Chapter 4

Karyme POV:

I spent the morning building a brick wall around the mate bond in my mind. It felt like a migraine, but it blocked his guilt.

I walked toward the clinic.

"Luna," a warrior nodded, pity in his eyes.

I stopped. Archie and Faustina were outside the exam room.

"Confirmed, Alpha," the doctor said. "High testosterone. Strong heartbeat. Alpha male."

Archie let out a shaky breath. "An heir."

"Our heir," Faustina corrected.

Archie stared at her stomach with a reverence he never gave me. Faustina released a scent-something brewed by a witch doctor, smelling like a potent, high-ranking pup.

Archie's pupils dilated. Instinct overrode logic. He pulled her flush against him, burying his nose in her neck.

"Archie," she gasped. "The Luna."

"She is a gentle Omega," Archie growled, voice distorted. "She understands duty."

Gentle Omega.

I pulled out my phone. Hidden folder.

Jalen. Four years old. Dark eyes, Archie's crooked smile. Holding a stick like a sword. "Mama, when can I meet Papa? I can growl!"

If I showed Archie... if he saw Jalen-sickly, small-he would see a broken thing. A mistake.

No. Archie didn't deserve Jalen.

I turned and walked away. I packed a duffel bag. Cash. ID. Silver dagger.

I was leaving tonight.