Chapter 8 LIKELY POSSIBILITY

WILLA'S POV

A loud, hysterical laugh burst out of me, while William only watched with furrowed brows and lips set into a firm line.

"You can't be serious," I said after my laughter ebbed away. "If you're simply basing your conclusion on my scent, what you've detected could be explained by the claiming bite."

But even as I reasoned against William's claim, I wasn't foolishly naive to think that it was absolutely impossible. After all, Gallahan had knotted me twice. William had also sounded certain, and he wasn't the type of person who would make wild or drastic conclusions if they didn't hold much ground or merit.

"Again, do not try to be obtuse on purpose, Willa. Gallahan triggered your heat that night. You disappeared for nearly a week before you returned home with a claiming bite. And while I have no desire to know or discuss what you and Gallahan were up to in those days, I am sure that-"

"I didn't even get to spend an entire day with him, Will," I interjected,

"What?" William's brows furrowed further. "Then where have you been during those days?"

Hesitation kept me quiet for nearly a minute, spending that stretch of time gnawing at my lower lip.

"Willa, what happened?" William asked once more, sounding more stern and more like our father when he was slowly losing his patience.

With closed eyes, I let out a long and heavy exhale through my nose. Then when I opened them again, looking at our entwined hands instead of William's face, I confessed, "When I ran away, my heat wasn't done yet."

"Willa! Were you out of your mind?" William hissed, mildly shaking me through the hand he had in his grip. "It could've gotten dangerous for you!"

"More dangerous than being with Gallahan Wick?" I quipped, finally daring to meet my brother's eyes that were back in its glowing deep shade of green.

William glowered, clearly unimpressed.

"Anyway, let me finish before you blow your fuse."

He only grunted in response, and I almost smiled at how petulant he could still be.

"So I ran away right? But then the third wave of my heat was slowly approaching, and I had to find some place to stay. Soon enough, I met a witch. Sarina. She was in the middle of collecting potion ingredients in the woods when I bumped into her. Long story short, she had me as a guest while I pathetically spent the rest of my heat alone. But then I couldn't really leave as soon as it was over, can I?"

"So you overstayed your welcome as a token of your gratitude," William grumbled sardonically, clearly still miffed about my choices in life.

I pretended not to hear his critical jab and continued to say, "So as thanks, I stayed with her for a couple more days to help her with collecting and preparing potion ingredients."

"Alright. Fine," William groused in defeat. "I'll let this recklessness pass. But only because you came home in one piece, and because there are more important things to discuss. Like how you are likely pregnant."

I groaned, yanking my hand out of his hold so I could harshly rub my face out of frustration, fear and fatigue that I was feeling in equal proportions.

"I can't be pregnant, Will. There is an ongoing fight between the League and the Culling Army. I am the second-in-command of the Peacemakers, for crying out loud. I can't be-"

"Willa," he cut in with an expression that had softened into a cautious one. "Grandpa has stripped you of your position as the second-in-command of the Peacemakers. You are relegated back to your position as undercover informant and patrol for the League."

I felt the air leave my lungs in a heartbeat, and I could only pathetically stutter out a whispered, "W-what? But..."

Words evaded me as my mind reeled over the fact.

I had been an undercover informant for the most part of this damn war, and I had to climb my way up. It took me nearly two years to be included in the exclusive group of Peacemakers, which my brother joined right off the bat. I relentlessly continued to fight and be better until I became the group's second-in-command two fucking months ago.

But now, I was shoved back to where I started.

"And so am I. I'm no longer the commander of the Peacemakers. I'm just a regular Peacemaker now."

"W-wait," I raised my hands up, trying to slow down William's barrage of shocking news. "I... I understand why I would receive such a sanction, but you? Why would grandpa remove you as the commander of the Peacemakers?"

"I let you leave, remember? I let you break ranks under my nose, and well... Grandpa thinks that if I was negligent enough over my sister in the cusp of her heat, letting her leave on her own when I could've had another woman in our troop accompany you to safety, then I am in no position to have a large group of people entrusted under my care and leadership."

"William... I am so sorry. I didn't-"

"Hey, it's fine. It's not like I wanted the responsibility. I mean, I stand firmly for what we fight for, but don't you think we are too young to lead in this war? We are just twenty-one, Willa. So I don't really think of it as a loss."

Despite his attempt to quell my guilt, it still lingered stubbornly, causing my lungs and heart to feel much heavier than they already weighed.

"Don't worry about it, little sis. It's fine, I promise you. So stop stressing over it. It's bad for the baby."

It was clear that William was trying to use the baby talk as a stone to hit two birds at the same time. The first metaphorical bird was to distract me from the guilt I couldn't shake off, while the second one was to steer us back into discussing my supposed pregnancy he was quite convinced about.

