Chapter 4

Valeria's POV

The little plastic stick sat on the edge of the porcelain sink, two pink lines glaring back at me through the dim light of my bathroom. I blinked once, twice, hoping for them to disappear, but they didn't. My fingers tightened around the edge of the sink, my heart forgetting how to beat for a few seconds.

"No..." The words barely made it past my lips. With my fingers trembling, I picked up the test and turned it over, as though the answer might somehow change on the other side, but it didn't; it was still a cruel positive.

"No, no, no..." I quavered again, my own voice barely unrecognisable to my ringing ears. Slowly, I lowered myself onto the closed toilet seat before my jelly knees could give out. 

"Pregnant," I muttered to the empty room, the word settling inside my mind with a terrifying weight. "I can't be..." My hand drifted to my stomach, flat, as if there wasn't a life inside me. A life created that night, with Ares, my own stepbrother.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and his face flashed immediately. The memory of his silver eyes burning with a feral hunger, his hands pinning my wrists to the sheets and his voice breaking as he grunted my name, driving into me, came rushing back. A warmth stirred, but was quickly replaced by a cold feeling as the memory of his dismissal the next morning followed.

My throat tightened at the memory, at the way I had spent the last four weeks trying to convince myself that I could forget him. I'd moved to a new apartment two hours away from my father's estate, but the distance did not erase what happened back in his chambers. If anything, the pregnancy test was a reminder.

"What am I going to do with you?" My thumb brushed over the plastic, my vision blurring as tears stung my eyes. A human girl, carrying the child of an Alpha heir, her stepbrother at that, something so frowned upon in our society, an abomination. What would my dad say? What would the council say? The entire werewolf pack? Goddess, if anyone found out...

I stood shakily and looked at myself in the mirror. My face looked pale, my eyes were swelling up, filling with moisture. My mind was jumbled with thoughts, but I had to make a decision. Maybe the child would change things and force him to break his icy façade. He deserved to know, and I deserved one answer: was that night really a mistake for him or did he push me away because of something else entirely? With my mind made up, I walked out into my bedroom, slipped the test into my coat pocket and left.

"Welcome, Madam Valeria," said one of the guards as the Blackwood estate appeared when the iron gates opened. For four weeks, I'd tried not to picture the place, including not picking my father's calls. I was scared he'd remind me of what I was running from.

More guards stood besides the stone archways in dark uniforms, their presence unusual. Multiple vehicles were neatly packed in the compound, and there was a lot of movement, as if an event of some sort was happening. After packing outside the manor, besides the fountain, I stepped out, the crunch of gravel beneath my shoes sounding strangely loud. As the grand front doors opened, a woman's laughter floated down from the grand staircase, soft, musical and unfamiliar.

"Oh, Ares, you cannot possibly be serious." It was a sweet voice, unfamiliar. I looked up from the foyer, my feet stopping instantly. A beautiful woman was walking down the staircase, her arm hooked around Are's bicep. She wore an elegant white dress, accentuated by her curves and perfect makeup. My eyes shifted to him, and my lungs forgot how to work.

"Ares," his name slipped past my mouth. For a second, my insides lit up and something stirred, but all that vanished when he unhooked the woman's arm and rested his hand against her waist. My fingers curled around the pregnancy test inside my pocket while I swallowed hard. Then he looked up, and our eyes met, and all I could see was the silver in them, not even a single emotion in them.

"What a pleasant surprise, stepsis," he said, his tone flat, detached even. Hearing him call me that in his cold voice felt like he was cutting across my chest. Before I could speak, my father stepped out of the adjacent dining room.

"Valeria?" he called out, his weathered face tightening. 

I forced my shoulders to straighten, desperately trying to pull my pieces back together. "Hello, Father," I greeted, flashing him a forced smile.

"So after ignoring my calls for a month, you have finally decided to show up," he said as a matter of fact, walking briskly towards me. "You had me worried, honey," he added, pulling me into a hug. "If it weren't for one of my men tracking you to your new apartment, I would have sent a full se—"

"Let's not keep everyone waiting," Ares interrupted, already taking the remaining staircase steps. So something was happening, that explained the vehicles and the guards.

