CHAPTER THREE

Nova's POV

For the past two months, I had barely stepped outside the pack hall.

Ethan had somehow managed to convince me to attend the Alpha's gathering with him, even though every part of me wanted to stay hidden. 

I was afraid that someone would recognize me, and the last thing I wanted was for word to reach Kieran that I was staying in the Moon Blade Pack.

I had spent enough time hiding already, but that didn't make me any less afraid of being seen.

Ethan Thompson, the Alpha of the Moon Blade Pack, had been kind enough to let me stay here when I had nowhere else to go. His pack was the second largest in the state after Kieran's Ember Moon Pack, but unlike Kieran, Ethan didn't seem interested in turning every other Alpha into a potential rival. 

The Moon Blade Pack was much less strict, and the people here seemed to live without constantly worrying about who was stronger than whom.

That was why I had managed to breathe a little easier here.

Ethan glanced at me as he drove, his hands resting steadily on the steering wheel. "So, what about the baby? Are you really not going to let Kieran know about it?"

I stared through the window, watching the buildings pass by. "You know the kind of person Kieran is. He might even tell me to get rid of the baby, and I'm not willing to take that chance. We've already discussed this several times, Ethan. I'm not telling him."

"But who knows?" he argued gently. "Maybe having a child will make him change his mind. Maybe when he realizes you're carrying his child, he'll—"

"Don't let us talk about this again." I turned toward him, my voice firmer than I intended. "I'm never going to tell him about this child. I can't bear the thought of my baby growing up with a father who thinks he can discard people whenever they stop being useful to him."

Ethan's expression tightened, but he didn't argue with me.

He knew what Kieran had done. He had seen the state I was in when I arrived at his pack, and he had never once asked me to explain more than I was ready to tell him.

That was one of the reasons I trusted him.

The car slowed, and I looked ahead just as Ethan pulled into the parking area.

"We're here already," he said.

I glanced through the window and saw the event hall. It was beautiful, tucked away in one of the quieter parts of the city, yet the number of expensive cars surrounding it made it obvious how many powerful wolves had gathered tonight.

My stomach tightened.

Ethan noticed my expression and reached over, taking my hand. "Just take a deep breath. You're safe here, Nova. And there's no reason to assume you're going to run into Kieran."

That was exactly what I was afraid of.

Still, I nodded and forced myself out of the car.

We climbed the stairs toward the entrance, and the moment we stepped inside, I was hit by the sheer number of people. Men dressed in expensive suits stood around the hall, while women wore elegant dresses that made my own suddenly feel inadequate.

I instinctively looked down at myself.

"Don't start," Ethan murmured beside me.

I looked at him.

"You look fine," he said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to compete with anyone here."

I nodded, although I wasn't completely convinced.

We moved farther into the hall, and I tried to focus on anything except the crowd. The music, the conversations, the clinking glasses. Anything that could keep my thoughts from wandering.

Until when I saw Finn and also Kieran standing right next to him.

I had spent two months convincing myself that I was getting better. Two months telling myself that I didn't need him anymore, that whatever we had was over and that I would eventually stop thinking about the man who had once been my entire world.

Then I saw him.

He looked almost exactly the way I remembered him, yet somehow different. His dark clothes fit perfectly against his broad frame, and his expression remained as cold and unreadable as ever.  

My wolf stirred. My heart began pounding so hard that I could hear it and I hated that.

I hated that after everything he had done, some part of me still recognized him before my mind could remind me why I shouldn't.

There was no way I could let him find out about the baby.

I turned toward Ethan, hoping he hadn't noticed how badly I was shaking. "Let's move away from here. I don't think I can handle having a conversation with him."

Ethan looked toward Kieran, then back at me. "Do you want to face him, or do you want to keep avoiding him all night?"

"I want to avoid him."

He didn't argue. He simply placed a hand lightly against my back and guided me toward another corner of the hall.

Even after we moved away, I could still feel Kieran's gaze on me. 

It was as though I could feel his eyes following me even without looking in his direction.

I picked up a glass of juice, hoping it would give my hands something to do, but my fingers tightened around it instead.

