How is that possible?

Freya’s POV:

Knowing that Selene and Mason were still happily married, without caring whether I was alive or dead, brought fresh tears to my eyes but I wiped the tears away with the heel of my hand because they did not deserve my tears. Instead, I would focus on this little boy.

Ethan had done nothing wrong, it was his parents who had betrayed me, not him. I would figure out how this disorder had taken root in him, and I would do it because the child was innocent, even if his parents were not.

Although a quiet voice in the back of my mind whispered of foul play, I pushed the suspicion down because I did not want to be the one to tear their world apart. It was far more likely that either Mason or Selene had developed the mutation recently, something new and undetected.

That was the simplest explanation, and the one I would offer them. With my decision made, I went to Ethan's ward to keep any eye on him until morning came. Only then did I get up to brush my teeth, straighten my lab coat, adjust the thin surgical mask over my face, and step out of the clinic.

On reaching the main building, I caught a young maid hurrying past me carrying a tray of fresh linens so I stopped her gently and asked where the Alpha's guest was. She informed me that they were all in the dining hall having breakfast so I thanked her and continued down the hall.

When I reached the oak door, I paused for one second, then pushed the doors open and stepped inside to see Dante seated at the head of the table, looking every inch the Alpha in a simple black shirt.

Mason was to his right, while Selene sat beside him, with one hand resting lightly on Mason's and all three of them looked up as I entered. “Good morning.” I said, keeping my voice calm and professional. “I have the results from the tests I ran on Ethan.”

Dante nodded once. “Join us, Doctor. Please.”

“I’ll be brief” I remained standing, hands clasped in front of me.

“The disorder is called Lunar Atrophy Syndrome, it's a genetic mutation that has only begun appearing in werewolves over the last six or seven years. It occurs when a wolf’s cells attempt to adapt to environmental changes and something goes wrong in the process.”

Pausing, I took a deep breath then continued.

“The mutated cells start breaking down the wolf’s own muscle and nerve tissue painfully. In lower-level wolves, the disorder activates because their genes are not strong enough to suppress it. In Alphas, it was believed to remain dormant, until now.”

Selene’s hand tightened on Mason's. “So, my son is suffering from a genetic disorder?”

“Yes.” I met her eyes briefly, then looked away. “This mutation can only be inherited directly from a parent and since Ethan is showing active symptoms, one of you must carry the active form. So, I need to test both of you to determine which.”

“I’ve never even heard of Lunar Atrophy Syndrome.” Mason set his fork down with a clink. “It’s not in any medical records I’ve seen, and we took Ethan to four different healers before coming here yet none of them mentioned anything like this.”

“That’s because the disorder was only identified in low-level wolves around six or seven years ago. It was never made public; the cases were few, and at the time it didn’t seem to pose a threat to higher bloodlines.” I nodded, expecting the resistance.

“I myself only learned of it five months ago when a renowned scientist from the Eastern Realm invited me to join his research team. But Ethan is the son of an Alpha which means that should not be affected unless the mutation has evolved further and is now strong enough now to overcome even Alpha-level suppression. That is why both of you need to be tested.”

Selene glanced at Mason, then back at me. “If it will help Ethan… of course we’ll do it.”

Mason looked reluctant, but he nodded. “Fine, let’s get it over with.”

Decision made, I led all three of them to the small examination room just off the main hall and had a nurse prepare the trays. I drew Mason’s blood first, then Selene’s, labeling each vial with steady hands. While the samples were processed in the portable analyzer I had brought, the room filled with silence.

Ten minutes later the machine beeped and I read the results twice, then a third time. “Neither of you carries the mutation.” I announced, and Mason’s head snapped up. “What?”

“There is no trace of the disorder in either of you.” I added, and Mason rose slowly, his chair scraping loudly against the stone floor. “Then how the hell does my son have it?”

“The only way a child can develop Lunar Atrophy Syndrome is if it is inherited directly from a parent. Since neither of you carries the active gene, that leaves only two possibilities. Either Selene is not Ethan’s biological mother… or you are not his biological father.”

The room fell suddenly silent and Mason’s face twisted as he lunged across the room, his hands reaching for my throat. “You lying bitch!”

But Dante moved faster than I could blink, and he stepped between us, one powerful arm shoving Mason back against the wall with a thud that rattled the glass cabinets. “Stand down, Mason. Now!”

Mason’s chest heaved, eyes wild, but he stopped fighting Dante’s grip. “Get out of my way, Dante. She’s accusing my mate of…”

“I’m not accusing anyone.” I cut in, voice shaking only slightly. “I’m stating medical facts.”

Dante released Mason but stayed between us. “Control yourself, she is the best healer in the North so you have to listen to her.”

Reluctantly, Mason’s gaze turned to Selene who stood frozen, eyes darting from Dante to Mason to me and back again, lips pressed so tightly they had gone white and the guilt on her face was unmistakable.

Mason saw it too so he walked toward her and kept his voice dangerously low, he said. “Selene, tell me she’s wrong.”

She took one step back, then another, until her back hit the wall. Mason closed the distance and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her hard enough that her head snapped back. “Tell me what the hell is going on! Now!”

Selene’s knees buckled as she slid down the wall until she was on the floor, sobbing. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Mason. Ethan isn’t yours.”

The room went deathly still as Mason stared down at her as though she had spoken in a foreign tongue. “What?”

“When I told you I was pregnant five years ago… I wasn’t but then you finally agreed to divorce Freya because I said I was carrying your heir so I panicked.” She began m, covering her face with both hands.

“I knew if I didn’t actually get pregnant, you would leave me too. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get pregnant which made me believe that you were impotent. So I… I slept with one of my father's guards just once and got me pregnant. Then Ethan was born, he inherited the Alpha gene from me that’s why you never suspected anything.”

Mason staggered back as though she had struck him. “You lied to me? For five years you let me believe that he was mine? You made me throw away my marriage, and my mate for a lie?”

Selene reached for his leg, tears streaming down her face. “I was just terrified of losing you.”

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears because I wanted to correct her. I wanted to let her know that Mason was not impotent because he had a daughter, who was proof that his seed was fertile and strong. But saying so would make me lose everything I had built here, so I bit my tongue until I tasted blood and stayed quiet.

“Where is the guard? The one who fathered that bastard?” Mason pressed, dragging me out of my thoughts.

Selene’s shoulders shook, as she replied. “I had him killed the same night I realized I was pregnant because I couldn’t risk him talking.”

On hearing her words, my eyes widened in shock so I spoke, because I had to. “To treat Ethan,I need the clean blood of one biological parent to flush most of his contaminated blood and replace it with healthy cells. Without that, the procedure will fail and he might die.”

Selene lifted her head, and looked straight at me. “Please… Doctor, please save my son. I’ll do anything at all, just don’t let him die.” I stared down at the woman who had stolen my life, my husband, and my future.

A huge part of me, wanted to help the innocent child trembling in the chair behind her but a smaller, darker part whispered that this was karma so I had to let Selene feel what it was like to watch her world crumble, to lose the one person she loved most, and suffer the way I had suffered.