Chapter 4

Gloria POV:

The next morning, Darwin came home smelling like morning dew and betrayal.

"Where were you?" he asked, finding me in the kitchen drinking herbal tea. He looked refreshed, while I felt like a hollow shell.

"I slept in the guest room," I lied smoothly. "The door was locked, remember?"

He frowned, checking his pockets for the key, realizing he must have forgotten to unlock it. "Right. Well. I was patrolling the northern border."

"Of course," I said.

Suddenly, a warm wetness gushed from my nose.

I brought a hand to my face. My fingers came away coated in bright red blood.

"Gloria?" Darwin took a step back, looking disgusted rather than worried. "You're bleeding on the counter."

"It's just the dry air," I muttered, grabbing a paper towel.

But I knew what it was. My body was fighting a war. The White Wolf bloodline was incredibly potent. If I was stressed, or if my body was rejecting the environment, it reacted violently.

Suddenly, Darwin's eyes glazed over. Mind-Link.

"I have to go," he said urgently. "Rogue attack at the eastern perimeter."

"Go," I said.

He didn't hesitate. He ran out the door.

I waited two minutes, then grabbed my keys. There was no rogue attack. I had access to the Pack's security grid through my old Council codes. The perimeter was silent.

I drove to the Pack Hospital.

I needed to know why my body was failing me. The nosebleed, the nausea, the fatigue. It wasn't just the heartbreak.

Dr. Aris, an old wolf healer who owed me a favor, ushered me into a private room.

"Run a full scan, Aris," I ordered. "And keep the results off the digital record."

Ten minutes later, Aris came back. His hands were shaking. He was holding the ultrasound printout.

"Luna..." he whispered. "You aren't sick."

He turned the screen toward me.

There, in the grainy black and white image, was a tiny, pulsing sac.

"You are six weeks pregnant."

The world stopped spinning.

"Pregnant?" I choked out. "But... we tried for two years. Nothing happened."

"It's the energy signature," Aris said, pointing to a halo of light around the fetus on the screen. "This isn't a normal pup, Gloria. The energy reading is off the charts. It's... it's stronger than an Alpha."

A White Wolf pup.

A child of legend. If the Elders found out I carried this bloodline, they wouldn't just kill me-they'd harvest the child.

Suddenly, a sound cut through the air.

Awoooooooo!

It was a howl of pure, unadulterated joy. It was Darwin.

The sound was coming from down the hall.

I slid off the exam table and walked to the door, cracking it open.

Darwin was standing in the middle of the hallway, holding Elyssa in his arms. She was beaming, rubbing her flat stomach. A crowd of nurses and Betas surrounded them, clapping.

"A miracle!" Darwin shouted, his voice booming. "The Moon Goddess has blessed us! Elyssa is with child!"

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"He's celebrating?" Dr. Aris whispered behind me, confused. "But... you are his Mate."

"He doesn't know about mine," I said, my hand instinctively covering my lower abdomen.

I watched as Darwin kissed Elyssa's forehead. "My heir," he said reverently. "Finally, a strong heir."

I listened with my enhanced hearing. I focused on Elyssa's womb. I could hear the heartbeat of her child. It was faint. Normal. Average.

He was celebrating a mutt while his true mate carried a king.

The irony was so bitter I could taste it like bile.

"Delete the records, Aris," I said, turning back to the doctor. My eyes were dry. I was done crying.

"Luna?"

"There is no baby," I said, my voice steel. "If Darwin finds out, he will take this child and give it to her to raise. Or worse."

I looked at the screen one last time, memorizing the shape of my little miracle.

"This child will not be born into the Dark Moon Pack," I vowed. "This child will be born free."