CHAPTER 11

Aura's POV

I woke up one morning with a hunger so sharp, so wild, I nearly cried. It wasn't just for food. It was deeper, more primal. My body ached for something I couldn't define, something only the growing life inside me seemed to understand.

The cravings hit like waves. One minute I was fine, brushing my hair or wiping down a table at Molly’s Diner, and the next, I needed something—no, had to have it. Ice. Lemon peels. Spicy sausages dipped into honey. I never ate like this before. I barely even liked sweets, but suddenly I was mixing peanut butter with pickles at midnight.

But the real kicker? I couldn’t hide it anymore. My stomach had begun to round, small but visible, and the cravings weren’t just weird; they were fierce. They arrived with heat in my skin, tightness in my chest, and a sense of yearning that felt like an animal.

More than once, I found myself panting softly in the bathroom at the diner, attempting to calm my racing heart after one of the cravings passed. That was not usual. I was aware of that. Even for a pregnant wolf, something about this baby was... unusual. Sturdy. Power not quite my own hummed in my body.

I was inundated in my senses. From dreaming of fried potatoes soaked in honey to awakening with tears on my cheeks and a frantic longing for fruit I hadn't seen in weeks. My child was a force I hadn't anticipated, tenacious and demanding.

"You're going to make me eat the entire town," I said to my bump, placing my hand over the tiny curvature of my stomach. Though I wasn't much yet visible, I could sense the power under my skin. Every flutter, every movement, reminded me that this kid was not usual. There was a wolf in them—Alpha blood. Ryder's blood.

The thought sent an ache through me, bitter and warm all at once. I hated how much I still *felt* him. His mark was gone, but the imprint of his body, his touch, lingered in my bones. The nights he'd claimed me replayed uninvited in my mind, making it even harder to forget.

Molly had been kind, keeping her observations to herself, but I caught her eyes lingering on me more than once. She probably knew. But Kai—he definitely knew.

He had said nothing, not once mentioned my swelling belly or how I’d started flinching when certain smells overwhelmed me. But his gaze always felt warmer, heavier. He brought me meals when I worked late, adjusted the thermostat in the house when I started sweating or shivering out of nowhere.

He was waiting. Waiting for me to speak first.

That evening, the sun hung low, casting everything in amber light as I sat curled on the porch, clutching a mug of lukewarm tea. My fingertips ran over the curve of my tummy without thinking. I felt a flutter beneath my palm and froze.

Another kick. Firmer this time.

Tears stung my eyes. I hadn't even told this child’s father. Hell, he was off playing perfect Alpha with another woman while I spiraled, alone and scared, in a town far from home.

I stepped out into the chilly air behind the diner, needing a moment. I was rubbing my back when I felt his presence behind me.

"You okay?”

I sniffled and nodded, offering a feeble smile. "Yeah. Just exhausted."

He moved closer, then squatted down in front of me. "I am aware of your pregnancy, Aura.”

My heart stopped. For a second, the world stood still. All I could hear was the flow of my own blood.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. There was no use lying. It was inscribed in every yearning, every instant I winced from the rising tightness in my lower back. But still—hearing it said aloud broke something in me.

I collapsed upon the steps, unable to hold myself upright. "I… I didn’t mean to lie. I just… I was scared,” I whispered.

Kai sat alongside me, not touching, just... there. Solid. Reliable.

"You don’t have to explain, I understand,” he added quietly.

I looked down at my hands, then at the aged wooden planks beneath our feet. And I let it all out.

I informed him about Ryder. About the hidden nights, the mark, the way he made me feel. The way he *used* me. I told him about the announcement of Leona, the sadness, the sickness. How I tried to inform Ryder but was barred out. How Leona smiled with daggers in her teeth. How I ran, afraid and alone.

Then explained the letters to him.

"I didn’t know what to do," I murmured, my voice cracking. "I just knew I couldn’t remain. Not when I was disposable. Not when he picked her."

Kai said nothing, but I sensed him listening. He didn’t flinch or turn away.

"And now... this baby. It’s not normal. Not like other pregnancies I’ve read about. It’s stronger. In my blood and bones, I sense it. On occasion, I think I can hear the heartbeat in my head.

He reached out carefully and placed his hand softly over mine, resting on my belly. "It doesn’t sound crazy. Not to me."

I felt grounded by the contact. I felt a slight calmness in the whirling hurricane within me.

For a while, we sat in silence while the evening air rustled the nearby trees.

Kai then said something that made my heart skip a beat as the stars sky started to flicker into view.

"Aura... I know Ryder."

I gasped.

The ground trembled under me. Unable to fathom what he was saying, I just stared at him.

"W-what?"

He looked into my big eyes.

"He's my cousin."

I winced. My stomach turned over. The infant gave a quick, nearly warning kick.

My heart pounding, I got to my feet. "Isn't this a joke? Some horrible, twisted game?

"No!" Kai got up and tried to grab me, but I retreated.

He had the appearance of a man divided between two lives. "Aura, I had no idea you were *his*. Not initially. However, I felt your sorrow and assisted you when I found you in the woods.

His words reached me, but they had to fight through the fog in my head.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I didn't want your current gaze on me to be the same as yours. As if I were one of *them*.

We stood silently for a while, the past and future circling each other.