My mate Theo's puppy love, Elena, and I both got pregnant at the same time.

To protect Elena's reputation, he claimed her child as his and made my child, who was actually his, illegitimate.

When I confronted him, he said,

‘Elena doesn’t have a mate yet. If the Wolf Council finds out she’s pregnant out of wedlock, she’ll be banished from the Black Rose Pack! I have to help her!’

Later, while Theo accompanied Elena overseas to give birth, his parents forced me to have an abortion. By the time he returned, I had disappeared.

Aria POV

When I was at the pack clinic for a pregnancy checkup, I found my mate, Theo, with his first love, Elena.

“Theo, feel it, our baby is moving,” Elena said excitedly.

Theo pressed his ear to Elena's belly, smiling gently.

When he looked up, his gaze met mine.

“Aria?!” He said in shock. He instantly rushed over to me and grabbed my arm.

“Theo, let me go.” On the verge of breaking down, my voice came shaky.

“Aria, let me explain! Elena’s baby isn’t mine.”

Even though I tried to control it, tears fell uncontrollably from my eyes.

“Aria, please don’t cry. Believe me, I’m loyal to you. Her baby isn’t mine!”

He was about to pull me in his arms, but Elena interrupted him, coming over and looking at him with a pitiful expression.

“Theo, you promised to keep this a secret, you promised to be the father of my child. How can you reveal to her?”

Theo wiped away my tears and turned to Elena.

“Aria is my mate, she has the right to know the truth!”

“Then, in that case, we should tell Aria the whole truth. Let her know that for our reputation, the baby in her belly has to be considered an illegitimate child for now!” Elena said with a smug smile.

“What?!” Confusion and anger instantly replaced my sadness.

“What does she mean by that?” I demanded Theo.

“Sorry, Aria...” Theo stammered.

“Elena doesn’t have a mate yet. If the Wolf Council finds out she’s pregnant out of wedlock, they’ll expel her from the Black Rose Pack! I have to help her!”

“Then what about our child!” I screamed. “Are you going to abandon our own baby just to be a father to hers?”

“Calm down and listen to me, Aria!” Theo hugged me tightly. “I’m the heir to the Black Rose Pack’s Alpha position. If the werewolf council finds out I’ve been cheating and got two women pregnant, they could strip me of my Alpha inheritance.”

“So, you’re going to sacrifice my reputation and tell everyone my child is illegitimate?” I struggled to break free from his embrace.

“Aria, I’ve always been loyal to you! Can’t you make a little sacrifice for me and Elena? I promise, once I inherit the Alpha position, I’ll mark you and make you Luna! Our child won’t be illegitimate forever.”

I shook my head and smiled bitterly. “If you had truly loved me, Theo, you wouldn’t have put my reputation at stake. You would have protected it. Ever since Theo discovered I was his mate, he broke up with Elena.

Though we’ve been together for two years, he still hasn’t marked me.

I should have known by now he’s always loved Elena.

Our argument attracted a crowd of onlookers.

“I’ll take you home,” Theo said, putting his arm around my shoulder as he walked me out.

Elena followed and boldly sat in the front passenger seat.

I noticed a fox fur cushion on the backrest of the passenger seat.

“Theo specially prepared this for me, so I wouldn’t be uncomfortable sitting in the car,” Elena boasted.

“Stop talking nonsense!” Theo glared at Elena.

“Don’t scold me, our baby might get scared!” Elena pouted.

Theo actually believed Elena’s poor acting. He nervously touched her small belly and softened his voice.

“It’s only a three-month-old fetus, how could it be scared, Elena?”

I silently watched their interaction and gently closed the car door.

On the way, Theo kept trying to explain to me,

“Aria, Elena’s father is my father’s Beta, and he’s always been strict with Elena. If I don’t say this baby is mine, her father will force her to have an abortion! Elena wants to keep this baby, we have to help her!”

“Then go ahead and have the abortion! Why should my mate be the father of her child?” I said in sarcasm, my eyes looking out the window.

“You...” Elena cried in frustration.

