006

Tyler's POV

I stood by the great stone fireplace in the sitting room, hands clenched behind my back, as the late afternoon light shifted through gilded windows. The room smelled of polished wood and an invisible dark cloud loomed over.

The living room was tense.

The kind of tension that made your skin itch and the air feel too thick to breathe. Christian sat stiffly in one of the armchairs, his icy gaze locked on the door. Raya perched on the arm of his seat, arms folded, lips pursed. Alicia sat beside me, legs crossed, her eyes sharp as blades.

And Leo, Leo stood by the window, not even pretending to hide the scowl on his face.

The door opened.

Moments later, Dr. Ava Alvarez walked with two of my guards escorting her from behind.

The woman looked nervous, her hands twisting in front of her as she glanced around the room like a trapped deer.

She should be. After all she was in a room packed full with angry werewolves who only saw her as dinner.

"Doctor Alvarez," Alicia said, gesturing toward the empty seat in the middle. "Sit."

She hesitated, then set her coat on a nearby chaise and took the seat I gestured to.

She folded her hands in her lap and cleared her throat, carefully smoothing her skirt as she sat down.

"You know why you're here," Christian said, his voice like ice cracking across a frozen lake.

Ava nodded. "Yes. And I want to say first, I’m deeply sorry."

"Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it," Raya snapped. "You inseminated the wrong woman. Twice."

"Tyler, would you get your mate to shut the hell up?" Christian growled. I knew what he was trying to do, get a rise out of me.

"Gentlemen," she began, looking first at Christian, then at me.

"I understand how... delicate this situation is. Evelyn deserves the truth."

She swallowed hard.

"It was a mistake. Evelyn came in for a routine check-up. There was a scheduling error and she was mistaken for the surrogate. We— I— didn't verify her identity. She was prepped, and we inseminated her with two samples. One from each of you."

She glanced at a folder on her lap.

"But Evelyn was mistakenly brought in. I... I didn’t realize until afterwards that she wasn’t meant to be a surrogate. I performed two inseminations—one after the other, believing them both to be the same sample."

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, standing up and pacing. "You're telling us she’s carrying one of our kids, and you don’t even know whose?"

Ava shook her head. "No. Not yet. It's too early to tell."

"She’s now pregnant with... potentially both of your children," Ava said, voice barely above a whisper.

Christian’s hand shot out and gripped the edge of the mantel.

"Potentially both?" he cut in.

"That’s not 'potentially.' That’s impossible. You administered them at separate times—"

Ava held up a finger. "That the thing."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, speaking for the first time.

"No one asked you. Stay the fuck out of this." I growled as my eyes glowed in anger.

"It wasn't separate, it was administered at the same time."

Silence filled the room. The only sound was the soft tick of a grandfather clock.

I stepped forward. "You’re saying... it could be mine, or this guy's?" My voice was low, deadly calm.

Ava looked at me.

"Yes, Tyler. Genetic tests will tell us for sure—once the baby is old enough for a blood draw. But until then..."

"But until then, she’s stuck in limbo between us. This is gonna be fun." Christian finished, with a dangerous smirk displayed on his face.

"You better figure it out fast," Christian continued, his eyes narrowing.

"Because I’m not standing by while she carries my blood without protection."

"That’s funny coming from you," I shot back. "You just want to get to Evelyn before I do."

Christian stood slowly, a warning in his movements.

"And what exactly do you plan to do if it’s yours? Ignore the child the way you ignored her?"

"Watch your mouth."

"Or what, Tyler? You going to throw a tantrum and run away again like last time?"

"Enough!" Leo barked, stepping forward. "Both of you are missing the point. Evelyn is pregnant. She didn’t ask for this. You two idiots are turning her life into a battleground."

"No one's talking to you, Leo," I snapped.

"Well, maybe someone should!" he retorted. "She’s scared, angry, and completely alone. And you two are more interested in marking territory than thinking about her."

Alicia scoffed. "Don’t pretend like you’re any better, Leo. You just want her for yourself."

"At least I care about her," Leo said. "I’m not married to someone else or stringing along a mistress."

