Chapter 5

The unbearable memories clawed at my mind.

Those days after I was cast out of Blackridge Pack five years ago were a nightmare I never wanted to revisit.

I left the very night I signed the Pack Severance Pact. One backpack, a few pieces of clothing, and not enough money in my pocket for a single night at an inn. Callum meant what he said — stripped clean. Twelve years of my existence erased as though I had never been there at all.

I didn't dare go home to my family.

A she-wolf cast out by an Alpha, pregnant on top of it all — I couldn't even bring myself to look in the direction of my family's estate. Twelve years as a secret mate had left me with no Pack rank, no social connections, and a completely blank résumé.

I found an abandoned cabin on the edge of the forest, even smaller than my cottage in Blackridge. The cracks in the walls were wide enough to fit a hand through. I survived by doing odd jobs at a nearby human farm — hauling crates, washing dishes, mucking out livestock pens. Any job they'd give me. A full day's wages barely covered one and a half meals.

The rejection fever was the worst part.

The body's response to a forcibly severed mate bond was ten times more brutal than I'd imagined.

A relentless fever, every joint in my body feeling like it was being crushed and reassembled, my inner wolf howling inside me with no answering call — the pain wasn't physical. It was the sensation of a soul being torn in half while still alive.

The pup in my belly made everything worse.

This child was innocent. No matter what kind of man his father was, he had done nothing wrong. I couldn't give him up.

I bought a secondhand baby blanket from a flea market, saved up for a few tiny outfits, and folded them neatly beside my pillow. Every night, just looking at them was enough to keep me going.

But fate wasn't done with me.

That night, rogues attacked the nearby pack. Pregnant and defenseless, all I could do was run.

By the time I made it to safety, I looked down — blood everywhere. I was going into premature labor.

The nearest Pack medical center was a thirty-minute walk away. It took me nearly two hours.

The healer's face went pale when she saw me.

"The aftereffects of rejection fever are still ravaging your body. Your wolf is far too weak to sustain the fetus."

"We need the father's scent to stabilize the pup's vitals. Without it, there's nothing we can do."

I lay on that hard cot, tears streaming down my face, blood pooling beneath me.

I tried. In the end, I tried.

I closed my eyes and reached through the ruins of the mindlink, pouring every ounce of strength I had left into sending a signal to Callum — even though the bond was broken, twelve years of marking still left a faint residual trace. In theory, there was still a sliver of a connection.

I sent the signal and waited.

Then the other end connected.

It wasn't Callum's voice. It was panting. Heavy, rhythmic, urgent, punctuated by a woman's broken moans.

I recognized the voice.

The connection was severed the next second. Callum shut down the mindlink himself, like snuffing out a candle that was in the way.

My vision started to blur. The healer's shouts grew distant, and then everything went black.

I found out later that Callum had diverted so much security for Vivienne's party that the border patrols were left critically undermanned. That was how the rogues breached the interior.

The agonizing memory was ripped away.

Callum's face came back into focus. The cold rain was still falling. He was gripping my wrist and wouldn't let go.

"Sera, where is that child?"

I shook his hand off.

"If there's something wrong with your head, Callum, go see a healer."

"And quit trying to project some cheap romance novel fantasy onto me — I'm not that stupid. Stupid enough to carry a cheating Alpha's baby to term."

Callum didn't believe me. He pointed at the phone I'd just used. "That voice calling you Mommy — who was that?"

"None of your business."

I turned to leave, irritated.

Vivienne's voice came from behind —

"Sera, it's so late, you'll never get a ride. Let us give you a lift."

She came after me with the bag I'd left behind at my seat.

The second I got in the car, Vivienne started talking nonstop.

"Sera, did you know I'm going in for my third prenatal checkup next week? The healer says the pup is developing really well — even bigger than expected."

Callum gave half-hearted grunts in response. In the rearview mirror, his eyes never left me in the backseat.

"This is mine and Callum's first pup." Vivienne rubbed her belly, beaming. "He's been so nervous about it. He even arranged for the best healer team in the Northern territories to monitor the entire pregnancy."

She turned to me with a smile. "If you ever need one, I'd be happy to make an introduction."

"By the way, I don't even know where you live."

"Silvercrest Heights."

Vivienne's smile froze on her face.

"Silvercrest Heights? The one inside the Alpha Council territory?"

Callum's gaze shot to me through the rearview mirror.

"How could you possibly live there?" Vivienne let out a small laugh. "Come on, Sera, you're not making that up, are you?"

"That's none of your concern."

Vivienne laughed again — that knowing kind of laugh. "Well, I suppose those royal estates do need plenty of staff. With your experience as a nanny, you'd be a perfect fit."

Callum's expression relaxed. Just a nanny. Nothing more.

The car fell silent again.

I lowered my head to straighten my rain-soaked collar. As I moved, the hair on the side of my neck slipped away, exposing the skin behind my ear.

There was a mark there.

Not Callum's. It was fresh, complete, glowing with a faint golden sheen — the unmistakable signature of a second chance bond.

The shriek of brakes shattered the rainy night.

My body lurched forward and I instinctively shielded my abdomen. Vivienne's forehead slammed into the back of the front seat. She clutched her head, crying and whining at Callum —

But Callum heard none of it.

He turned and stared at the mark behind my ear. The color drained from his face, inch by inch.

"You bonded with someone else?"

"Who?"