Theo hurriedly comforted her, “No, Elena. Don’t be sad. I promise you I’ll protect you and the baby, so I will. ”

Theo then looked at me through the rear mirror, scolding me.

“Aria, how can you be so cruel? Two years ago, I hurt Elena for you. This time, I can’t ignore it.”

Cruel? I didn't expect that this was Theo's evaluation of me.

I hastily wiped a streak of tears that trickled down my face and took a deep breath.

"Then just have the baby in my belly aborted."

"No." Theo slammed on the brakes, stopping the car at the roadside. He then turned to me with raging eyes.

"Are you crazy? How could you even think of it. I won’t let go of either your or Elena's child. Period."

Several werewolf warriors appeared around our house the next day, and Theo locked me in my room.

He confiscated my phone, cutting me off from the outside world.

One morning, I woke up to the noise downstairs.

When I went downstairs, I saw Aria and her mother standing at the door, directing workers to move luggage into the house.

As soon as Aria's mother saw me, she sneered, "Some people really have no shame, getting pregnant with a bastard child and still have the audacity to live with Theo."

She then hugged Aria’s shoulders. "You’re such a fool, you've suffered so much for Theo! Theo still hasn't rejected that cheap woman!"

"Mom, stop talking about it. This was all my choice!" Elena lowered her head, pretending to be pitiful.

And as Elena's mother took the luggage upstairs, Elena threw a mocking smile at me.

"So what if you're Theo's mate? So what if my child isn’t his? My place in his heart is way higher than you. "

I glared at her for a while and slapped her hard across the face.

Elena palmed her reddened cheek, squeezing out some tears, and looked into the distance.

"Aria, why are you treating me like this? I'm not trying to steal Theo from you." She cried pretentiously.

"Aria!” Theo’s voice echoed from behind. “What did you do to Elena?!"

I turned my head to see Theo infuriated.

So she put up an act for him!!

Elena cried louder, drawing her mother’s attention, too. Her mother glared at me fiercely.

"This woman cheated on you. She got pregnant with another man’s child. Why haven’t you rejected her yet? She questioned Theo.

“Theo, as long as she’s here, my Elena won’t be safe! If you don’t kick her out, I’m taking Elena home!"

“Yes, Theo. Mom is right!”

Elena threw herself in Theo's arms, crying, and gave me a subtle smile.

Theo stayed silent for a long time. Just when Elena thought her plan was succeeding, he gently pushed her away and walked to my side.

"If you want, you can take Elena home, but I won’t ask my mate to leave. "

Elena looked at us in utter shock and stormed off.

“You have hurt my child, Theo.” Her mother snapped. “This is not done. She is bearing your child. She needed to be feel loved. Now, I request you to at least make up to her by giving the best room.”

Theo looked at me and I understood he was asking for one for sacrifice.

I was instantly shifted to the small room on the first floor.

Theo said it was for the sake of Elena’s child and it’s just a matter of a few months.

"Don’t worry, I’m just trying to temporarily appease Elena and her mother. I’ll give you back a proper room soon." He had said when I shifted.

I didn't argue. Honestly, I no longer cared where I stayed. I already had another plan in mind.

Every single day, I was thinking about how to escape from here.

I even planned to have Elena help me. To my surprise, the one person most wanted me to leave, Theo refused to help.

"Aria, since Theo doesn’t want you to leave, how could I help you? You really don’t understand the bond between him and me. We grew up together and we have an unbreakable trust."

At that moment, I saw a trace of determination and seriousness in Elena's eyes.

Maybe I was wrong.

Theo and Elena had a kind of trust that no outsider could break.

Every day after Theo came home, he would tell bedtime stories to the child in Elena’s belly.

By the time he came into my room, it used to be almost 11 p.m. So, I pretended to be asleep.

The room I stayed in was almost like a servant’s quarters.

Elena occupied all the rooms in the house–One, for her child, another for her music practice, and the rest, for storing her things.

Eventually, Theo started sleeping in her room to care for her, but one night, he stood by the bedside and shook my shoulder.

"Are you asleep?" He asked in a soft voice.

