I Walked Away Carrying His Heir ( part 1)

Doctor Helena’s trembling fingers tightened around my wrist.

“The only file they took… was yours.”

For a second, the world around me disappeared.

The cheering pack members.

The blazing torches.

The sacred square.

Everything faded beneath the pounding of my heart.

“My… medical file?” I whispered.

Helena nodded, her face pale.

“I locked every patient record before I came to the ceremony. When I returned to my office this afternoon, someone had forced the window open. Nothing was stolen except your examination report.”

My throat tightened.

“Did you tell anyone?”

“Never.”

“Not even Alpha Kael?”

She shook her head immediately.

“I would never reveal a patient’s condition without permission.”

Relief washed over me, but it lasted only a heartbeat.

If Helena hadn’t told anyone…

Then whoever broke into her office had already suspected something.

Someone had been watching me.

“Who would want my report?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

She glanced nervously over her shoulder.

“But whoever it was knew exactly what they were looking for.”

A cold shiver crawled down my spine.

Pregnancy.

The word no longer filled me with joy.

It filled me with fear.

Helena leaned closer.

“Luna…”

Her voice dropped to barely a whisper.

“If they wanted the report badly enough to steal it…”

She hesitated.

“They may not stop there.”

My heartbeat quickened.

“You think they’re after my baby.”

“I pray I’m wrong.”

I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach.

The tiny life growing inside me had existed for only a few weeks.

It had never hurt anyone.

Yet someone already wanted to erase it.

“I’ll be careful.”

Helena looked unconvinced.

“Please leave tonight.”

“What?”

“Don’t wait until morning.”

Her eyes pleaded with mine.

“I’ve worked as this pack’s doctor for twenty-seven years.”

“I’ve seen things.”

“The quieter people become…”

“…the more dangerous they are.”

Before I could answer, footsteps echoed across the stone path.

Helena immediately stepped back.

“Doctor.”

The deep voice belonged to Beta Rowan.

Kael’s second-in-command.

He approached with his usual stern expression.

“The Alpha needs you.”

Helena forced a smile.

“I’ll be there shortly.”

Rowan’s eyes shifted toward me.

For a brief second, something like sympathy crossed his face.

Then it disappeared.

“I’m sorry, Luna.”

Former Luna.

The title already felt like a ghost.

I gave him a faint nod before walking away.

Nobody stopped me.

Nobody asked where I was going.

Three years.

That was how quickly a person could become invisible.

The Blackwood Pack House had never felt so empty.

Moonlight spilled through the tall windows as I climbed the grand staircase toward the bedroom Kael and I had shared.

Our bedroom.

I stopped outside the door.

For years, I had waited here every night.

Sometimes until dawn.

Sometimes wondering whether he would come home at all.

Sometimes pretending I wasn’t hurt when he chose work over dinner.

Or patrol over conversation.

Or silence over me.

I pushed the door open.

Everything was exactly as I’d left it that morning.

The fresh flowers.

The books beside the bed.

The anniversary gift I’d wrapped with trembling hands.

A silver wolf pendant.

I had spent two months secretly saving for it.

I picked up the small velvet box.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Then I opened it.

The moonlight reflected against the silver.

Beautiful.

Meaningless.

A bitter smile touched my lips.

“I was such a fool.”

Tears blurred my vision.

Not because he had rejected me.

But because I’d spent years loving someone who had never truly chosen me.

I placed the pendant back inside the box.

Then I walked toward the wardrobe.

If I was leaving…

I would only take what belonged to me.

One suitcase.

That was all.

I folded a few dresses.

My mother’s old shawl.

Some photographs.

A worn notebook filled with recipes she’d taught me before she died.

Everything else…

I left behind.

The expensive jewelry Kael had bought for official ceremonies.

The designer gowns selected by the council.

The Luna crown resting inside a crystal case.

None of it meant anything anymore.

As I closed the suitcase, my eyes landed on our wedding portrait hanging above the fireplace.

I remembered that day perfectly.

Kael hadn’t smiled then either.

At the time, I’d convinced myself he was simply nervous.

Now…

I knew better.

He had never wanted that marriage.

I walked toward the portrait.

Removed it from the wall.

And laid it gently on the floor.

Then I turned it face down.

Goodbye.

A soft knock interrupted the silence.

“Evelyn.”

Kael.

His voice was calm.

Controlled.

Just as it always was.

I didn’t answer.

Another knock.

“Evelyn, open the door.”

I stared at the wooden panels without moving.

Three years.

He had never once knocked before entering.

Now he was asking permission.

How ironic.

“Evelyn.”

His voice hardened.

“We need to talk.”

Did we?

Was there anything left to say?

I opened the door.

Kael stood outside wearing his ceremonial uniform, though he’d removed the Alpha cloak.

For the first time that night, he looked tired.

His silver eyes settled on the suitcase behind me.

“You’re leaving.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Now.”

His jaw tightened.

“It’s almost midnight.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll arrange guards to escort you tomorrow.”

“I don’t need them.”

“The roads aren’t safe.”

I couldn’t stop the hollow laugh that escaped me.

“You should’ve thought about my safety before rejecting me in front of the entire pack.”

Silence stretched between us.

“I didn’t reject you to hurt you.”

The words ignited something inside me.

“No?”

My voice rose despite myself.

“Then why did you do it?”

“You could have divorced me privately.”

“You could have spoken to me.”

“You could have shown me the smallest amount of respect.”

Instead…

“You waited until the entire pack had gathered…”

“…so everyone could watch my life fall apart.”

For the first time…

Kael couldn’t meet my eyes.