Chapter 5

All I did was stand there with my heart pounding in my chest and my mind racing. Theo was glaring at me, and I knew that his threat to kill me if I didn’t start talking was not mere bluff.

I hadn’t planned for this moment. No one had prepared me for a confrontation in this manner, least of all at this time. But here I was, with Theo’s piercing eyes locked on me, his lips pressed tight in a line that told me I had crossed a line I shouldn’t have.

“How long, Anaya?” His voice cut through the stillness of the night, low and filled with an edge I had never heard before. “How long have you known about this? And how long did you think you could keep it from me before I would find out?”

I swallowed hard, the words stuck in my throat. I didn’t know what to tell him. From the look of things, I knew that there was no possible explanation I could give that would dissipate his anger.

“You—” I started, my voice trembling as I took a step back. “You know about it. Who… How—”

I stopped talking when I saw his eyes darken, narrowing in on me as if he could see right through me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t hide it when he already knew. Dr. Vance had promised not to tell him about him, but I seemed to have forgotten that there was just one alpha in the pack, and that was where his loyalties lied.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. My mind scrambled for answers, for anything that could explain this impossible situation.

“You seriously believed that I wouldn’t find out about this, Anaya?” His voice was colder now, the edges of it turning sharp. “You think I wouldn’t be told by the members of my own pack that you have confided in with this dirty secret of yours?”

In only a few seconds, Theo was standing in front of me, the future alpha who controlled everything, myself included. I wanted to run, to hide somewhere far away, but I couldn’t. Not anymore.

I opened my mouth again, but before I could say anything, a voice interrupted me.

“Please, Anaya... I... I had to tell him. I’m so sorry.”

I turned my head, and there she was—Clara. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear, but her resolve was clear. She had been the one who told him everything, even after I had told her that I planned to keep it from him for a while.

“Why…?” I trailed off, my voice trembling. I didn’t understand why she would tell him without even letting me know that she would do it.

Clara took a step forward, her hands wringing nervously. “I made a vow. I swore to tell him everything, everything that happened with you.”

Her eyes flicked to Theo, who was watching her now with a dark, almost dangerous intensity. “I never meant for it to go this far, Anaya. I never meant to betray you like this, but I had to. He had to know.”

Theo’s jaw tightened as he glared at her. “What are you apologizing to her for? If anyone committed an act of betrayal, it’s her.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The weight of his words was crushing me, and I had no way of escaping it. I had nobody to blame but myself.

“This is all a big misunderstanding,” I finally said, but I knew that was not enough to bring down the tension that was now suffocating me. “There’s a huge mistake somewhere.”

Theo’s eyes flicked back to Clara. “Leave. Now. Before I lose my patience with you, too.”

Clara looked like she was about to protest, but the alpha’s command was final. She stumbled back a step, fear flashing across her face before she turned and scurried off, leaving me with Theo.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. The wind howled outside as if trying to warn me, and the moonlight washed over us, but neither of us moved.

Theo’s eyes bore into me, and I could feel the weight of his stare like a physical force. “Now, Anaya,” he said, his voice cold and firm, “tell me. How long have you been going behind my back since you got here? And I need the name of the person who did this. Everyone in this pack knows you’re my mate, so I want to know who was bold enough to dare.”

My heart was hammering in my chest as I tried to think of how to explain it to him. There was no simple answer, but he would have to know what the truth was.

“I didn’t—” I started, but I faltered. I didn’t know where to begin. It was all too much. “I didn’t go behind your back with anyone. The child doesn’t have a father. I don’t know how. I have never slept with anyone before.”

Theo’s expression hardened, and I could see the anger building in him. His voice dropped to a low growl. “You think I was born yesterday? Are you listening to yourself? A child doesn’t just appear out of nowhere—”

“And yet it did!” I said in my defense. “I know the last thing you want to do right now is believe me, but it’s the truth. You can consult any doctor, and they’ll tell you that I’m still… I didn’t do anything with anyone. I didn’t want any of this.”

“I don’t know why you’re still lying to my face even with the evidence, but it’s too late now. It doesn’t matter whether or not you tell me who the father of this child is. I’ll find him myself and kill him front of you. All of this will be on your head, and I’ll have you remember that.”

“You will find nobody, Theo,” I said as I shook my head at him. “There’s no use. I’m telling you the—”

“You will bear my heir, Anaya,” Theo said as he interrupted me. “That’s the only way out of this. I can’t have someone like you as my mate, knowing you will turn your back against me whenever you get the chance. You will be nothing but a breeder for me.”

“What?” I asked, my head spinning around his words but I could wrap my mind around it. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll bear my child after this one,” Theo explained, his gaze unrelenting. “And I’ll make sure your pack is taken care of. But you will never leave me. Not now. Not after this. You won’t be my luna, but you’ll do for giving birth to my heir.”

I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. My hands were shaking. I wanted to scream, to argue, to fight against this, but I knew I couldn’t. I had no leverage. I had no power here. Theo was going to be the alpha, and who was I without my parents?

“I have no choice,” I said, the words coming out as a whisper. “Do I?”

Theo didn’t respond immediately. He studied me for a moment, and for a brief moment, I saw something flicker in his eyes. But it was gone before I could read it.

“No, Anaya. You don’t,” he said. “Don’t think about running away from this. Not after what you have done. All I have to do is tell my soldiers and my pack that you’re a traitor, and they’ll be on your heels.”

The tension in the air was palpable. I felt trapped, caught between my past and my future, between a man I barely knew and the world I had known before it all fell apart. I started to wonder when it all fell apart. Was it when my pack members had attacked me, or was it when I agreed to be under Theo’s care?

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Theo stopped at the door and turned to give me a hard look.

“I—Theo of Mooncrest Pack—reject you—Anaya of Silverblood Pack—as my mate. I relieve myself of the mate bond we share, and turn my back on you from today.”