Chapter 3

I returned home alone.

The moment I opened the door and looked around the house, the tears I had been holding back finally fell.

The cradle I had put together myself still stood in the living room. The smell of paint still lingered.

The pretty wool blanket draped over it had taken me a month to knit.

Julian and I had hung every decoration on the walls together, piece by piece.

The happy future I had pictured again and again ended in that moment.

The lock clicked twice behind me. Julian had followed me home.

"Serena, let's talk." He took off his coat and reached for me, but I stepped away.

He sighed. "I admit I shouldn't have lied to you. But I owe Nora so much. I know how much this hurts you. That's why I've felt so torn for so long."

As I looked at him, the bitter irony hit me.

"Julian, do you really think our child will keep me from turning against you?

"You think I'll never leave you?"

His brow furrowed. I knew I had hit the mark.

"Serena, I only wanted to wait until you gave birth safely. Then we could discuss everything else."

"That's your problem. I don't need to hear another word."

I tuned him out and went back upstairs to our bedroom.

I lay on the bed, gently rubbing my belly and staring at the ceiling.

Three years ago, he claimed he'd gone overseas to negotiate an arms transfer. The hem of a woman's skirt was visible in one corner of the photo he sent me.

A year ago, we watched a Valentine's Day fireworks display he claimed had been staged just for me. Not long afterward, he put on the exact same show on the West Coast, lighting up the sky all night.

Six months ago, his order history showed two identical pregnancy pillows. The other one had been delivered three full days before mine.

It wasn't as if I'd never suspected him. I'd questioned him about every one of those coincidences.

Each time, he brushed me off with a different excuse. The woman was a doctor who had happened to walk into the shot. The fireworks were for a relative's child bonding with a fated mate. The other pillow was for the commander's pregnant wife.

And I believed him, time after time.

Then my phone rang with an unfamiliar number.

I answered, and Nora's voice came through. Every word was meant to provoke me.

"Serena, you don't actually have to risk your life to have that baby.

"I know this pregnancy has been difficult for you. Even if you somehow deliver a pup safely, a child that weak could never become the next Alpha.

"You don't really believe the expensive tonics you've been taking so faithfully are actually helping you, do you?"

She hung up before I could answer.

A sharp, wrenching pain suddenly tore through my belly!

I clutched my stomach as sweat soaked through my nightgown.

Bracing myself against the wall, I stumbled into the hallway. "Julian! Take me to the hospital!"