"So you're Valeria." The woman looked at me, smiling warmly. "Ares has mentioned you."

My stomach twisted. "He has?" I asked.

"Only briefly." She extended her hand. "I'm Cynthia," she added. I stared at her hand for a moment before taking it.

"It's nice to meet you," I lied, my gaze slipping past her to Ares, who stood a few steps back, glaring at me. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up my arm. Cynthia's grip had tightened around my hand with a crushing force, strong enough to break my fingers. I flinched, gasping as I violently pulled my band back from her grasp.

"Apologies, I forgot Ares told me you don't have a wolf," she said, her voice dropping with a sickly, sweet venom. "Must be hard being a mere human, poor you," she went on, making me press my teeth together. "Sometimes I am not aware of my own strength, including now." Her gaze moved over me in disdain, over my plain coat, my tights and boots, before her lips stretched into another victorious smile.

"You know what? You have arrived at the perfect time," my dad spoke, oblivious to the tension in the room. "We are about to make an announcement."

"What announcement?" I queried.

My father's smile widened. "Why don't we join the others in the grand room first?" He turned and opened the door. "Come on," he beckoned.

Inside, familiar and unfamiliar faces, including high-ranking members of the Council and household staff, sat in the grand room, some engaged in conversations, others holding glasses of wine. I could feel my heart pounding harder and faster, especially when my father took the centre stage. As he raised his hands for silence, Cynthia moved closer to Ares, her red-painted lips stretching into another smile. 

"It's an honour to have you all here today," he began, his eyes sweeping across the crowd. "Today, before the members of our household and the council, I am proud to announce the formal engagement of my heir, Ares Blackwood, to Lady Cynthia Von of the Northern Eclipse Pack!"

Applause exploded around me, while Ares looked at me. I couldn't hear the voices anymore; they were replaced by the sound of blood rushing in my ears. Instinctively, I slipped my hand into my coat pocket and wrapped my fingers around the test. Ares' eyes dropped to the pocket, and his eyes narrowed.

"Ares?" Cynthia called over the cheers, her brows furrowing when she followed his gaze to me. I could have sworn I saw something dark flash across her eyes before she tightened her hold around his arm.

The room suddenly came back into focus: the applause, the congratulations, the people approaching them, shaking their hands, and the woman besides him. The man who had whispered my name four weeks ago now was getting married to another. My fingers loosened around the test. I could have pulled it out, I could have held it up, hell, I could have made an announcement of my own and destroyed his perfect little announcement in front of everyone.

I imagined the silence that would follow, my father's reaction, Ares's expression and then what? He had already made it clear that it was a mistake; he was even making it more clear with his engagement. Still, I wanted him to know about the test, but what difference was it going to make?

"Valeria, are you not going to congratulate your brother?" My father's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Apologies, Father," I cleared my throat. "Just got carried away by excitement." The lie tasted bitter in my mouth. Slowly, I approached Ares and Cynthia, this time round extending my hand.

My lips parted. "I'm p..." I almost told him, but the next word caught in my throat. I closed my mouth and forced my lips to stretch, even though it felt like cutting myself open.

"Congratulations," I said. "And Cynthia," I added, trying so hard for my voice not to tremble. "Welcome to the family," I finished and turned, my feet feeling heavy. I took a step, then another, until my hand reached the doorknob.

"Honey," my father called yet again, standing besides me. "Where are you going to? We still have a toast?"

I shook my head. "I am not feeling well, Dad," I responded without looking at him, afraid he would see what I was feeling. "Plus, I wasn't invited in the first place, remember?" I almost snapped.

"I did call you, but you ignored my calls," he defended, casting a quick glance back at the guests, who were too occupied to care about our conversation. "Anyway, the main banquet isn't until tomorrow," he continued. "Go rest; I will see you then, at the party, of course," he stressed.

As I twisted the knob, I hoped Ares would say my name; for one foolish second I hoped he'd remember that night and call me back. Nothing came, so I opened the door and stepped out, and only then did the first tear fall.

As the door closed behind me, my hand went immediately to my stomach. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

I didn't know whether I was apologising to myself or the life inside me. As I walked outside for fresh air, the secret remained where it had been all along, inside my pocket, but somehow it felt heavier.