Chapter 5

Gloria POV:

I walked out of the clinic, pulling my coat tight around me to hide a stomach that wasn't even showing yet.

Fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor.

The elevator doors pinged open in the parking garage. As I stepped out, I came face-to-face with them.

Darwin froze. His hand was resting protectively on the small of Elyssa's back. When he saw me, he stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body.

The gesture was a slap in the face. He was protecting his mistress from his wife. He looked at me like I was the Rogue, the monster.

"Gloria," he said, his voice guarded. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a nosebleed," I said flatly. "Just getting it checked."

Elyssa peeked out from behind him. She smiled, a nasty, triumphant curling of her lips.

Suddenly, the air filled with a sweet, milky scent.

Pregnancy hormones.

Wolves can smell pregnancy almost immediately. Elyssa was pushing the scent out, projecting it, forcing me to smell her fertility. It was a biological taunt. I have what you don't.

"Did you hear the good news, Luna?" Elyssa asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "We're expecting."

"I heard," I said. "The whole hospital heard."

"Get in the car, Gloria," Darwin ordered, steering Elyssa toward his black SUV. "We're going home."

I climbed into the back seat. Darwin and Elyssa sat in the front. It felt like I was the child, and they were the parents.

The drive was suffocating. Elyssa kept her hand on Darwin's thigh.

"Darwin," I spoke up, breaking the silence. "Do you remember the story of Alpha Kael?"

Darwin glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "What?"

"Alpha Kael," I repeated. "The Rogue who rejected his mate for a younger she-wolf. He thought he could cheat the Moon Goddess."

Darwin's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I don't have time for fairy tales."

"It's history," I corrected. "His mate died of a broken heart. And the moment she died, Kael went mad. The bond snapped back and shattered his mind. He ate his own young."

Elyssa gasped. "Stop it! You're trying to scare me!"

"I'm just stating facts," I said, looking out the window. "The bond is not just a feeling, Darwin. It's a tether. If you sever it, there is a price."

"I am loyal to the Pack!" Darwin snapped. "I am doing what is necessary for our lineage!"

"Loyal?" I laughed, a dry, humorless sound. "You swore an oath to me before the Goddess. You broke it."

"I needed an heir!" he roared, slamming his hand on the dashboard. "And you couldn't give me one!"

The car went silent.

My hand hovered over my stomach. I gave you the greatest heir you could ever dream of, I thought. And you threw us away.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on the car's dashboard screen. Darwin's phone was connected via Bluetooth.

Message from Elyssa: Don't listen to the barren bitch, Alpha. Our pup is kicking. He knows his daddy is strong.

It was a lie. At six weeks, a pup doesn't kick. But Darwin didn't care about biology. He cared about his ego.

He smiled at the text, his anger vanishing. He reached over and squeezed Elyssa's hand.

I felt my inner wolf curl into a tight ball in the darkest corner of my mind. She stopped growling. She stopped fighting. She just began to weep.

She was preparing to die.

But I wasn't.

Let them have their fantasy, I thought, watching the passing trees. Because tonight, I'm taking everything away from them.

"Darwin," I said softly. "Drop me off at the lake house. I want to collect some of my things before... before we discuss the future."

"Fine," Darwin said, relieved that I seemed to be accepting defeat. "I'll meet you there later. We need to talk about the separation agreement."

"Yes," I whispered. "We do."

I wasn't going to the lake house to talk. I was going there to end this. One way or another.