Chapter 5

I woke up to the sound of beeping machines. The air smelled sterile, but expensive-like ozone and clean linen.

I wasn't in the damp servant's room. I was in a hospital bed, hooked up to IVs. The room was filled with flowers.

My mother was asleep in a chair next to me, holding my hand. James was standing by the window, his back to me, staring out. His posture was rigid, like a coiled spring.

"Mom?" My voice was a dry croak.

Her eyes snapped open. "Aria! Oh, Goddess!" She jumped up, pressing the call button for the nurse. "James, she's awake!"

James turned. The look on his face broke my heart. He looked aged, tired.

"My baby," I whispered, my hand moving to my stomach.

It was flat.

The silence in the room was deafening. It was a heavy, suffocating blanket.

"Aria..." my mother sobbed, burying her face in the sheets.

"No," I stared at the ceiling. "No, no, no."

James walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He took my hand. His large, rough hand was trembling.

"We tried," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "The trauma... the silver poisoning... the kick to the ribs caused a placental abruption. He was too small, Aria. His lungs weren't ready."

"He?" A tear slid down my temple into my hair.

"A boy," James nodded. "He fought hard. Just like his mother."

I closed my eyes. I reached for my inner wolf. I needed her strength. I needed to howl.

But there was nothing.

Where my wolf used to be, there was only a void. A dark, silent cavern. *The grief had shattered something fundamental. She hadn't just retreated; she had gone silent, burying herself deep within my psyche to survive the heartbreak.*

"My wolf," I whispered. "I can't feel her."

"She has gone into a coma," James explained gently. "From the grief. Losing a pup... it is the hardest thing a she-wolf can endure. She has retreated to heal."

I was empty. My baby was gone. My wolf was gone. My Mate had abandoned me.

I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just stared at the wall. I felt like I had been hollowed out, leaving only a shell behind.

*

Two weeks passed. I existed in a fog. I ate when told, slept when the drugs took effect.

"I want to go back," I said one morning over breakfast.

James dropped his fork. "Absolutely not. You are never setting foot in Black Rose territory again. I am preparing to absorb their pack. I will crush them economically and then militarily."

"I need to get my things," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "My locket. The one Grandma gave me. It's still in the servant's room."

"I will send a squad to retrieve it," James said.

"No," I looked at him. "I need to go. I need to see them. I need... closure."

My mother looked at James. They had a silent conversation. Finally, James sighed.

"I will take you. And I will bring fifty of my best Elites. If anyone looks at you wrong, I will rip their throat out."

We took the helicopter.

When we landed on the lawn of the Black Rose estate, the atmosphere was jarring. There were balloons everywhere. Blue and white streamers. Music was playing.

It was a party.

"What is this?" my mother hissed.

We walked toward the gathering. The pack members saw James and parted like the Red Sea, fear etched on their faces.

In the center of the garden, sitting on a throne-like chair, was Elena. She was holding a baby.

Theo was standing next to her, smiling. He had returned.

They were celebrating.

My baby was dead in a cold grave, and they were celebrating.

Theo looked up and saw me. His smile faltered. He took a step forward, looking confused. "Aria? You... you look well."

He didn't know. He didn't know what his parents had done. He didn't know about the hospital.

Lydia, Theo's mother, pushed through the crowd. She saw me and sneered. She clearly hadn't told Theo either.

"You have some nerve coming back here," Lydia said loud enough for everyone to hear. "After running off to your sugar daddy." She gestured to James.

James growled, a sound so deep the ground vibrated.

"And that... thing?" Lydia pointed at my flat stomach. "Did you finally get rid of the Rogue spawn? Thank the Goddess. It's a blessing it's dead. Now the bloodline remains pure."

The music stopped. The silence was absolute.

Theo froze. He looked at his mother, then at me. "Dead? What is she talking about, Aria? Where is the baby?"

I looked at him. I felt nothing. No love. No hate. Just cold ash.

"Ask your mother," I said, my voice dead. "Ask her how she kicked me in the ribs while wearing silver gloves. Ask her how she dragged me through the mud while I begged for our son's life."

Theo turned pale. "Son?"

"He is dead, Theo," I said. "Your son is dead."

At that moment, Elena's baby started to cry.

"Oh, hush now," Elena cooed, bouncing the baby. "Don't let that woman upset you, my little Alpha."

James stepped forward. He didn't shout. He just spoke, his voice carrying the weight of a King.

"That child," James pointed at the bundle in Elena's arms. "Smells like a wet dog."

He looked at Theo. "You are celebrating the birth of a Rogue, boy. While your true heir lies in a morgue."

Theo looked at the baby in Elena's arms. For the first time, the illusion seemed to crack. He leaned in, really smelling the child, past Elena's perfume.

Confusion, then horror, dawned on his face.

"This isn't my scent," Theo whispered.

I turned around. I had seen enough.

"Let's go, Dad," I said to James. "I have nothing left here."

As we walked away, the screaming started. But I didn't look back. The Aria who loved Theo died with her baby.

The woman who walked toward the helicopter was someone else entirely. And she would be back. Not for closure.

But for revenge.