Chapter 2

Chapter 2

ANNALISA

My heart skipped a beat at his words.

Claim his fated mate. Just because she had returned, he chose her without hesitation.

No...The truth was he had never chosen me. I swallowed the sting in my eyes and held his gaze.

I watched Antonio’s face and I saw exactly what I had expected to see — he looked at me with not shock,wonder but with the absolute certainty that I was lying and he was not going to fall for any parlor tricks.

"That's not possible," he said.

"I have the reports from my doctor." I kept my voice calm and collected. I had learned to keep it even in this house, the way you learned anything you needed to survive, by keeping calm, and repeating it over and over until it became something worth hearing.

"I can show you the report." I said quickly, stepping half a pace forward.

"We haven't—" He stopped as something quick passed through his face before I could name it. "We haven't been together, Annalisa."

"The party at the Halverson estate," I said, steadying my voice as I met his gaze. "Three weeks ago. You had too much to drink when you saw Christiana with Marcus Halverson. You came to my room that night."

His jaw clenched for a moment. I watched him searching for the memory and not finding it, and I watched him come to the realization that the absence of the memory was proof that I was lying.

"I don't know what you're doing," he said, "but Christiana being back changes things. Things I should have addressed a long time ago." He looked at me steadily.

"I want to begin the rejection process. The Full Moon Season begins this week. I want us to use it to end this."

End this? He really doesn’t care about me at all. I took a deep breath, keeping my voice steady so he wouldn’t notice the catch in my throat.

"Listen, the baby's heart rate is unstable," I said, and my voice did not break, despite what I was feeling at the moment at the lack of sympathy or care from my mate. I was proud of that, in a distant way, for not breaking down.

"The doctor said that without your constant presence — your scent, physical proximity, time in the same space — the pregnancy won't hold. The baby needs its father close in these early weeks to stabilize. Without that, I will lose it."

Antonio looked at me for a long time, then let out a frustrated, almost helpless smile.

"What a perfect excuse," he said, certain as he always was that complications like me were obstacles to remove."Stop desperate for attention, Annalisa. It’s pathetic."

"I'm not lying," I said, my fingers curling into my palm. "You have to believe me. I wouldn't lie about something like this for attention."

"Enough, Annalisa." His dark eyes met mine, impatient, indifferent — I could never tell which. "My father is gone. There's no reason to continue this… arrangement."

Arrangement. That's what our marriage was to him. What I was to him.

I lowered my head, letting my dark hair fall forward to hide the bitter smile that twisted my lips. Two years. Seven hundred and thirty days of trying to be the wife he needed, the Luna this pack deserved, and in the end, I was still just the orphan girl his father had dragged home from the ruins of a fallen wolf territory.

“Prepare the ceremony as soon as possible, and I will make it up to you,” Antonio said sternly, pulling me back to reality.” His face clearly hostile and not even considerate of my feelings.

I stood in the middle of his study, thinking about the child I had longed for quietly all these years. One month. Possibly less, if things moved faster than projected, Dr. Faison had said.

If he won’t believe I’m carrying his child, there’s no point in pleading anymore. Negotiation will be simpler.

"Fine, I will." I took a breath, steeling myself for what came next. "But I want one month."

"Before the Moon Rite. Treat me the way a husband is supposed to treat his wife. The way an Alpha treats his Luna. Be present. Be close.'' I met his eyes and I held them.

"After the month is over, I will sign whatever you need me to sign. I will leave without making any trouble. I won't ask for anything else."

Antonio's eyebrows drew together, creating a crease between them, looking like he had just heard me speak in a foreign tone .

"One month for what?" he asked. “To fix a lie?”

"That's my concern," I said. "Not yours. Since you wouldn't believe me anyway."

His jaw tightened.

"Annalisa—"

"One month," I said again, quietly. "That is all I'm asking."

The door behind me opened.

I did not need to turn around to know who it was. I felt the shift in the room as I saw ANtonio's face soften since I walked in here, demanding an audience with him.

I turned.

Christiana stood in the doorway.

She was everything I was not. She was softer-looking, warmer, fragile in a way that made people want to take care of her. She moved into the room the way she always moved, carefully and gracefully like she was the star and was being watched.

Her eyes went to Antonio first. They always went to Antonio first.

Then her eyes landed on me and it changed a bit, her eyes filled with the particular kind of pity I had learned to recognize in people who had already won and were feeling generous about it.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," she said.

She was. She knew she was. The fake apology in her tone was just a mere formality.

"We were finishing up," Antonio said, signaling this conversation was over before we even came to any agreement.

"Actually, I hope you do not mind me overhearing, the conversation was loud enough to carry. I don't mind waiting. Take whatever time you need." She looked at me, and her eyes were soft and steady, like she was not threatened by my request and wanted to use it as a way to humiliate me further by giving me permission to be with my husband.

"If you need the month, Annalisa, then take it. I can wait for my fated mate to settle his affairs properly. These things should be handled with care." She paused, giving a fake sob as she added "I only hope he doesn't fall for you in the process."

She said it lightly. Like she was the one making the sacrifice, standing aside, generous and patient, letting the unwanted me have enough time to leave.

Antonio’s face hardened. He wasn't amused; he was insulted by the very idea.

"That is not going to happen," he said.

He was not reassuring her, he was simply stating a fact.He would never love me.

"One month is impossible," Antonio said, his voice sharp. "But… I will make it worth your while." He stepped closer, his dark eyes unreadable. "Name your price, Annalisa. Money, land, a villa in the south—whatever you want. You will have it, but you will leave after the Moon Rite. No delays. No excuses."

I clenched my fists. He refused my plea, yet dangled power and wealth as if it could replace what I truly needed.

“If you refuse,’’ I heard myself say, the words leaving my lips before I could stop them. “I will take this to the Council.”

Antonio froze.

The laws are clear. An Alpha who rejects his Luna without her consent or a valid cause can be deposed by the Elders.

Antonio's jaw clenched, as he gritted his teeth. "You dare to threaten me?” His voice dropped, rougher now.

I met his gaze steadily, my own expression calm but firm. "I’m asking you nicely. Just one month."

The silence in the room became lethal. Antonio stepped into my space, his height looming over me, his scent—the very thing my baby needed—suffocating me with its hostility.

"You would dare threaten my position for a month of... what? Forced affection?" He leaned down, his voice a low, dangerous growl near my ear.

I clamped my hands together behind my back so he wouldn't see them shaking.

This was the man I had loved for so long. I felt disappointed—truly disappointed.

But for the sake of the child… I had no choice.

I took a steady breath, “If you agree to it, I’ll ensure the Moon Rite goes smoothly.”

“Fine. You want a month of marriage? You've got it.” His eyes darkened slightly, “But if we’re doing this, we’re doing it properly. You’ll fulfill every duty of a wife, Annalisa. Every. Single. One.”