I decided to go along with him and said, "There is no baby, William."

"You can't be too sure, Willa. You still spent some time with your fated mate, didn't you? It is not an impossibility."

"Well..." I drawled, managing to muster a bit of nonchalance that I didn't really feel about the matter. "Want to make a bet on whether I'm really pregnant?"

"Who's pregnant?"

Both William and I turned towards the source of the familiar gruff voice, our necks snapping so quickly that it was a miracle we didn't hurt ourselves.

"Grandpa," I whispered, anxiety taking hold of me.

My blood ran cold, and my mouth dried up as I stared at the intimidating form of our grandfather, who was looming by the door.

While it was true that Greggory Alfiero could no longer find walking easy without the support of a cane due to his age and worsened by a recurring pain from past injury, he could still stand and appear imposing and mighty, oozing indubitable charisma and severity. The mild slouch of his back and the wrinkling skin couldn't even put a dent on how intimidating he looked.

To make it worse for my growing apprehension, his austere face wore a cool and impassive expression that would make any lesser man quiver in their boots.

I tried not to be a lesser man and attempted to explain, but William gripped my hand and beat me to it.

"Grandpa, we were-"

"Discussing Willa's pregnancy. I may be old, but I am far from senile. I know what I heard. You were even making crude bets about such an important matter. Has the war not instilled some level of maturity in the two of you?"

"Grandpa, I am scared," I admitted. "My remark was simply an attempt to downplay the severity of the situation, because... because I'm scared."

The coldness in his green gaze melted away. He puffed out a sigh and shut the door gently behind him. Then he hobbled over to us, his cane clinking rhythmically against the polished herringbone flooring.

"What truly happened, child?" he asked as he slowly took a seat on the bed, sandwiching me between him and William.

I adjusted myself back to my original sitting position-my back against the headboard and my legs outstretched underneath the duvet.

"Grandpa, I didn't lie when I said that I got into my heat in the middle of battle. But it wasn't because I missed completing my monthly dose of heat suppressants."

"So that special moment happened then. You met your fated mate."

His eyes twinkled with joy, and I deeply wished I could feel the same as him.

"Is it really so special even if I met him in battle? Even if he is our enemy?"

"Ah..." Grandpa nodded sagely. "Maybe you can be the reason for his change of heart."

I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder. "Grandpa, you are asking for the sun, moon and stars."

"Am I?" He chuckled. "You make it sound like your fated mate is that bloodthirsty Wick."

Thankfully, Willian didn't say anything nor betray any kind of emotion. He remained quiet, listening to my conversation with our Grandpa.

"That would be unlucky, huh?" I replied, my voice dropping into a whisper.

Grandpa hummed, patting the back of my hand that laid limply on my lap. "Indeed, child."

"Well..." I swallowed thickly. "It doesn't matter who he is, Grandpa. I have chosen the right path, even if it means walking on it without my fated mate beside me."

"Are you sure, dear child? A fated mate is a bond unlike any other."

My heart throbbed painfully at the reminder of what I could have if there wasn't a war.

"I know, Grandpa. But maybe the time isn't right for us yet. Maybe after the war is over, we could finally manage to set our differences aside."

"Perhaps," Grandpa agreed easily.

There was a momentary silence shared comfortably among the three of us. It almost lulled me into slumber.

"So," Grandpa said carefully, stirring me into alertness. "William has a reason to believe you are pregnant? You have consummated and bonded with your mate, Willa?"

Oh gods.

Why did I have to talk about this with our Grandpa of all people?

Awkwardly, I hummed in confirmation. Then in a quiet voice, I confessed, "I received a bite. But I... But the bond is incomplete. I didn't claim him with a bite, Grandpa."

Grandpa scratched his beard for a second and said, "We shall ask for a healer to have a look at you. After all, it is best to err on the side of caution. The last thing we want is to endanger you and the growing pup inside of you."

"You talk as if-"

"Fated mates are different, Willa. It is special as it is strong. You know this already. There is a high chance you are truly with a child. William made a good call in talking to you about this probability."

I could almost feel William reverberating with pride at the small acknowledgment subtly thrown his way.

Even though he said he was fine over losing his position in the Peacemakers, I knew it stung him to be chastised by Grandpa, especially since the two of us looked up to him more than we did to our own father, the current Alpha of our pack, Wolverham.

Just then, a loud series of knocks stole our attention. It sounded urgent and frantic.

"Master Greggory," the voice of Brandon, Grandpa's young assistant, called out loudly. "A missive from Gallahan Wick of the Culling Army has arrived."