"Why are you not pregnant yet, Delilah? It's not that hard to open your damn legs and lay there. Even you can't mess that up, right?" Mrs. Roman, my mother-in-law made her disappointment clear in every interaction. That question, the same one she asks every day, hit me harder than usual. I swallowed, and the familiar sting of failure quickly returned. "I'm trying…" It had been two solid years of trying. "Trying and failing." she snapped. "The pack needs a Luna who can handle her responsibilities, not someone who's constantly apologizing and half-assing it." Her presence was a reminder of everything I wasn't, everything I could never be. No matter how hard I tried to be the Luna she expected me to be, I always fell short. Castor defended and reassured me, but it never erased the feeling that I wasn't enough. "You're doing great," Cast told me that night, holding me close as I fought back tears. "Mom doesn't understand how much you do for the pack. But I see it, Lila. I see h
Everything around me twisted and blurred, like I'd fallen underwater. When he moaned her name, the room pivoted, and everything came back into harsh focus. Cast's hands on her sweaty skin, Selena's fingers twisted in his wet hair. They'd obviously been at it for some time. No wonder neither responded to my texts. The agony was immediate and sharper than I'd thought possible. I looked down at the small box in my hand. The pregnancy test I'd planned to show him, the future I thought we'd share, felt like a bomb now. "Why?" I barely recognized my voice as I threw it at them. The box hit him square in the chest. His head snapped up, and his eyes shot open. The test tumbled out and landed on his bare skin between them. The room went dead silent. They both froze with their eyes locked on the test like it was about to detonate. I took a single step back and turned toward the door. I didn't have a plan. I just knew I needed to get out and breathe. But the deep, commanding Alpha tone i
My lungs burned as my feet pounded against the familiar pavement of my childhood street. Running had always been my escape, and with new life growing inside me, I felt a surge of energy I couldn't quite explain. It was strong. So strong. If this was what Alphas had running in their blood their whole lives, no wonder they were always so intense. I slowed to a jog near the old oak tree where Selena and I took photos before Mine and Cast's wedding. She'd been my maid of honor. The betrayal stung. "Lila!" A voice called out behind me. I turned to see Selena approaching, her face flushed like she'd been crying. "What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my composure. And my distance. The urge to slap her was overwhelming. So damn overwhelming. "We need to talk," she said, thankfully stopping a few feet away. "I have nothing to say to you," I growled. Wow, I never growl. Definitely the Alpha blood. "Please, just hear me out." I hesitated, then crossed my arms over my ches
After the fight with Castor, I drove aimlessly through the streets. I couldn't believe how quickly everything had fallen apart. Castor's betrayal had broken my heart, but his demand that I give him his heir before he would even consider a divorce was the final blow. I wasn't a breeder, and he wasn't about to treat me like one. I couldn't stay with him, couldn't bear to live in that house knowing what he had done and what he thought of me. But leaving him wasn't as simple as walking out the door. This baby was guaranteed to be Alpha. That meant if I didn't do this right, he could take the baby from me and no one would look twice. He had more claim over the baby than I did as far as the council and any werewolf was concerned. I didn't stand a chance if I didn't get human law involved here. Werewolf law leaves little space for women beyond pregnancy. Their worth is measured by the pups they produce and the bloodline they strengthen. Once a child is born, he is often handed off to
I stood outside Declan Lincoln's sleek office in downtown, a few streets over from Cast's. I had an appointment, but my nerves had me frozen in place. The receptionist hadn't even let me in yet. I buzzed the intercom once more and waited. Nothing. I pressed the button again. Still nothing. I sighed in frustration. I was about to turn away when a man walked past me, glancing down at his phone. His tailored suit fit him perfectly, dark against his smooth, deep brown skin. Our eyes met. He stopped mid-step. "Lila?" I blinked, taking in the sharp features of his face. "Luca?" He smiled wide, stepping toward me. "Wow, I didn't expect to see you here. It's been ages." "It really has," I replied, the pressure in my chest easing slightly at the sight of an old friend. "You work here?" "I do." He held up his ID badge, flashing it at the door's scanner. It beeped, unlocking the entrance that had refused me just moments ago. He opened the door and gestured for me to enter. "
