Chapter 1 The Spinster and the Alpha's Demand

The whisper of rumors about her had grown louder with every passing year. Lila Martin. The spinster. Rejected. Unwanted. Too plain, they said, for any Alpha. Too weak, too quiet, and far too shy to ever make a proper Luna.

Lila was used to the whispers now, but they still cut deep. Walking through the small hallway of the fertility clinic, her head held slightly higher than her heart felt, she forced herself to tune it all out. This was her life, her choice, and if nobody wanted her, then fine-she'd take care of herself in the best way she could.

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, clutching the strap of her worn-out bag. This clinic was no ordinary one; it was for people like her. Werewolves. Creatures driven by instinct and pack loyalty, except, it seemed, loyalty didn't extend to her. She sighed, trying to calm her nerves.

Behind the counter, a chirpy nurse called out her name. "Lila Martin? You're up next."

Lila flinched. Her name felt like a brand in the crowded waiting area. She walked toward the nurse, her head down, shoulders stiff. The nurse smiled kindly, gesturing for her to follow.

"First time here?" the nurse asked as they moved toward the examination room.

Lila nodded. Her voice felt stuck in her throat, but she forced herself to speak. "Yeah. First time."

The nurse gave a soft hum of understanding, though Lila doubted she truly understood. For Lila, this wasn't just about freezing her eggs. It was about making a statement. About saying she could make choices for herself in a world that constantly reminded her of her rejection.

The room she stepped into was pristine, the air smelling faintly of antiseptic and something sweet. There were charts and diagrams on the walls, reminders of what this place was about. The nurse handed her a form to fill out and started explaining the process.

As the nurse droned on, Lila's mind wandered. How had she ended up here? She'd once dreamed of meeting her mate like other she-wolves did, of falling into that fated bond that everyone spoke so highly of. But fate had a funny way of playing cruel tricks. Three rejections from Alphas later, and she wasn't holding her breath anymore.

She looked around the room, noting how it screamed cold efficiency. It didn't bother her. This was just a step. One step forward, even if it wasn't the one she'd imagined for herself.

Suddenly, raised voices outside the room drew her attention. Her eyes darted to the door, narrowing slightly. The deep rumble of a man's voice made her ears twitch. There was authority there, the kind that came naturally to Alphas.

"I don't care what the procedure entails," the voice barked. "Let's get this over with."

Her heart skipped. Who in the world was throwing his weight around like that?

The nurse with Lila excused herself, clearly startled by the commotion outside. A moment later, the door opened, and the nurse returned with a clipboard, flustered.

"We had a last-minute scheduling issue. Would you mind waiting just a bit longer, Ms. Martin?"

Lila frowned. She didn't want to cause trouble, but it wasn't fair. "Wait? I've already been waiting for-"

"It's an Alpha," the nurse interrupted in a hushed whisper, as if that explained everything.

An Alpha. Of course. Lila gritted her teeth and forced herself to sit back down. An Alpha could walk into any room and command attention without even trying. It was just how things were. Still, frustration bubbled inside her. Not every Alpha deserved the world bowing at their feet.

Minutes passed like hours. The Alpha outside-his voice was impossible to ignore-continued barking orders, clearly annoyed about being at the clinic.

In the room next door, Alpha Kade Silas stood with his arms crossed, a deep scowl on his face. He didn't want to be here. Hell, he shouldn't have to be here. But the elders in his pack were insistent.

"We're preparing for war, Kade," his Beta had reminded him that morning. "It's not just about survival. You're the last in your bloodline. If something happens to you out there, the Silas lineage ends. We can't allow that to happen."

So here he was. Forced to deposit his seed to preserve his bloodline.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.

The nurse attending to him kept a polite but nervous smile. "I understand this is unusual, Alpha, but it's for the safety of your pack. Let's just complete the paperwork and get it over with."

"Fine," Kade snapped, snatching the clipboard from her hand.

He filled out the forms, feeling like this was some sort of mockery of his position. He was a warrior, a leader-he didn't have time for this. And yet, deep down, a small part of him couldn't deny that the elders' words had struck a chord. What if he didn't come back from the war?

Meanwhile, Lila sat in her own room, twiddling her thumbs and counting the minutes. When the nurse finally returned, there was a strange look in her eyes, one that Lila couldn't quite place.

"We're ready for you now, Ms. Martin. I apologize for the wait."

"It's fine," Lila said curtly, though it really wasn't.

The nurse guided her through the procedure, explaining how her eggs would be retrieved and stored for future use. Lila listened carefully, nodding at all the right parts, but her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

By the time everything was done, she felt... different. It wasn't the procedure itself that had done it; it was something in the air, a tension she couldn't quite name.

What she didn't know-what nobody in that clinic realized-was that a mistake had been made. Papers had been swapped. Labels on vials had been misread. The eggs collected from Lila were mistakenly fertilized by Alpha Kade Silas's sample, forever intertwining two lives that had no intention of crossing.

Days later, Lila started feeling off. Tired. Restless. There was a strange nausea that didn't quite feel like a sickness. It gnawed at her until, finally, she broke down and visited the doctor.

When the news came, she could barely breathe. Pregnant. Not just with her eggs. Fertilized.

"What?" she whispered, the word barely audible.

The doctor looked just as baffled. "It seems there was an error during the procedure... but rest assured, the clinic will handle this with full confidentiality."

Lila barely heard him. Pregnant. The word echoed in her mind, over and over, until she felt like she was drowning in it. Who was the father? Did she even want to know?

She clenched her fists, anger swelling inside her. They hadn't just stolen her choice-they'd turned her world upside down.

Far away, Kade returned to his pack, unaware that his legacy had already been secured-not through war or conquest, but through an accidental meeting of fate.