005.

Cassie.

I came to find out Selena really meant every word of her threat two days later.

New rumors circulated the pack, where the pack members claimed I was so desperate, so jealous of Selena, that I stooped low enough to use my own son as bait to seduce Axel. They said I was nothing but shameless and if I really thought that if not for my seduction, Axel would ever look my way or pay me any of his precious attention.

I forced myself to stay calm, to keep my head high as I heard the new rumors because I knew where they came from, and I was also used to lies being told about me to worry myself about them. If anything, I was only happy that Cam was not grown enough to understand what was being said about me.

But no matter how much I ignored it, the rumors kept coming.

The next day, as I took Cam out for a morning stroll, I noticed the whispers had only grown louder. This time, they hit harder, cutting deeper.

“You know, seeing as Alpha doesn’t like her, I doubt that child is His,” an older lady said as I walked past her shop, she was sitting outside with three others who nodded their heads in agreement.

“She probably didn’t know who she slept with, so she pinned the pregnancy on him,” another lady hissed. I clenched the stroller’s handle, my grip tightening as I heard another one mutter, “There’s no way our alpha would touch her, not even drunk.”

My cheeks burned with rage. I swallowed hard, but it didn’t soothe the ache in my throat. I glanced down at Cam, peacefully napping in his stroller, his tiny hand clutching his blanket.

I could take whatever they said about me, but I could never allow them to doubt my child’s legitimacy, all because he was a product of a drunken one-night stand.

Turning the stroller sharply, I headed straight for the pack house. I dropped Cam in his room and went to Axel’s study, determined to put an end to the lies and poison spreading through the pack. My patience had run out.

When I reached the study, I paused, noticing the door was slightly ajar. I was about to knock when I heard voices inside—Axel’s deep tone, laced with irritation, and Selena’s unmistakable, honeyed words.

“If you don’t do something about her, Axel,” Selena was saying, her voice oozing with sweetness, “you’re going to lose the respect of the pack.”

My blood froze. I leaned closer, straining to hear every word.

“The pack members don’t respect Cassie,” Selena continued. “They don’t acknowledge her as your wife, and honestly, why should they? If you don’t make a move soon, Axel, if you don’t put her in her place—or better yet, drive her out—things will only get worse.”

There was a pause, the silence heavy, suffocating.

Axel let out a sigh. “I can’t drive her out, Selena,” he said finally. “Cam is my son. He has to grow up here, within the pack walls.”

Selena huffed, and the silence that followed made my heart pound. She wanted me gone, that much was clear, and Axel wasn’t even defending me, because he only cared about Cam. My heart felt like it was splintering.

Realizing I couldn’t stay hidden any longer, I straightened and knocked on the door before pushing it open. Axel’s head jerked up, his eyes meeting mine, and I saw the storm brewing in them. He looked…furious. My chest tightened.

“I’m sorry to intrude,” I began, trying to keep my voice steady, “but there’s something we need to discuss—”

Axel’s harsh tone cut me off before I could finish, “You’re the cause of these rumors, Cassie.”

Selena’s lips curled into a satisfied smile, and the sight of it made my blood boil. But Axel’s accusation hit me like a blow to the stomach.

“Do you have any idea,” he continued, his voice biting, “how it feels to hear the pack question my son’s legitimacy? And all this because you keep acting like a crazy person”

I swallowed, fighting the tremor in my hands. “Axel, I didn’t do anything,” I protested, glancing briefly at Selena, “She—”

Axel’s fist slammed down on his desk with a thunderous crack, making me flinch.

“Enough, Cassie!” His voice reverberated through the room, and the sound felt like a whip, “I am tired of your accusations.”

The intensity of his gaze pinned me in place, and for the first time, I felt…small. I tried to muster the courage to defend myself, but his next words shattered any remaining hope I had.

“You’ll be nothing more than the mother of my child. In fact, you’ll be nothing more than a nanny for Cam,” he said coldly, “Selena will stand in as his mother.”

I stared at him, my breath hitching, my heart breaking. His words cut deeper than any blade ever could. I had thought that maybe, despite everything, Axel would protect me, and would see through Selena’s manipulation. But here he was, pushing me aside, stripping me of my role, of my right as Cam’s mother.

“Over my dead body.”