Bella

Weeks passed, and Harry did not come to me and then I realized what he had said that night, he meant it.

He didn't look at me in the halls, didn't acknowledge my presence, didn't pretend we shared anything beyond pack space. It was like that night had been erased for him, sealed off and buried, while it stayed alive inside my chest, pulsing and demanding whether I wanted it or not.

The bond never eased. It stayed tight and constant, a dull ache that flared whenever he was close and burned worse when he wasn't. I learned how to breathe through it, how to keep my face neutral, how to function while carrying something that heavy alone.

Brianna was everywhere again.

She walked beside him during meetings, laughed with him at gatherings, touched his arm like it was already hers. People watched them and nodded like the future was still on schedule, but then, what could I do? Nothing but go get back to work.

~

Rogue activity picked up near the borders, and everyone was affected. Guards doubled shifts, patrols stretched wider, supply runs were rushed and tense. I was assigned to help with one of them, moving food and medicine to an outer post before nightfall.

One moment we were loading crates, the next there was shouting, metal clashing, bodies moving too quickly to track. A rogue broke through the trees, his eyes wild, his focus locked on the group ahead of me.

I didn't think and acted immediately.

I grabbed the closest thing I could and threw it hard enough to draw his attention, yelling for the others to run. They hesitated for half a second, then moved, and that half second cost me.

The rogue turned on me with a snarl, his strike sharp and brutal. Pain exploded through my side, warm and wet, and I stumbled back, barely staying upright. Another hit sent me to the ground, the world tilting as I tried to crawl away.

Backup arrived before it got worse.

Hands grabbed me, voices blurred together, and then I was being lifted, rushed, carried through the gates. Blood soaked my clothes, my head spinning and my chest tight with fear, for a moment, I thought I was going to die.

By the time we reached the pack hospital, I was shaking.

They laid me on a bed, lights too bright, hands everywhere, voices urgent but very distant. Someone pressed down on my side, another cleaned the wound, and all I could focus on was one thing.

Harry.

I waited patiently, my eyes focused on the door. I knew I definitely was too stupid, waiting like he could rush in with a worried look on his face and be concerned.

I waited and waited, praying silently he was going to come look after me.

"I'm so stupid," I laughed sadly. Yes, I was really so stupid to think the Alpha, who never even thought that might together meant something was going to care for me.

Time blurred and pain came and went in waves. At some point, the bleeding slowed, and the room quieted. I lay there staring at the ceiling, exhausted and empty.

Still exhausted, I knew I couldn't afford to stay here, especially as an omega. Omega weren't always treated right and even if you were sick. Omega's death wasn't so important.

That was when I spotted Harry.

Not coming toward me.

Sitting across the room.

Harry was beside another bed, his body angled protectively, his hand wrapped around Brianna's like she was something fragile. She was talking, her voice soft and annoyed, gesturing at a small cut on her arm.

He listened, nodded at everything she was saying and stayed right next to her. Anger flared up my chest, not because I was jealous, I never even cared about them being together but because he really knew I was here and badly injured and didn't even try checking up.

I watched from my bed, my body heavy, my chest hollowing out in real time.

He didn't even look my way.

Not once.

That was the moment something inside me went quiet.

I turned my face away and stared at the wall, letting the truth settle without fighting it. Whatever I had hoped for, whatever part of me still waited, it ended there.

~ 

When I was discharged days later, because I was forced to wait behind no matter what. The pack wouldn't want to be rumoured about an omega being dead after saving the pack. I walked out alone.

Recovery was slow. The wound healed, but the exhaustion stayed. I felt wrong in ways I couldn't explain, dizzy sometimes, nauseous at odd hours, my body out of sync with itself.

Dr. Moore noticed. He had informed me to come to the Pack hospital twice a week for a month before I get completely healed and he was the only one in the pack that was family to me because before my parents passed away, they were all close.

He ran tests quietly, asked gentle questions, watched my reactions more than my answers. When he came back with the results, his face was already tight.

"Bella," he said carefully, closing the door behind him, "you're pregnant."

The room went still.

I stared at him, my mind refusing to connect the word to anything real. Pregnant meant future. Pregnant meant consequences. Pregnant meant I was no longer invisible.

"I need you to listen to me," he continued, lowering his voice. "This is not going to be easy but you have to be strong,"

"Does he know?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Dr. Moore was the only person I told I had sex with the Alpha and yes, he was so pissed I had gotten so reckless but after learning about the mate bond, everything got complicated.

"No," he said. "Alpha Darien does."

My hands curled into fists at my sides. "What?! How...how does he know,"

Dr. Moore hesitated. "The Alpha knows his own son and he had seen you two, he tried to stop what was going on but sadly couldn't and that's the main reason I was asked to check up on you to actual find out if the result was you getting pregnant."