NO WAY OUT

It's been two days since the gala disaster, two days since my failed escape attempt. I hunched over my bathroom toilet, emptying what little breakfast I'd managed to eat. Something was wrong. My approaching heat usually brought fever and aches, but this felt different.

"Elena?" Mia's worried voice came through the door. "Let me in, or I swear I'll break it down."

I'd been avoiding everyone since that night, but Mia had climbed through my window an hour ago, refusing to leave. Crawling to the door, I unlocked it.

"Holy shit." She rushed to my side. "You look terrible."

"Thanks," I croaked, accepting the damp washcloth she pressed to my forehead. "Just what every girl wants to hear."

"Cut the jokes." Mia felt my pulse, her nurse training showing. "These aren't normal heat symptoms. Your heart's racing, and—" She froze, nostrils flaring. "Elena... your scent..."

Ice flooded my veins. "What about it?"

"It's... different. Like when my sister was..." Her eyes widened. "Oh my god."

"No." I shook my head frantically. "No, no, no. It's impossible. One night doesn't—"

"With a normal wolf? No." Mia helped me sit up. "But Lucas Blackwood isn't normal, is he? The Northern Pack's bloodline..." She checked her watch. "We have four hours before your... ceremony with Richard. Get dressed."

"What? Why?"

"Because we're going to the free clinic across town. The one that doesn't report to the Council."

Twenty minutes later, I sat in a sterile exam room, gripping Mia's hand as Dr. Chen – a kind-faced Beta – studied my blood work.

"Well," she said finally, "congratulations. You're pregnant."

The world tilted sideways. "That's not possible," I whispered. "It's only been three days."

Dr. Chen's expression turned grave. "Northern Pack pregnancies progress differently. Their magic... It accelerates things. Especially during a heat cycle." She hesitated. "Which is why we need to discuss your options. Immediately."

"Options?"

"If Richard Thompson claims you during your heat while you're carrying another Alpha's child..." She didn't finish the sentence.

She didn't have to. Everyone knew what happened when an Alpha tried to override another's claim. The weaker wolf died. In this case, that would be...

My hands flew to my stomach. "My baby."

"Not just the baby." Mia's voice shook. "You. The magical backlash... Elena, it would kill you both."

Dr. Chen nodded solemnly. "You have maybe twelve hours before the pregnancy becomes detectable to other wolves. After that..."

"I have thirty minutes," I whispered.

They both stared at me.

"The ceremony." My laugh held an edge of hysteria. "Richard moved it up. Said he could smell my heat coming and didn't want to 'risk any more incidents.' It starts in thirty minutes."

"Like hell it does." Mia pulled out her phone. "I'm calling—"

"No!" I grabbed her arm. "If my father finds out... if Richard finds out... they'll force the mating anyway. You know what they think of Northern blood. They'd rather see me dead than carrying Lucas's child."

"Then call *him*," Mia pleaded. "Lucas has a right to know."

"He rejected me!" The words tasted like ashes. "Called me a whore in front of everyone. Said I was playing games..."

"Because he thought you betrayed him! If he knew—"

"He'd what? Save me? Start a pack war?" I stood on shaky legs. "You heard what he said at the gala. The Council meets today to discuss war between our packs. My father using me as a 'weapon' was the last straw."

Dr. Chen cleared her throat. "There might be another way." She pulled out a small vial filled with purple liquid. "This can mask the pregnancy from other wolves. Buy you some time. But it only lasts forty-eight hours, and the side effects..."

"I'll take it."

"Elena," she warned, "the nausea, the dizziness – they'll get worse. Much worse. And if you're caught..."

I snatched the vial. "Better sick than dead."

The liquid burned going down, but immediately I felt my scent changing, shifting.

"Remember," Dr. Chen said, "forty-eight hours. After that, no magic can hide it."

Mia drove us back in tense silence. Ten minutes until the ceremony.

"Let me help you run," she finally whispered.

"They'd know you helped me." I squeezed her hand. "I won't put you in danger."

"So what's your plan?"

Looking out at the setting sun, I touched my stomach. Somewhere inside me, a tiny spark of life pulsed with Northern magic. Lucas's child. *My* child.

"Buy time," I said. "Find a way to break the mating contract legally. There has to be a way..."

"In forty-eight hours?"

"That's all I need." I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. "Rosa gave me another vial – my mother's last gift. Magic to suppress my heat. Between that and Dr. Chen's potion..."

Mia pulled up to my house, where cars already lined the driveway. The mating ceremony would begin at moonrise. Richard would claim me, unless...

"Whatever you're planning," Mia said, "be careful. And Elena?" She pressed a burner phone into my hand. "Just in case."

I hugged her fiercely, then squared my shoulders and walked into the house. Rose petals lined the stairs – traditional for mating ceremonies. They looked like drops of blood in the fading light.

Sarah intercepted me at my bedroom door. "Where have you been? Never mind. Your dress is laid out. You have five minutes."

The white dress on my bed felt like a shroud. As I changed, my phone buzzed one last time:

*Lucas: The Council has reached its decision. War it is. I hope your little game was worth the lives it will cost.*

In the distance, a wolf howled – a sound of anger and betrayal and loss. My wolf whimpered, recognizing her mate even as my mind rejected the bond.

Moonrise approached. Soon, Richard would claim me, not knowing I carried his enemy's child. Unless I found a way out, we would both die – me and this tiny spark of Northern magic growing inside me.

My mother had died rather than accept a fate like this. As I touched the vial of heat-suppressing magic hidden in my dress, I made a silent vow:

I will not follow your path, Mom. I'll find another way. For all three of us.

The ceremony bells began to toll.