Todos os capítulos de My Mate Chose Her. I Left With His Baby.: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

When I got back to the estate, the photograph from our mating ceremony was still hanging above the fireplace.In it, Julian was kissing my forehead, his arm wrapped firmly around my waist.That was the year he told me he finally had a home.I was eight when I became lost in the snowy woods along the Blackpine Pack’s border.Between hunger and fever, I could barely remember where I had come from. All I remembered was someone shoving me into a truck, followed by shouting and violence.Julian was eleven. He was traveling with pack members delivering supplies when he found me, too cold to speak, and carried me back to the pack.The woman who ran the children’s home saw that I had no identification tag and refused to take in a child whose background was unknown.Julian stood in the doorway and set his own food ration on her desk.“Take it out of mine. I’ll look after her.”He fed me warm soup a little at a time that day and asked what I remembered.All I could tell him was my name.He held

When I woke, I was in a room at the pack infirmary.The first thing I did was reach for my belly.The healer beside the bed gently held me still and leaned close. “Your baby is alive and stable for now. You need to rest. No more stress.”I stared at her, making sure I had heard correctly, before I finally let out my breath.She pulled the blanket up around me.“We’ve kept your pregnancy confidential, as you requested. Julian’s people only received a summary of your injuries. I have the full records.”Footsteps sounded outside, and she straightened.Julian came in, shadows beneath his eyes and a fresh burn on the back of his hand.He put the document envelope on the bedside table. A blackened corner of our bond certificate stuck out.“You nearly died for this?”I reached over and took the envelope back.“I was trying to get out through the back door.”“The manager told me.” He closed his eyes. “But why did you stop to open the safe?”I looked at the scorched edge of the envelope and sai

After examining me again, the healer said the baby appeared to be unharmed, but I would need peace and rest from now on.She worked gently as she cleaned the mess from my shoulder.“Shall I notify your mate?”“No.”I handed her my phone with my mother’s number on the screen.“Please call my family.”An hour later, the Mooncrest guards took me back to the estate.Elder Vittorio had sent the original certificate to the royal court. My petition had been approved. The bond would be severed after I reached Mooncrest.He warned me that my wolf would inevitably be weakened for a short time afterward. A priestess and a healer would stay with me to minimize the risk to my pregnancy.I told him I understood.If pain was unavoidable, I wanted to choose the kind that would finally let me heal.A member of the household staff placed my suitcase beside the bed.I packed only a few loose outfits, my account books, and the little things I had bought for myself over the years.I hadn’t managed to save

Serafina’s POVMy mother was waiting beneath the porch lights when we arrived.She had come outside without a coat.A man stood beside her with one draped over his arm, as though he had been trying to persuade her to put it on and finally given up. I recognized my father from the photographs Vittorio had shown me.In those photographs, he looked imposing.Now, he looked afraid to move too quickly.The guard opened my door. I put one foot on the ground, reached for my cane, and heard my mother inhale sharply.“Serafina.”She didn’t throw her arms around me. She saw the bandages and stopped close enough for me to decide.That small hesitation undid me.I reached for her.She held me so carefully that it hurt more than if she had squeezed. Her cheek was cold against mine. She smelled of rosemary, clean wool, and something I remembered without being able to name.“I’m sorry it took so long,” she whispered.I had imagined meeting her with composure. I had thought I would thank her for the e

Serafina’s POVThe public correction appeared eleven days after I left Blackpine.Vittorio showed it to me before it went live. Julian’s representative had sent the draft, asking whether I wanted my pregnancy or my parents’ names included.“No,” I said. “Neither is relevant.”The final statement was brief.Serafina and I were bonded for six years. Mia was never my mate. My conduct allowed a false account of our relationship to spread. Serafina did not start the apartment fire, and the allegations against her are false. She has the right to leave me. Do not contact or harass her.Beneath it was a photograph of the registry entry, with private information concealed.There was no mention of grief making me unstable. No suggestion that I had misunderstood his generosity.I read it twice.“I wish he had said that at the infirmary.”“So do I,” Vittorio said.The statement traveled farther than the original post. Some people apologized. Others deleted what they had written and pretended they