Chapter 4

Morwen’s hand twitched like she wanted to slap her, but she caught herself, smoothing her expression into a chilling smile. “The pack doesn’t want you here, Daphne. Why don’t you just leave quietly and be happy somewhere else?”

“Thank you for your sudden concern, Morwen. But I’m staying.”

Daphne brushed past her, ignoring the weight of Morwen’s glare burning into her back. If that woman had a knife, Daphne had no doubt she would’ve used it.

She made it as far as Storm’s office, but as she reached for the handle, she realized the door was slightly open.

“…you really expect me to tolerate her?” Katerina’s voice drifted through the gap. It was soft, but the underlying disgust was clear. “In our house, Storm? After everything?”

Daphne’s stomach turned. She should leave, but her feet felt rooted to the floor.

“She’s still just a human breeder to you, right?” Katerina’s voice dropped lower. “There’s no need to keep her around. My bloodline is one of the few that can still carry pups properly, and now I’m carrying your child. Keeping her here is bad luck and I don’t want anything bad happening to my baby.”

Her baby? Daphne felt like she was being erased.

There was a long, agonizing pause before Storm finally spoke. “I’ll handle it.”

That was all he said. Daphne’s chest felt like it was caving in. She could barely breathe. Second thoughts screamed at her to turn around, but she forced herself forward, knocked once, and pushed the door open before she lost her nerve.

The sight inside made her stomach drop. Katerina was sitting comfortably on Storm’s lap, one arm wrapped around his neck, her chest pressed against him while her fingers toyed idly with his collar like she’d done it a thousand times. They looked every bit the intimate couple.

Storm looked up instantly, straightening his posture, but his expression remained hard to read. There was no shame in his eyes, not even a hint of guilt for acting like a lover with his ex while Daphne stood in the doorway. She didn't even want to imagine what had happened between them last night when he left the bed.

Katerina turned, tracking Daphne from head to toe with her innocent but pointedly victorious smile.

“We need privacy,” Daphne said. Her voice came out weaker than she wanted.

“Kat,” Storm kept his dark eyes on Daphne. “Give us a minute.”

Katerina sighed like this was all such a huge inconvenience, then slid off his lap and smoothed her dress down over her stomach. As she passed Daphne, her signature lemon perfume wrapped around her, making her feel nauseous.

When the door finally clicked shut, Storm placed his hand against the edge of his mahogany desk, watching Daphne with guarded eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”

His flat dismissal hurt worse than catching them together. Daphne swallowed the large bile in her throat. “I need to talk to you.”

“Make it quick.”

“Why? Are you that short on time?” Her voice found its strength. “You had time to parade Katerina in front of the pack. You had time to let your stepmother humiliate me in front of everyone. But suddenly you don’t have time for me?”

Storm’s jaw clenched. “Watch your tone, Daphne.”

“No.” She took a step forward, her hands trembling at her sides. “You don’t get to police my tone after what happened downstairs. I stood there like an idiot holding a cake I spent hours on, only to hear that your ex is carrying your heir. You didn’t even think I deserved to know first? Before you brought her into our house?”

“It’s her house now.”

Daphne quickly wiped a tear before it could fall. “Three years, Storm. Three years of me warming your bed, cooking your meals, waiting up for you every single night while you ran off to her the second she called. I lost two pregnancies trying to give you what you wanted… and now you’re just done?”

Storm didn’t even look at her. “Attraction was fine, but I never promised you feelings. The contract was clear, you were here to provide an heir for me. Nothing more.”

Daphne’s breath stuck in her throat. She could still remember him in this very room lifting her onto that same desk, kissing her like she was the only woman that mattered in his world. She could remember the way his dark eyes had stared into hers while he brushed her hair back and told her she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and that if he knew about her earlier, he would have searched the entire earth just to find and claim her. He’d been drunk that night, but she had lived off those words for months.

“Do you still think I’m the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?” Her voice wasn’t far from a whisper but he could hear her.

Storm exhaled through his nose and rubbed a hand over his face like she was exhausting him. “Things have changed, Daphne.”

“And if I was pregnant right now?” Her voice cracked but she kept going. “If I told you I was carrying your children, what would you do?”

Storm went still. For a heartbeat, a spark of sadness crossed his face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “You aren't.”

“But if I was?” she pressed, her voice rising. “Would you throw me out then? Would you treat our babies like some inconvenience you can just clean up and forget?”

He clenched his jaw so tightly, she saw a muscle jump. “Don’t push me.”

“Answer me!” Her heart was breaking, but she refused to let the tears win. “Look at me and tell me you’d still choose her even if I was pregnant. Tell me I was never anything more than a vessel to you.”

Storm surged off the desk and stood to his full height, six-foot-five of his full dominance towering over her. “Kat is my mate, and she is carrying a viable heir. The pack needs this. I need this. You’ve already lost our babies twice, Daphne. What exactly do you expect from me?”

The floor seemed to tilt beneath her feet. She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to keep her soul from spilling out.

“So that’s it?” she rasped. “Three years, and I’m just… disposable.”

Storm scoffed, turning his back to her to shuffle through some files on a shelf. “Go back to your room and let Katerina in. This conversation is over.”

“Okay,” she whispered, finally understanding that this had always been a transaction to him, mistaking his lust for love. She was a fool to fall in love with only scraps of his attention.

She made it back to her room before her legs finally gave out. Sliding down the back of the door, her forehead rested on her knees as the sobs she’d been holding back finally tore free.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out between shaky breaths. “I’m so sorry, babies…”

Her bag, which she’d dropped earlier, spilled its contents across the floor. Among the clutter lay the folded note from the stranger at the clinic. Daphne stared at it through her wet lashes for a long time before reaching out to unfold it.

On the front was a phone number, a small symbol of a clenched fist, and a single line of printed words that said;

For humans who want out. You are not as trapped as they want you to believe. You can be free today.

She flipped it over and on the back was more information about the human resistance group, how they helped humans like her escape to safer zones, away from being used as breeders for wolves.

She read it again and again, and slowly, she squeezed the note, crumpling the paper in her fist.