The Surprise

Elara

I stared at the ultrasound picture in my hands for the hundredth time. There was barely anything to see yet. Just a small shape on a grainy black-and-white image, but my fingers trembled every time I looked at it.

My babies.

After four years of marriage, I was finally carrying twins for one of the wealthiest Alphas in the realm. Alpha Roman, my husband.

I pressed the picture against my chest and closed my eyes, trying to hold back another wave of tears.

For years, I’d imagined this moment. I’d imagined Roman’s face when I finally told him he was going to be a father. I’d imagined him pulling me into his arms, laughing, kissing me until I couldn’t breathe.

Today, it was finally happening.

“Elara?”

I looked up. Naomi stood outside the examination room with a gentle smile on her face.

“You’re sure?” I asked, even though she had already told me twice.

She laughed softly. “Very sure, Luna. The blood test confirms it. You’re approximately one month pregnant.”

My eyes stung again.

One month. I placed a protective hand over my stomach.

“It’s our anniversary,” I murmured.

Naomi’s smile grew. “That’s one way to remember the date.”

I laughed through my tears. It’s our fourth anniversary.

For the first time in years, I felt like maybe the goddess had finally answered the one thing Roman and I had both desperately wanted.

Children.

Maybe this was what we’d been missing. Roman and I didn’t fight. We didn’t hate each other. We didn’t even have a bad marriage. But somewhere along the way, the romance between us had become quiet.

There were no more stolen kisses in the kitchen. No more staying awake until morning just to talk. We still ate together when our schedules allowed it, and Roman still remembered to ask about my mother.

He still paid for her medication every month. He still took care of me. But sometimes, when I lay beside him at night, I could feel the vast, unspoken distance between us.

I’d told myself it was because of work.

His company had grown too quickly, and I’d been too busy helping him keep it together. Between board meetings, contracts, rich investors, and the massive projects I had spent months building, there hadn’t been much room left for romance.

But now, everything could change.

Our twin babies would bring us back to each other.

I left the hospital with the ultrasound tucked carefully into my handbag but I didn’t go home.

Instead, I drove straight to Blackwood Dominion. I needed to see Roman. I needed to see his face when I told him.

By the time I reached his floor, my heart was beating so hard that I could barely keep the smile off my face.

The familiar, comforting scent of cedar and rain—Roman's signature scent—wrapped around me the moment I stepped out of the elevator, settling my nerves.

“Mrs. Blackwood.” Anaya, his secretary greeted.

“Is he inside?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t wait for her to announce me. I pushed the door open. Roman looked up from his desk. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then his expression softened.

“Elara.”

Just hearing my name rumble from his chest made a warm flutter of our mate bond spread through my core. I walked toward him.

“I have a surprise for you,” I cooed, unable to keep the smile off my face.

He leaned back in his leather chair, studying my face closely.

“That sounds dangerous.” He said

I laughed.

“It’s a good surprise, I assure you.”

His dark eyes narrowed playfully. “You’re terrible at keeping secrets.”

“I know,” I giggled.

I stopped in front of his desk and, for one second, I almost pulled the ultrasound out of my bag. But then I thought about the little present I’d planned to get.

No.

I wanted to make tonight absolutely perfect.

“I’ll tell you later.”

He raised a thick eyebrow.

“Later?”

“At dinner.”

“Hmm.. and where’re we going this year?” He grinned

I smiled back.

“We’re having dinner at home.”

Something flickered across his handsome face, but it disappeared so quickly that I didn’t think much of it.

“Sooo.. not our usual dinner?”

“Exactly.”

I leaned closer to him, catching the deeper musk of his cologne.

“Don’t stay too long,” I said, pure happiness swirling through my heart. “I want tonight to be special.”

He stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow.

“I wouldn’t dare,” he growled, a low, rumbling sound that I loved.

His large hands came up and cupped my face. A jolt of electricity sparked across my skin at his touch, making me forget everything else for a fleeting moment. He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead.

“I can’t wait.” He whispered

My heart fluttered wildly, and I left his office still smiling.

Tonight would be different. Tonight, I’d give my husband the one thing we had both been desperately waiting for.

A family.

On the way home, I stopped at a boutique baby store. I spent almost twenty minutes agonizing between tiny socks, hats, and shoes before finally settling on two pairs of soft white baby shoes.

They were ridiculously small. I held them in my palm inside the car and laughed aloud.

“Roman is going to lose his mind.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt completely happy.

By the time I got home, I was already planning the entire evening. I cooked Roman’s favorite meal myself. I set the table for two. I took out the expensive wedding candles we had kept untouched for four years and placed them around the dining room.

Then I scattered fresh rose petals across the floor.

Roman loved the scent of roses. So did his wolf. Whenever I used rose-scented candles, his wolf became unusually restless. Sometimes Roman joked that I was trying to seduce the wolf instead of him.

Tonight, I wouldn’t mind doing both.

I glanced at the clock.

5:48 p.m.

I checked my reflection in the mirror, ensuring my red dress and makeup were absolutely perfect. At six, I lit the candles.

At six-thirty, I checked my phone. Nothing. I told myself he was just finishing something at the office.

At seven, the food was still warm. At seven-thirty, I dutifully reheated it. At eight, I stopped touching the candles.

The bubbling excitement in my chest had begun to curdle into something else entirely. I checked my phone again. Still nothing.

At nine, I walked to the window and stared down at the quiet street below. Maybe traffic was terrible. Maybe an unexpected meeting ran late. I forcefully swallowed every excuse I could think of.

At ten, I finally picked up my phone and called Roman.

It rang. And rang. And rang.

No answer.

My stomach twisted into a painful knot. I called again. Nothing. I stared blankly at his name on the screen.

In four years, Roman had never done this to me on our anniversary. Not once.

I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat and called the office. Someone answered after several long rings.

“Blackwood Dominion, good evening.”

“Anaya?” I inhaled deeply, a rush of relief washing over me. But there was a heavy pause on the other end of the line.

“Mrs. Blackwood?”

“Where is Roman?” I asked, my voice coming out much sharper than I had intended.

“Anaya.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

My fingers tightened in a death grip around the phone.

“He left the office a few minutes past six.”

I inhaled sharply and closed my eyes.

“To where? He’s not home.”

Silence.

“Anaya, where’s my husband?”

“I thought you knew.”

A freezing sensation crawled rapidly through my stomach.

“Knew what?”

She exhaled a shaky breath.

“He made a reservation at the Shadowtown Hotel earlier today.”

My heart abruptly stopped.

“What?”

“A reservation for two.”

The dining room suddenly felt quiet. I stared at the flickering candles burning low on the table. The wilted roses scattered across the floor. The cold, untouched plates. My fingers slowly went numb around my phone.

“Earlier today?” I whispered.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I couldn’t breathe. I’d told Roman about dinner at home only a few hours ago. Maybe he made the reservation before I told him. That had to be it. There was no other explanation.

But even if that was true… Why didn’t he cancel it? Why did he go there? And who was the second person?

I looked down at the tiny pairs of white baby shoes sitting beside the ultrasound picture. My smile completely disappeared.

For the first time since leaving the hospital, I didn’t feel excited about telling Roman that I was pregnant.

I felt afraid.