Ten

Yasmin spent the next few weeks moving carefully, quietly, like a shadow in her own life. She avoided crowded areas, steering clear of anyone who might take notice of her. Most of the pack hardly spared her a second glance—an omega without a wolf was invisible, after all—but Yasmin couldn’t risk even the slightest slip. With her secret swelling inside her, every moment felt fragile, like a thin layer of glass separating her and her baby from disaster.

Each day, she took on more work, gathering every scrap of income she could find. Her meager omega earnings were barely enough to cover her basic needs, so she began accepting odd jobs in secret, things no one else wanted to bother with. By dawn, she was scrubbing floors in the packhouses, and by afternoon, she was washing laundry and hanging it to dry in the biting wind. Late at night, after everyone else had gone to bed, she’d steal away to clean and organize storage rooms, her hands raw and red from hours of labor.

On weekends, she