Castor's message came in the late afternoon, just when I started believing I could have a peaceful evening. I gripped my phone tightly as his words glared back at me. "If you want the divorce, meet me at seven. We'll settle this once and for all. Your lawyer will be here and everything." I should have known better. I should have sensed that something was off. But I was too desperate for it to be true, too hopeful that he had finally given up and was ready to let me go. So, I pulled myself together, dressed in a white sundress that clung to my curves from the weight I was already gaining, and headed to the address he gave me. The elegant building was tucked away in the heart of the city, its tall windows glowing with warm light. Inside, the space buzzed with energy. It was a large ballroom filled with high-ranking werewolves from all over. Something was wrong. My stomach twisted as I stepped inside, scanning the room. Castor appeared by my side almost immediately, gripping my
LINC POV - I watched from across the room as Lila slapped Castor hard, loud enough to make the entire banquet hall fall silent. The crowd parted, murmuring in shock as she stormed away, her white dress stained and clinging to her body. Castor stood there, frozen, his face contorted with anger, but he didn't follow her. Not this time. He knew better. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her as she pushed through the crowd and disappeared through the doors. She was different from the women I was used to seeing in these circles. She was strong, bold, and unpredictable. As she made clear, she didn't back down even with her husband, her soon-to-be ex-husband. I had come here tonight expecting nothing more than the usual pleasantries, the familiar politics of pack life. But Lila? She had turned everything on its head in a matter of seconds. Castor had miscalculated if he thought he could control her forever. I excused myself from the conversation I had barely been listening to and mad
Linc had given me a lifeline, and I knew I had to take it, but walking into yet another law firm felt like admitting how tangled my life had really become. I stood outside the building, staring up at its sleek glass façade, fighting the instinct to turn around and run. But I couldn't keep running from this. Castor had to be dealt with, and I couldn't do it alone. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The receptionist didn't even glance at me twice this time as I told her I had an appointment. She buzzed me through, and before I knew it, I was sitting across from a lawyer who looked like he belonged in some glossy magazine. Everything about her was polished, from her pantsuit to how her hair was styled. She reviewed the paperwork I'd brought. "So, you're the one Lincoln recommended," she finally said, setting the papers down. I nodded. "Yes. I assume Mr. Lincoln already told you about my situation." The lawyer smiled. "I know enough to understand this will be a tough case. Ca
I woke up to an empty bed. The absence was immediate, the warmth gone. Stretching out, I let my hand graze the sheets, confirming they were cool. They hadn't been in bed for a while. The faint hum of water and voices carried through the room, pulling me from the remaining haze. I followed the sound to the bathroom door. It was cracked open, steam curling out. Their voices grew clearer as I leaned in to look. Lila sat on the built-in bench, with the water spraying down her back. Cast knelt in front of her, his hands resting gently on her stomach. He spoke softly, leaning closer, and even though the words weren't meant for me, they hit me hard. "I'll be there for them, for you," he murmured. "No matter what. Even if I have to handcuff myself to you to make sure I don't screw this up again." She laughed out loud as he started feathering kisses across her growing stomach to try to tickle her. She leaned forward and pulled him up. Their lips met, and I stayed frozen at the door
LINC - I didn't remember him doing it. Cast didn't remember either. Even Lila, shaking and pale, said she had no recollection of the bite. Yet, as we sat there on the bed in the pool house, trying to piece it all together, his mark stood out darker than mine. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't something we could brush off. We all sat there, unable to articulate the emotions bouncing heavily between us. Between the three of us. She was caught in the middle, her entire body shaking. One hand was pressed to the mark on her neck, the other resting over her stomach. I sat on one side of her, Cast on the other, and we both touched her in the same way. A hand on her knee, the other on her back, trying to steady her, or maybe ourselves. She shifted between us restlessly, leaning against me for a moment, then to him. Her breathing was uneven, and I couldn't stop running my fingers lightly over her skin, trying to calm her. Cast and I didn't look at each other. We couldn't. We didn't need to.
