all points to one thing."

"You're trying to force me to choose between you and Leah."

My throat felt dry.

"But that choice never existed in the first place."

His words cut slow and deep, like a dull blade carving into me.

"Alice, you should know better than anyone. The only reason you're still standing here is because you've always known your place."

"Not because you matter."

I stood frozen.

He looked at me, as if checking to make sure I understood.

"I let you stay out of duty and order. Not affection."

"So what you're doing now just tells me one thing—"

He paused, and his tone turned ice-cold.

"You're getting out of line."

My fingers trembled. Even though I'd already decided to leave him for good, having him strip away my very existence like this—it still hurt so much I could barely breathe.

I heard myself speak, my voice eerily calm.

"So I should disappear. Is that it?"

Nicholas hesitated, then looked away with a frown.

"Enough with the tantrum. Go back to your room and stay put for a few days."

I let out a cold laugh and walked out.

Good thing I'd already made plans to leave.