Chapter 2

I nodded, then heard myself say it aloud.

"Do you want me to give up my room?" I asked him. "The one with the large terrace. It would be more comfortable for a pregnant woman."

The words left my mouth calmly, as if they belonged to someone else.

Garrick's expression darkened, and his tone sharpened. "You're really generous. You're even willing to give up your room."

I lowered my eyes and replied in the gentle voice I always used, "It's fine. I don't mind."

I would be leaving anyway. Everything here would belong to Lyralei sooner or later. Letting go ahead of time felt appropriate.

Something in him snapped.

"Fine," he said coldly. "If you want to give it up, then do it. Just don't regret it later."

He turned at once, his voice softening as he faced Lyralei. "You can move in today. Stay there until the birth. Don't worry about anything else."

Joy flared in Lyralei's eyes. She quickly hid it behind a display of concern.

"Is that really okay?" she asked sweetly. "It is Wena's room. What will she do if I take it?"

Garrick snorted. "She's generous. She can live anywhere. You should focus on yourself."

I had prepared myself to leave. I believed I was ready. Still, the indifference in his voice cut deeper than I expected.

For seven years after we formed our mate bond, Garrick indulged me in everything. He gave me the best of whatever he had. Even when bloodline rejection meant I could not conceive naturally, his affection never wavered.

At least, that was what I believed. Now all of that care flowed toward the pups who shared his blood.

I swallowed my tears and went upstairs. I intended to move my packed bag to another room and clear the space.

Behind me, Lyralei set the bowl down and rose slowly, one hand bracing her lower back. Her voice turned soft and clinging as she reached for Garrick. "Alpha, my waist hurts. Can you help me back to the room?"

From the second-floor corridor, I saw her lean into his chest, pliant and familiar, lifting her leg to hook it around his waist.

I could not keep watching. I fled back into my room as if escaping a fire.

By the time I shut the door, my face was already soaked. It took a long while to steady my breathing. When I finally picked up my bag and stepped into the hallway to change rooms, hurried footsteps thundered toward me.

The door slammed open.

Garrick rushed in, clutching a crumpled sheet of paper. It was my pregnancy report. His face lit with unrestrained joy. "Wena, you're pregnant?"

I had not expected him to find it. Before I could speak, he pulled me into his arms and held me so tightly that his entire body trembled.

"That's amazing," he said hoarsely. "I finally have a pup. Our pup."

Bitterness rose in my throat. This was the moment I had once dreamed of. Now, I touched my lower abdomen and forced myself to lie.

"I'm not pregnant," I said lightly. "That report isn't mine. Same name, same surname. You know I can't get pregnant. I probably just wanted to borrow some good luck."

His smile froze. The disappointment on his face was immediate and unmistakable.

"Besides, you've already had someone give birth for you. From now on, I won't have to suffer through bloodline fusion rituals anymore," I added, keeping my tone casual.

Garrick studied me. "Wena, are you really willing to accept Moonlet and Silvertail?"

The blood drained from my face at the sound of those two names.

Ayla "Moonlet" Whitefang.

Five years ago, when I had briefly been pregnant and learned the pup was a girl, that was the name I chose. I had whispered it to my abdomen and laced it with blessings from the Moon Goddess. I had even told Garrick that if we ever had a boy, we would name him Silvertail.

That pregnancy had not survived the bloodline rejection.

I had cried for an entire day and night. Garrick had stayed with me the whole time. We had buried the tiny body in the pack's cemetery, and I had carved the headstone myself.

Now he had given those names to the pups he had with another woman.

I could force myself to accept his betrayal. I had not known he would take the only thing I still held sacred, the name of the pup I had lost, and give it away as well.