When I didn’t respond, he continued, "I know you’re not asleep."

I turned to my right, facing away from him. "What do you want?"

"Aria, do you really hate me this much now? Do you really not trust my love for you?" His voice was laced with pain.

I felt bad for him, but I quickly brushed off that emotion. He didn’t deserve any sympathy.

“After everything you’ve done to me, how can you expect me to believe you?” I silently shed a few tears but made sure not to show him.

"Don’t worry, still I will carry our child to term. But you should know that locking me here is not good for our child. Let me breathe fresh air, give my phone back and let me talk to my mother. I too want my mother to pour my heart out.”

Theo slipped behind me and pulled me into his arms.

"Alright, as long as you’re at ease and resting, I’ll let you do whatever you want." He said, his tone tinged with a bit of excitement.

I am an Omega without a father, relying solely on my mother since childhood.

Apart from my mother, I didn’t have any friends. Also, my mother had no family left behind.

When Theo discovered I was his mate, his parents were dismissive of my bloodline and status.

But Theo firmly chose me, making me believe that our mate bond could overcome everything.

I felt loved like never before, but that spark faded with time.

That night, Theo stayed with me and I didn’t refuse. Although, the lingering scent of Elena’s roses on him made me nauseous.

The next morning, he was in a good mood. As he woke up, he kissed my forehead.

"The two most important women in my life can finally get along.I’m really grateful to you, Aria. I promise I’ll make it up to you in the future!"

After breakfast, he even returned my phone and allowed me to walk outside the villa in the company of werewolf warriors.

And the first thing I did was dialed my mother’s number.

Theo didn’t know that my mother had found her second chance mate this year.

We, mother and daughter, were no longer alone,, and with her help, I will soon be leaving this place.

In the following months, I tried to coexist peacefully with Elena.

She had Theo hire a private nutritionist and fitness trainer for her. Whereas I had nothing, and I didn’t even feel provoked by her flaunting it.

But even with all the experts taking care of her, by the eighth month of her pregnancy, Elena experienced an abnormal fetal position.

The doctor at the Pack clinic said she had to go to the largest werewolf hospital for proper care, or it could be dangerous.

Theo immediately packed his bags to take Elena away.

I curled up in the corner of the bedroom, my hands resting on my protruding belly, feeling an unprecedented weakness.

"You shouldn’t keep pretending to be strong." My wolf’s voice was low, "Our mate bond is breaking. If he leaves with Elena, we might not survive."

“No, we will! We have to endure this alone.”

Before he left, Theo glanced at me, his face full of exhaustion, but there was also a little warm care.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Not wanting to give away any signs of weakness, I preferred not to answer.

"Aria, I’ll be back to you before our child is born. Elena’s situation is urgent. When I return, I’ll be with you 24/7. "

I wanted to stand up and tell him that I needed him, too, that both I and my baby needed care. But my ego got the better of me, so I forced a smile and nodded.

Theo stared at me, somewhat surprised. He probably didn’t expect me to let him leave so easily.

He didn’t move until Elena called him. He then slowly took his gaze off me.

But as he was about to step out, he suddenly came running to me and held me tightly in his arms. His tone was more frantic than ever.

"I’m not leaving you, okay? I’ll have my Beta accompany you.He will stay here to take care of you."

My heart skipped a beat. I felt loved again, but I again shook off those feel-good emotions.

"You should go with Elena. If anything happens to her child, you’ll feel guilty for the rest of your life." I whispered.

In truth, what I wanted to say was If anything happens to Elena’s child, you’ll blame me for the rest of your life.

Theo slowly loosened his grip on me and walked away towards Elena.

Just as Theo was about to get in the car, a maid called out to him.

"Sir, please let Miss Aria move back to her original room. The room she’s in now is too damp, it’s not good for the baby."

Before Theo could answer, Elena said, "That won’t do! I’ll be moving back soon. How can she take my room?"

"I don’t want to move back," I told Theo. His face instantly lit up with a warm smile.

"I’ll buy you a new house when I return. I’m sorry for making you suffer for a few days."

With that, he got in the car and drove away with Elena.