CHAPTER SIX

My heart hammered in my chest as I walked down the marble corridor, fingers brushing over the secret I carried so closely.

“What if he denies the child?” I pressed my hand to my stomach, hands trembling. “What if he rejects me… in front of everyone?”

“No, he… he won't" I said, trying to reassure myself. 

This child… our child… will be the bridge that connects us. He'll look at me with joy, when he hears we're creating a life together, right? Right.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t notice the way the corridor had gone quiet, the guards kept giving me this look that I couldn't quite understand. Was anything wrong with my appearance? Am I not to be here?

Well they didn't quite bother me, I'm kind of used to these stares.

Getting to the door, all my confidence seemed to just run out. I couldn’t bring up the courage to open the door. 

“Breathe Jean, you can do this.” 

My fingers hover over the handle when I hear his voice.

“…the future of this bloodline cannot be compromised.”

I freeze. I shouldn’t listen, I know I shouldn’t.

But I do.

“I will not bind myself to a she-wolf who carries a curse,” Seth continues. “A tainted womb weakens the line.”

My breath catches in my throat.

One of the council members asks, “And if such a woman is already… close to you, Alpha?”

“There is no such woman,” Seth replies, unbothered. “And there never will be. My mate will be flawless and my heirs will be strong.”

My wolf whimpers, sensing the rejection before I could process it.

Wrong, cursed. Was that all I was to him?

If he knew… if he knew what I carry…

Would he look at me the same way he sounds right now? 

Would he deny me in front of everyone?

My hand clamps over my mouth, but it’s too late. Tears spill anyway, sliding down my cheeks. I try to swallow the sob clawing up my throat. 

It hurts to breathe—a lot.

Before the door opens or anyone sees me. I turn, already running before I can think.

My footsteps echo down the corridor, uneven and desperate. Tears blur everything, turning the walls into shadows. I don’t care who sees me. I don’t care if they hear.

I just need to get away.

Away from the truth I was never meant to hear.

I don’t stop running until the sound of him disappears completely.

By the time I reach the common room, my chest feels hollow, like something inside me collapsed.

The moment I step inside, I see them.

I should have known I’d find him exactly where he always is—wrapped around Abigail like she’s the only thing in the room.

They both look up at the same time, waiting.

Of course they were waiting.

“Well,” Abigail drawls, tilting her head as she studies my face. “Where have you been?”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I open my mouth, ready to offer some excuse, some lie to protect what little dignity I have left. But I’m tired… too drained to pretend. So I say nothing.

The silence seems to amuse them.

He shifts closer to Abigail, his arm sliding around her waist. He pulls her against him in an exaggerated display of affection, pressing a soft kiss to her temple as if I am invisible.

Abigail giggles and leans into him, her fingers curling possessively into his shirt. They whisper to each other, low and intimate, and then they laugh.

Not loudly but enough, enough for it to hurt.

I just stand there, watching the performance unfold. Watching the warmth he gives her so easily and the softness in his voice. The way his hand rests at her waist like it belongs there.

My chest tightens as something ugly and small curls inside me.

Why does she get his patience, his touch, his attention?

What is so wrong with me that I am always standing on the outside, looking in?

I try to swallow the bitterness, but it rises anyway.

Why does affection come so easily to everyone else?

Why does it skip over me like I don’t exist?

I can’t breathe in here, I just need to get past them. Just a few steps and I’ll be out of sight.

I try to walk around them, but Agora steps directly into my path.

His eyes rake over me, and the disgust in them is not even subtle.

“Move,” he mutters, like I’m something stuck to his shoe. “You’re a nuisance. You don’t belong anywhere near me.”

The words sting, but I don’t respond. I can’t. If I open my mouth, I might fall apart.

My silence irritates him.

“Did you hear me?” he snaps.

Before I can react, his hand comes out and shoves me hard enough that I stumble back a step. The force isn’t enough to knock me down, but it’s enough. Enough to make something inside me finally fracture.

My heart is already raw from everything I heard. From everything I lost in that hallway.

And now this.

 I don’t care about consequences or whispers or what this will cost me anymore.

“Stop!” My voice cracks, “Just stop!”

They both stare at me.

My hands are shaking. My chest heaving.

“You want me out of your sight?” I laugh, and it sounds unhinged even to my own ears. “Fine. But you don’t get to pretend I don’t exist.”

My voice rises, fueled by hurt and fury and everything I’ve been swallowing for weeks.

“I’m pregnant!”

Abigail’s face drains of color, her eyes widening in pure shock. Agora doesn’t move, he just stands there staring at me like I’ve spoken a language he doesn’t understand.

Utter disbelief settles over his features as the weight of what I’ve said begins to sink in.

And for the first time tonight…

I am not the one shaking.