CHAPTER 4

Clara’s POV

I shoved the positive pregnancy test deep into the pocket of my jeans, my hands shaking so violently I nearly dropped it. 

I turned on the faucet, splashed freezing water over my face, and pressed a towel against my skin. My reflection in the mirror was ghost pale. A baby was growing inside me. Damien's child. If anyone in this pack found out, my mother and I would be thrown out into the rogue lands before sunset.

The heavy sound of footsteps echoed down the main corridor. 

I took a deep, steadying breath, forced my shoulders back, and stepped out into the living room. 

The grand hall was already filled with pack elders and guards. Alpha Garrick stood near the stone fireplace, his broad chest puffed out with unmistakable pride. Beside him stood my mother, beaming with a wide, radiant smile. 

Then my eyes landed on Damien. 

He was dressed in a tailored black suit, his dark hair neatly styled, looking every inch the powerful Alpha heir. Hooked securely around his muscular arm was a stunning woman with porcelain skin, golden hair, and bright emerald eyes. 

Lady Seraphina of the powerful Redmoor Pack.

"Clara, perfect timing," Garrick announced, his deep voice echoing across the marble floor. "Come join us. Our pack has a great reason to celebrate today."

My feet felt like blocks of cement as I forced myself to walk forward. Damien’s golden eyes snapped to mine for a fraction of a second, cold and utterly empty, before he looked away as if I were a piece of dirt on the floor.

"Clara, this is Lady Seraphina," my mother said, stepping forward to grasp my hand with excitement. "The Moon Goddess has blessed us with the ultimate alliance. She and Damien are fated mates."

The words hit my chest like a physical blow. I dug my fingers into my pocket, the sharp plastic edge of the test biting into my palm.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Seraphina," I said, keeping my voice level and polite.

Seraphina smiled, a sweet, radiant expression that did not reach her calculating green eyes. She released Damien’s arm and took two graceful steps toward me, extending a manicured hand.

"You must be Clara," Seraphina said, her voice smooth as silk. "Damien told me all about you during our ride from the northern border. His quiet, sweet little stepsister."

She placed a heavy, deliberate emphasis on the word stepsister. 

"I hope you and Damien have a long and peaceful mating," I replied, shaking her fingers briefly before pulling my hand back.

"Oh, we will," Seraphina purred, turning back to Damien and resting her palm flat over his heart. "We felt the fated bond the moment we met at the council summit. Some connections are simply written in the stars, don't you think, Clara?"

"I suppose so," I answered quietly.

"Damien, show your mate to the private guest suite on the third floor," Garrick ordered with a booming laugh. "The elders will join us in the dining hall shortly to review the treaties."

"Of course, Father," Damien said smoothly. 

He guided Seraphina toward the grand staircase. As they passed me, Damien’s broad shoulder brushed against mine. He did not look down. He did not flinch. He walked past me as if the night he broke my innocence and filled my body with his seed had never happened.

My mother hurried off toward the kitchen to direct the staff, and the elders dispersed into the foyer, leaving me standing alone in the vast room.

I turned toward the east wing hallway, desperate to reach the privacy of my room to pack what little I owned. 

"Running away so quickly, little stepsister?" 

A sharp, mocking voice echoed behind me.

I stopped and turned around. Seraphina was standing at the base of the stairs, her arms crossed over her designer silk dress. Damien was nowhere to be seen.

The sweet, gentle mask she had worn in front of Garrick and my mother had vanished completely. In its place was a vicious, triumphant sneer.

"I have chores to finish in my room," I said calmly.

"Do you really think I am an idiot, Clara?" Seraphina asked, walking slowly toward me with predatory grace. "Do you think I cannot smell the dirty little secret lingering all over you?"

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Five weeks ago," Seraphina whispered, stopping just inches from my face. Her green eyes flashed with cold malice. "Damien came into your bedroom in the middle of the night. He locked the door and took your virginity on those white sheets while you begged him for more."

The blood drained from my face, leaving my limbs cold and numb. 

"How do you know that?" I gasped out.

"Because I have eyes everywhere in this territory," Seraphina said with a cruel laugh. 

She reached into her small designer clutch and pulled out a glossy photograph, holding it directly in front of my eyes.

My breath caught in pure horror. 

It was a sharp, clear photo taken through my bedroom window from the exterior fire escape. It showed Damien hovering over me on the bed, his dark head buried in my neck, his hands gripping my hips while I arched beneath him in pure ecstasy.

"Look at how pathetic you look," Seraphina sneered, tapping the picture against my cheek. "An Omega nobody, opening her legs for her own stepbrother under Alpha Garrick's roof."

"Damien came to me," I whispered, fighting back the tears burning my eyes. "He was the one who locked the door."

"Do you honestly think anyone will care about that?" Seraphina asked, tilting her head with a look of pure disgust. "I am the daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the North. Damien needs my family's army to secure his title. You are just a stray dog his father took pity on."

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping into a venomous hiss.

"If I show this photo to Alpha Garrick and the council, what do you think happens to your precious mother? She will be stripped of her Luna title, branded as an accomplice to a sick scandal, and thrown into the rogue wasteland with nothing. And you will be locked in the pack dungeon until you rot."

"My mother had nothing to do with this," I said, my voice trembling with desperate fury. "Leave her out of it."

"Then you make the right choice," Seraphina said, slipping the photograph back into her purse. "You pack a single bag and leave this territory before sunrise tomorrow. You disappear completely. You change your name, you never contact your mother, and you never step foot in Silverthorn territory again."

"And if I leave?" I asked, my throat tight.

"If you vanish quietly, the photo stays in my purse, and your mother gets to keep her comfortable life in this mansion," Seraphina said, smiling sweetly once more. "Do we have a deal, little stray?"

I stared at her, feeling every dream I had ever held crumble to dust. I looked down at my flat stomach, feeling the tiny life growing inside me. I could not stay here. If they discovered I was carrying Damien's heir while he stood beside his fated mate, they would kill my baby to protect the bloodline.

"I will leave," I whispered.

"Good girl," Seraphina said, patting my shoulder mockingly before turning on her heel and gliding up the stairs.

I walked numbly to my bedroom, locked the door, and pulled a small duffel bag from under the bed. I threw in two pairs of clothes, my meager savings from my part-time library job, and my identification papers. 

I sat at my desk and looked at the framed photo of my mother and me. A tear slipped down my cheek, splashing onto the glass. I could not leave a note. If I wrote anything, Garrick might hunt me down. 

I waited until two in the morning, when the entire mansion was dead silent. 

I slipped on a dark jacket, grabbed my bag, and opened my bedroom door. I crept down the hallway, taking each step with silent care, moving toward the side exit by the kitchen.

I reached the heavy wooden door leading to the garden path. I placed my hand on the metal handle and pushed it down.

A large, warm hand suddenly clamped over my wrist, stopping me completely.

I gasped, spinning around in the dark.

Damien stood behind me, towering over my small frame, his golden eyes glowing with a dangerous, unstable fire.

"Where the hell do you think you are going with that bag, Clara?" Damien growled.