"I need some fresh air," I finally said. "I feel suffocated in here."

Ethan studied my face. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? I can come with you."

"No. You should use this opportunity to speak with the other Alphas and make whatever alliances you need." I gave his shoulder a light tap, forcing a small smile. "I'll be fine. I just need a minute."

He hesitated before nodding.

I set the untouched glass down and walked away before he could change his mind.

I kept my head lowered as I made my way outside, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. The moment the cool air touched my face, I drew in a sharp deep breath.

"What are you doing out here?"

My entire body stiffened.

I knew that voice. I could have recognized it anywhere, no matter how much time had passed or how desperately I had tried to forget it. 

Kieran's deep, coarse voice sent a familiar shiver through me, and I hated that my body still reacted to him before my mind could remind me of everything he had done.

I slowly turned around and found him standing a few feet away. He looked exactly like the man I had spent years loving, yet there was something about seeing him now that made my chest ache. 

I had convinced myself that I was getting used to his absence, that two months was enough time to begin putting the pieces of my life back together. Apparently, I had been lying to myself.

My eyes briefly dropped to his face before I forced myself to look away. "If someone sees us talking like this, don't you think they're going to get the wrong idea?"

"They don't know we've broken the bond yet," he replied, his gaze fixed on me.

I let out a bitter scoff. "And why should that be my problem? You're the one who broke it. Telling everyone shouldn't be difficult for you."

"That isn't why I'm here."

Something in his tone made me look at him again. He wasn't angry, at least not in the way I expected. His expression was unusually serious, and then I noticed where his eyes had settled.

My stomach.

I instinctively placed a hand over it, even though I knew there was no point in hiding it anymore.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

I slowly rubbed my stomach beneath the fabric of my dress, suddenly wondering how long he had been watching me before asking the question. 

"Is it getting that obvious?" I asked quietly. "I thought I'd done enough to hide it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "Why did you have to hide this from me?"

I stared at him, unable to understand how he could ask me that so easily. "You broke the bond, Kieran. You walked away from me. You made it very clear that you didn't want me in your life anymore, so why would I come running back to you with my pregnancy?"

"Because I'm the father."

"Because you were my husband," I shot back, my voice trembling despite my attempt to keep it steady. "And you still chose to throw me away."

His jaw tightened. "Because of the damned prophecy. How many times do I have to tell you?"

There it was again.

The prophecy.

The same word he had used to justify everything, while still refusing to tell me enough for me to understand why losing me had apparently been necessary.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked away. "You made your choice, Kieran. Whatever the prophecy said, you made the decision to leave me. You don't get to come back now and demand a place in my life just because you found out I'm carrying a child."

His eyes hardened, but his attention remained fixed on my stomach. "That doesn't mean you have the right to keep my child from me."

I stared at him for a few seconds before the anger inside me finally overpowered the fear.

"Who told you that you're the father?"

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I had caught him off guard.

Kieran's expression froze, and his eyes immediately returned to mine. "What?"

"You heard me." I tried to keep my voice steady, even though my heart was pounding. "Who told you that you're the father?"

He took a small step toward me, his eyes narrowing as he studied my face. "Who is the father if it isn't me? I know you wouldn't cheat on me."

My mind went completely blank.

I had not planned for this conversation. I had not expected to see Kieran tonight, and I certainly hadn't expected him to notice my pregnancy so quickly. Now I was standing outside an event hall with no idea how to explain myself, while the one question I had spent two months trying to avoid hung between us.

Who was the father? My gaze wandered desperately toward the entrance.

And then I saw Ethan.

He had just stepped outside the hall, looking around as though he was searching for me.

My heart sank.

I looked back at Kieran, then at Ethan again. There was no time to think about whether it was a good idea. 

I couldn't let that happen, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I lifted my hand and pointed toward Ethan.

"The man standing over there," I said, forcing the words out despite the panic twisting my stomach, "is the father of the baby I'm carrying."

Kieran didn't respond immediately.

His eyes slowly shifted from me to Ethan, with a little smirk appearing at the corner of his lips. 

I had no idea what he was thinking, and I knew the moment those words left my mouth, there was no taking them back.