Chapter 1: THE HEIR INSIDE ME

“You’re pregnant, Luna.”

For three years, I had imagined those words in Alpha Kael’s voice. I never expected to hear them from Healer Maeve while sitting half-dressed on a cold examination table.

I stared at her.

“No.”

One of her eyebrows rose. “That is an unusual response.”

“There must be a mistake.”

“There isn’t.”

I looked down at my hands. My fingers were locked together so tightly that my knuckles had turned pale. I had come to the clinic because I was tired. For nearly two weeks, I had been waking with a strange heaviness in my body. Yesterday, the smell of roasted meat had sent me running from breakfast.

I blamed stress.

Pregnancy had not entered my mind.

Not anymore.

“Five weeks,” Maeve said. “Perhaps a few days more. It is still early.”

I searched her face. Maeve had delivered half the children in Blackridge and was not known for comforting lies.

“You’re certain?”

She handed me my blouse. “Would you like me to lie and say I’m guessing?”

A laugh escaped me. It sounded strange, almost broken. I covered my mouth. For one foolish second, I was afraid even breathing too loudly might make the words disappear.

Three years.

Three years of waiting. Three years of pretending the questions did not hurt when older wolves asked when their Alpha would have an heir. Kael always defended me. He would pull me close afterward and remind me that he had chosen me, not the child I might one day give him.

I believed him.

But I also knew how long he sometimes stood beside the training grounds, watching fathers teach their pups. I had seen the quiet look in his eyes whenever a newborn wrapped tiny fingers around his thumb.

My vision blurred, but I blinked quickly.

“Is the pup healthy?”

Maeve did not answer at once.

My happiness tightened into fear. “What is it?”

“Nothing bad.” She placed a hand on my arm. “The pregnancy is early. Strong, but early.”

“That did not answer my question.”

“The pup is healthy.”

I released the breath trapped in my chest.

Then she glanced at the examination screen again.

“The heartbeat is stronger than I expected.”

I frowned. “Is that dangerous?”

“I didn’t say that. For now, eat properly, rest when your body asks for it, and come back next week.”

I wanted to question her further, but joy had already returned, too large for caution to hold. After three years of empty hopes, strong sounded like the most beautiful word in the world.

Maeve folded my pregnancy report and handed it to me.

“Are you going to tell the Alpha?”

I smiled. “Today.”

“Then why are you still standing here?”

“Because I want to see his face when I tell him.”

Outside the clinic, the mind-link between Kael and me rested at the edge of my thoughts. I could have reached for him. One message, and I could change both our lives.

Kael, I’m pregnant.

My hand moved to my stomach instead. There was no curve yet. Nothing anyone could see.

No. This deserved more than a voice inside his head.

On the market road, a flash of silver caught my attention. A tiny bracelet hung from a wooden display, small enough for a newborn pup, with a crescent moon charm attached to the chain.

I stopped.

The seller smiled. “For someone special, Luna?”

My fingers rested over my stomach.

“Yes.”

I bought it and slipped the small box into my bag beside the pregnancy report.

By the time I reached the Blackridge pack house, I had planned everything. I would place the report beneath the bracelet and wait for Kael in our room. Perhaps I would make him guess. More likely, I would lose my nerve and tell him the moment I saw him.

I was still imagining his reaction when I noticed the dark vehicle outside.

I did not recognize it.

Two unfamiliar guards stood near the entrance. They bowed when they saw me, but something about their presence slowed my steps.

“Who arrived?” I asked.

Before either could answer, laughter came from inside.

A child’s laughter.

I entered the pack house and found a small blue jacket thrown over the back of a chair. One sleeve nearly touched the floor. Beside it sat a pair of muddy shoes.

We did not have children living in the main house.

Another laugh rang through the corridor.

Then I heard Kael.

“Slow down. You’ll fall.”

I stopped.

His voice was warm. Not the measured tone he used in council or the sharp command that sent warriors running. This was the Kael I knew behind closed doors, when the weight of being Alpha loosened from his shoulders.

I smiled automatically.

Perhaps one of the council families had visited. Kael would complain about the noise later, then secretly find a reason to keep the child around.

My bag pressed against my hip.

Perfect.

Seeing him with a pup would make my surprise even better.

I followed the voices toward the main hall and stepped through the open doorway.

My smile faded.

Kael was crouched near the center of the room. A little boy stood before him, perhaps five years old, with dark hair that refused to lie flat and amber flecks in his eyes. Kael held a small wooden wolf above his head while the child jumped, laughing as he tried to reach it.

I had never seen him before.

There was something familiar about him. Not enough for certainty. Enough to make my fingers tighten around the paper in my bag.

The shape of his mouth.

The angle of his face when he frowned.

Something I could not name.

Then I noticed the woman beside the fireplace.

She was tall and fair-haired, dressed in a pale travelling coat. Beautiful, though that was not what disturbed me. It was the way she watched Kael.

Not like a stranger.

She watched him like someone remembering a life she had once known.

Kael finally saw me.

The warmth left his face.

“Elara.”

The boy turned at the sound of my name. For one quiet moment, no one moved.

Then Kael lowered the wooden wolf.

The child laughed, ran forward, and threw himself into my mate’s arms.

“Father!”

The pregnancy report in my bag suddenly felt heavy.

The little boy wrapped both arms around my mate’s neck, and Kael did not push him away.