Chapter Seven

Max

I closed the door behind me and stood in the hallway for a moment, my hand remained on the handle, I could still hear Erran's voice in my head.

How long have you been watching me?

She had every right to demand answers and yet, I couldn't give them to her, not yet.

There were too many things she didn't understand about my world, and some truths were dangerous even for a human to know.

I started walking down the hallway, my expression hardening as I approached the private wing of the mansion.

The moment I entered my study, I found Damien waiting for me.

My Beta was standing beside the windows, his arms folded across his chest.

He turned the moment I entered.

“Does she know?”

I removed my jacket and dropped it onto the back of the chair.

“She knows enough.”

Damien's expression didn't change.

“No, Alpha. She knows nothing.”

I looked at him.

“That isn't your concern.”

“It becomes my concern when our future Luna is walking around this house believing she's a prisoner.”

My jaw tightened “She isn't our Luna.”

Damien stared at me.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he gave a humorless laugh.

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“I expect you to remember your place.”

“I know my place.”

His eyes narrowed.

“But I also know what I've been smelling since you brought her through those doors.”

My wolf stirred immediately and I ignored it, Damien stepped closer.

“Your wolf has already claimed her.”

“Enough.”

“Max”

“I said enough.”

The word came out harder than I intended.

Damien fell silent.

I turned toward the window, staring at the city below.

New York stretched endlessly beneath us, thousands of people moving through their ordinary lives, completely unaware that an entirely different world existed among them.

A world where wolves ruled territories.

Where bloodlines mattered.

Where an Alpha's heir could determine the future of an entire pack.

And now that future was growing inside a human woman who had no idea what she had been dragged into.

I closed my eyes.

My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin.

It had been doing that since the moment I saw Erran in the hospital.

At first, I'd assumed it was because of the child.

The moment I'd stepped into that hospital room and smelled her scent, something inside me had changed.

My wolf had recognized the baby immediately.

But it had also recognized her.

I had spent days convincing myself it was nothing, It wasn't.

“Why are you fighting it?”

Damien's voice pulled me back.

I turned slowly.

“Because she is human.”

“So?”

“She doesn't belong in our world.”

“She is carrying your heir.”

“That doesn't change what she is.”

Damien shook his head.

“You're afraid.”

I glared at him.

“I don't fear anything.”

“Then why haven't you told her?”

I said nothing.

Because there was no simple answer.

I had never expected to have a mate.

Not after what happened years ago.

I'd convinced myself that my wolf had simply accepted its fate.

I would lead my pack.

Produce an heir if I could.

And eventually die knowing I'd fulfilled my responsibilities.

I had never expected my wolf to choose anyone.

Especially not her.

A human.

A woman who had entered my life because someone had stolen my sperm and used it without either of our knowledge.

A woman who had lost everything within a single night.

A woman who looked at me with fear every time I entered a room.

And yet my wolf wanted her.

Not wanted.

Claimed.

I clenched my fists.

“She isn't ready."

Damien's expression softened slightly.

“She deserves to know that she's not alone.”

“She deserves the chance to decide whether she wants me.”

“And if she rejects you?”

My wolf snarled.

I looked away.

“That won't happen.”

Damien raised an eyebrow.

“You sound very confident.”

“I am.”

“You're an arrogant bastard.”

“That's why you're still alive.”

He smiled faintly.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of my phone vibrating.

I pulled it from my pocket.

One unknown number.

I almost ignored it.

Then my wolf reacted.

A sudden warning shot through me.

I answered “Max Black.”

For several seconds, there was only breathing.

Then a man's trembling voice came through.

“Alpha.”

My entire body went rigid.

I recognized the voice.

Impossible.

My grip tightened around the phone.

“Who is this?”

“It's Doctor Hayes.”

Damien's expression changed when he saw mine.

I stood completely still.

Doctor Hayes.

The physician who had performed the procedure on Erran.

The man I had already taken care of.

The man who wasn't supposed to be alive.

“How are you calling me?”

“I don't have much time.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Where are you?”

“I can't tell you that.”

“Then start talking.”

The doctor took a shaky breath.

“They found out.”

“Who?”

“I made a mistake.”

My patience disappeared.

“You have ten seconds to explain why you're alive.”

“They forced me to do it.”

My brows drew together.

“Do what?”

“The procedure.”

My blood ran cold.

“You're going to need to be more specific.”

“I didn't choose the donor.”

Silence filled the room.

Damien stepped closer.

I put the call on speaker.

The doctor's voice continued.

“The woman who came to me told me exactly what to do. She brought Erran's information, paid me, and told me to make sure the pregnancy happened.”

“Amina.”

“Yes.”

My eyes hardened.

“So my sister was responsible.”

“She paid me, but she wasn't the one who arranged everything.”

I exchanged a look with Damien.

“Explain.”

“She gave me the instructions.”

“What instructions?”

“She told me which sperm to use.”

My heart began pounding.

“Mine.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

“Who told her?”

The doctor went silent.

“Doctor.”

“I never met them.”

“Who?”

“The people behind it.”

I could hear panic in his breathing.

“They contacted me through someone else. They already knew about your fertility records. They knew you were the only compatible donor for the procedure they wanted.”

My blood ran cold.

“No one has access to those records.”

“They did.”

“Why would anyone want my child?”

“I don't know.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I swear.”

The doctor's voice cracked.

“They told me the woman had to be Erran.”

My entire body froze.

Damien looked at me.

“What did you say?”

“I said the woman had to be Erran.”

I slowly lowered the phone.

The room suddenly felt too quiet.

Amina hadn't simply chosen a random donor.

Someone had chosen Erran.

Someone had known exactly who she was.

Someone had known enough about me to know that using my sperm would create something powerful.

My heir.

My wolf stirred violently.

And then the doctor spoke again.

“Alpha, you need to listen to me.”

I raised the phone back to my ear.

“I'm listening.”

“They know where she is.”

Every muscle in my body went rigid.

“Who?”

“The people who ordered me to put your sperm inside her.”

My voice dropped.

“Who are they?”

There was a pause.

Then the doctor whispered,

“They aren't human.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone.

Damien's face had gone pale.

“What did he say?”

I looked toward the door.

Beyond it was the hallway leading to Erran's room.

My wolf was no longer pacing.

It was snarling.

Someone knew where she was.

Someone had deliberately placed my heir inside her.

And now they knew I had found her.

I grabbed my jacket.

“Get the entire security team.”

Damien straightened.

“What happened?”

“We have a problem.”

“What kind?”

I looked at him.

“Someone wanted Erran pregnant with my heir long before I ever knew her name.”

Damien's expression darkened.

“And now?”

I opened the door.

“Now they're coming for her.”