CAST -I wasn't sure why it happened. Why Linc let it happen. Why any of us did. It was like the moment had taken on a life of its own, and we were just caught in its current. She had crumbled onto the floor, overwhelmed by how we were acting. I couldn't leave her there. I bent down and scooped her up, her body slack against me, and something in the way she folded into my arms shattered the last of my restraint.Her lips were right there, and I didn't think before kissing her. It wasn't soft or cautious. It was the kind of kiss that demanded more. Her lips pressed back against mine, but then she broke away, looking toward Linc. He was already behind her, his hands resting on her sides, his fingers dragging in slow, deliberate patterns on her growing belly. She looked caught between us, her breaths uneven as her eyes darted back to me. She was about to panic."You need us both, don't you? Just… just let it happen." My lips brushed hers again, desperate to pull her back to me.Her att
Declan’s breathing finally evened out, his tiny body curling against me in complete trust. I placed him back in his crib, smoothing the blanket over him as gently as I could. The nursery quieted again, leaving just the soft hum of the baby monitor in the corner.I turned to CeCe, still sitting on the floor near the crib. Her hands rested in her lap, and her focus stayed on Declan. “He’s fine now. You should go back to your room and get some sleep.”She hesitated, biting her lip. “Helena’s in there… busy.”I raised a brow. “Busy?”She shifted awkwardly. “With her boyfriend. I don’t really want to walk in on that.”I crossed my arms, leaning back against the edge of the crib. “Are they being safe?”“As best they can,” she admitted, looking at her hands. “The healers won’t exactly help with that kind of thing. It’s… hard to get what we need.”“That’s just the old traditions still lingering,” I explained. “The healers were scared of the old alpha and stuck to whatever rules kept them out
LINC - Her skin was soft and smooth beneath my hands as I traced the curves of her body. I felt the goosebumps rise on her skin as I kissed her neck. The way she responded to my touch left no doubt. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. We fit together perfectly. My fingers slid over her back, savoring the warmth radiating from her. She leaned into me, her breath feathering against my neck as I pulled her closer. Her hands roamed, exploring me in ways that made everything else dissolve into nothingness. The sound of her heartbeat thrummed against my chest, grounding me in the moment, in her. My mouth moved over her skin, tasting every inch. She arched under me, her body soft and eager. I pulled back just enough to look at her, but the shadows covered her face. "I need you," I murmured, letting my lips find hers again. The kiss built into something that made us feel endless. Like our bodies could melt together and become one. My body moved against hers as I growled against her
LILA - The knock startled me. My body stiffened as I clung to the remnants of composure, the ache in my chest almost unbearable. Cast turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel. I watched him wrap it around himself and head for the door. He seemed far too calm for this. "I've got it," he said, glancing back briefly.I didn't respond. The nausea still twisted in my stomach, and the bond with Linc burned at the edges of my mind, an unwelcome intrusion that wouldn't stop.Cast opened the door, sticking his head out just enough to block whoever it was from seeing inside. "I just finished showering, and Lila's getting cleaned up now. She threw up all over both of us," he explained, his voice casual like it wasn't a blatant lie. "I'll be out in a minute."I froze, heat flushing through me. Not from embarrassment but from pure fury.Before I could think twice, I grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower, forcing down the bile rising in my throat. The lie was too much, and
CAST -The night stretched endlessly, each tick of the clock reminding me I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Tessa had adjusted my meds earlier in the week, upping the dosage just enough to screw with me. It wasn't the first night I'd spent like this, wide awake while the rest of the pack slept. It was starting to wear me thin.Kat, on the other hand, was out cold. Her body rested against mine, curled into my chest like she couldn't get close enough. The warmth of her breath skimmed my skin, steady and soft, the kind of rhythm that should've been calming. I trailed my hand over her back, tracing idle patterns out of habit more than intent.The room we were in wasn't really ours. It belonged to Lila, and she had Declan here, then briefly to me when I didn't have anywhere else to go. Now it was just "the extra," a placeholder no one had claimed outright. Yet, it was starting to feel like ours. Our stuff was scattered across the dresser and floor, the bed smelled like her shampoo, an
LINC - The road stretched ahead, cutting through familiar territory and leading us toward the human city. My eyes darted to the rearview mirror more often than I wanted to admit. Cast and Kat sat in the backseat, wrapped up in their own little bubble.Cast had her pulled against him, whispering something that made her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. Their heads tilted together, foreheads brushing occasionally, like they couldn't bear the thought of any distance.I told myself to be happy for them. They deserved it, after everything. But no matter how hard I tried, the sight made something twist inside me.Lila sat beside me, her hand resting lightly in mine, but it might as well have been someone else's hand for all the connection I felt. Her grip barely registered, her fingers slack against mine. She wasn't even pretending to care about the passing scenery. Her eyes stayed fixed on the window, distant and unfocused.I could feel the anxiety radiating from her, though she tried
LILA - Linc returned hours later without anything other than more exhaustion and cuts and bruises all over his body. He'd tracked over the entire property inch by inch and could not find Pheobe's scent anywhere else but in the nursery. It was unnerving, to say the least. The house felt different tonight. I moved down the hallway, trying to settle my breathing, trying to put the pieces together. Phoebe's scent, that unmistakable presence, was still here, still staining everything with questions. And I had to get to the bottom of it before it shattered the fragile ground Linc and I were walking on.The girl who smelled like Phoebe had been with Declan earlier, changing his diaper. Feeding him, burping him, and her hands all over him all day. She'd been in that nursery all afternoon. She'd never left, according to multiple people. I walked into the room where we'd confined her. I wouldn't allow them to keep her in the cold basement. She looked up, startled, and I could see her anxiet