Chapter 1: The Discovery

"Congratulations, Chloe. You are pregnant."

Hearing those words from Healer Maureen caused a wide, unrestrained smile to spread across my face.

I sat there on the crinkling paper of the examination table for a few minutes, just staring at the older woman. My hands were trembling so violently from the sudden rush of excitement that I had to press them flat against my thighs so she wouldn't notice. A baby. A tiny, fragile life growing inside of me.

"Are you alright?" Healer Maureen asked, her voice laced with careful concern as she peered over her reading glasses.

"Yes," I nodded quickly, swallowing the lump of pure joy in my throat. "Yes, I'm fine."

She smiled at me softly, though her eyes held a trace of pity that I was all too used to seeing. "You are six weeks pregnant. It is still very early, so you will need to come back in two weeks' time so I can monitor the pup's heartbeat and growth properly." She turned to the small counter, her pen scratching against her thick record book. She paused, glancing back at me over her shoulder. "Are you currently under any unusual stress, Chloe? Your heartbeat was quite elevated when you came in."

I almost laughed. What kind of question was that?

Unusual stress? I was a wolfless omega living in the Shadow Moon packhouse. My entire existence was defined by stress. I survived on the meager scraps left behind by the higher-ranking wolves, running myself ragged doing all the grueling chores the pack demanded. Scrubbing floors until my knuckles bled, carrying mountains of heavy laundry, and keeping my head bowed to avoid a beating—stress was quite literally the air I breathed daily.

"I am fine," I managed to say, keeping my tone perfectly neutral. "My body has just felt strange for the past week. I had been incredibly tired and severely nauseous. I nearly collapsed while carrying laundry from the east wing this morning. I thought I was coming down with a sickness, but... this is good news."

Ethan will be so happy.

My smile widened at the mere thought of him.

The healer rose from her seat and walked toward a cabinet filled with pungent dried herbs and rows of small glass bottles. She selected a vial of amber liquid and pressed it into my palm. "Use a few drops of this in your water every night before you sleep. And please, stay away from heavy labor as much as you can. Your body is weak enough without a wolf to help you heal. You must protect this pup."

I quickly nodded, barely hearing half of what she was saying. My fingers curled tightly around the small glass bottle, anchoring me to reality. All I could think of was Ethan.

How was I going to tell him?

Would he smile? Would he stare at me in shock before pulling me into his chest? Maybe he would lift me off the ground and spin me around, the way he usually did in the dark of the woods when we were alone and excited about our stolen moments. The thought alone made a feverish warmth spread through my cheeks, my heart pounding a frantic, joyful rhythm against my ribs.

The healer studied my flushed face for a long second. "Does the father know?"

The heat in my cheeks deepened to a burning red. "No."

"You should tell him very soon. An omega needs her mate's scent during a pregnancy, especially a wolfless one."

"I will," I whispered.

Ethan loved me very much. I knew he did. Even if our relationship had to stay hidden in the shadows, even if everyone else in the pack looked down on me as dirt beneath their boots. Ethan was different. He was the Alpha heir, yet he had looked at me and told me that none of my status mattered. I could still remember the first time he kissed me beneath the weeping willow tree, his hands gently framing my face. You matter to me, Chloe, he had whispered softly. Only you.

Excitement buzzed through my veins like electricity as I walked out of the clinic door. I could barely stop smiling as I hurried down the long, dimly lit hallway of the packhouse. I was already rehearsing the words in my head, planning exactly what I would say tonight when I slipped into his room.

I turned the corner and froze.

I spotted him across the corridor, standing near one of the private, high-ranking consultation rooms. His back was facing me, but I would recognize those broad shoulders, that dark brown hair, and the familiar leather jacket anywhere. It was Ethan.

I started to raise my hand, his name already forming on my lips, when I saw who he was with.

Vanessa Volt. The Gamma's daughter. The girl who had taken it upon herself to make my life a living hell since we were children. She was the worst of all my bullies, constantly tripping me, tearing my clothes, and ensuring I was given the most degrading tasks.

I stopped walking, my hand dropping heavily to my side. Ethan hated Vanessa. He had told me himself that she was too fake, too cruel, and far too arrogant. He had told me countless times, She is nothing compared to you, Chloe. I had believed him with every fiber of my being.

So what was he doing here with her?

It is probably nothing, I told myself, desperately trying to console the sudden, icy panic blooming in my chest. Pack business. Alpha duties.

I watched him lean in slightly toward her to whisper something in her ear. Vanessa tilted her head back and laughed, her bright red hair shining under the hallway lights, looking radiant and perfect as always.

My feet moved closer before my brain could process what I was doing. I kept close to the shadows of the stone pillars, maintaining enough distance so they wouldn't pick up my scent, though as a wolfless omega, my scent was incredibly faint anyway. I watched them step into the private consultation room, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind them.

I stood outside the room, my heart hammering a new, terrifying rhythm. I don't know what I expected to find by standing there. Maybe I just wanted to hear them discuss border patrols or pack finances so the sickening knot in my stomach would unravel.

The door hadn't latched completely. A sliver of space remained, allowing their voices to drift out perfectly clear.

"Congratulations. You are nine weeks gone."

It was a different healer's voice—the senior pack doctor.

I furrowed my brows, leaning closer to the crack in the door. Why was Ethan there for Vanessa's medical consultation? Why would he do that?

Through the narrow opening, I saw them. Vanessa was sitting on the edge of the plush clinic bed, and Ethan was sitting on a stool pulled dangerously close to her knees. They were acting entirely too cozy. Ethan’s large hand was enveloping hers, his thumb moving slowly, methodically over her knuckles like it was an old, comforting habit.

"Nine weeks," Ethan breathed. His voice was devastatingly gentle. It was the exact same soft, reverent tone he used on me when nobody else was around.

"And the pup?" he asked, leaning in closer to her.

"The pup is developing perfectly well," the doctor confirmed with a warm chuckle. "Everything looks completely healthy."

And then, Ethan did something that stopped my heart completely.

He let go of Vanessa's hand and reached out, placing his palm protectively, possessively, over Vanessa's flat stomach. It was the exact gesture I had spent the last twenty minutes vividly imagining him doing to me.

"I am going to be a father," Ethan murmured.

A soft, breathtaking smile spread across his handsome face. His eyes lit up with a profound, consuming happiness that I had never, not once, seen him direct toward me.

The words hit me harder than a silver blade to the chest.

Nine weeks.

I was only six.

While he had been whispering in the dark that I was his only love, he had been in the light, creating a child with the woman who tormented me. He hadn't just betrayed me—he was ecstatic about it. The vial of prenatal vitamins slipped from my trembling fingers, but before it could hit the ground and shatter, my world already had.