"Didn't I ask you to shut up?" Christian said turning to Alice.

Raya stood then, her chin lifted.

"You think Evelyn’s a saint? Please. She knew what she was doing."

"She didn’t ask for this," Ava said again, her voice rising.

"She was drugged and misled. She never consented to carry your children. She’s a victim in this."

The room went quiet.

I sat back down, the weight of it all pressing against my chest. Evelyn. Damn it.

"So what now?" I asked, staring at Ava. "You just wait and see who the kid looks like?"

"There are ways to determine paternity during pregnancy," Ava replied, her voice softer now.

"Non-invasive prenatal tests. But we have to wait until a few more weeks. I can schedule it the moment it’s possible."

Christian let out a breath. "And until then?"

"You wait," she said. "You stay away from Evelyn. She’s under enough stress as it is."

"She’s not your patient anymore," Alicia pointed out.

"She’s still a human being," Ava replied.

"Werewolf." Christain chuckled raising his finger.

Leo folded his arms.

"She’s not seeing any of you. I’ll make sure of it."

"Try it," I said, standing again. "And I’ll remind you exactly who you’re dealing with."

"Threats won’t work, Tyler," Leo said.

"She doesn’t want you. She hates you. And from what I’ve seen, she’s got every reason to."

I didn’t respond.

"We’ll do the test when it’s time," Ava said. "Until then, do not stress her. All of you."

When christain spoke, he sounded older. I caught a flash of pain in his icy blue eyes.

He turned to me.

"You want the truth, Tyler?" His voice was soft but charged.

"I want that child more than anything. Evelyn is carrying what could be the future of the Crescent pack."

I clenched my jaw.

"And I want my child. The future of the Bluestone pack."

We stood face to face, the firelight dancing across our features.

Ava glanced from us to Leo. "Mr. Thanper, perhaps you should take a moment with Evelyn. She’s waiting in the solarium."

Leo nodded. He stepped away from the door and opened it, motioning for Evelyn to enter. She walked in, pale dress rustling around her ankles. Her eyes were red-rimmed. I could see she had been crying.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Eve..." I started, but she shook her head.

She stood beside Leo. "I heard everything." Her voice trembled slightly, but held steady. "I know you both want this. But I’m tired of being torn apart." Her gaze flicked to Ava. "What do we do now?"

Ava motioned to the papers in her folder.

"We wait for tests. Then we’ll know. Until then, Emily—" She caught herself. Emily was my late sister. Ava’s mistake reminded me of all the things I blamed Evelyn for.

I walked forward over to her, ready to rip her spine from her back until Christian stepped in front of me.

"Evelyn," Ava said, correcting her tone.

"I will schedule regular checkups. We’ll track everything closely. But medically, there’s nothing more to do until the fetus is mature enough."

Christian crossed his arms. "Meaning we sit here while she plays house with our future?" His voice was tight.

"Don’t talk like that," Leo told him.

Christian’s eyes flared.

"What? You think I don’t care for her? You're right, I absolutely don't give two shits about her or you. I'm only protecting her because of my babies."

"You’re not protecting anyone," I ground out. "You’re playing politics."

Christian’s face darkened. "Politics? This is my child. My bloodline. Something I’ve fought my entire life to save."

"Same here."

We locked eyes again.

Leo stepped between us, his bulk a living barrier.

"Neither of you will speak to her like that again. She’s not property."

Christian surged forward, but Leo’s hand on his chest held him back. "Back off," Leo warned.

I stepped aside so Christian could breathe. "Leo’s right. If you can’t keep your temper—"

Christian’s voice dropped. "Don’t lecture me, Tyler."

"Fine." I folded my arms. "Then we wait. We’re done for today." I turned to Ava. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course." She gathered her coat. "Please call me if anything changes."

She stood, nodding to Evelyn before walking to the door.

No one said a word as she left.

Christian sat down again, rubbing his temple. "If it’s mine, I’ll do right by the child."

"So will I," I said quietly.

Raya huffed. "And what about Evelyn?"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we get there," I muttered.

Leo didn’t look away from the window.

No one did.