The drive back to the Pack House was a blur of nausea and suppressed rage. When we arrived at the sprawling estate, the sun was setting, casting long, blood-red shadows across the lawn.

I reached for the door handle, but Theo was already out, rushing to the passenger side to help Elena. She leaned heavily on him, whispering gratitude, while I dragged myself out of the back seat.

We walked into the grand foyer. The pack members who worked in the house-maids, guards, cooks-stopped and stared. It was highly irregular for an Alpha to bring another pregnant woman home while his Mate walked behind him.

"Prepare the guest suite," I told the head housekeeper, Martha. My voice was steady, despite the shaking of my hands.

"No," Theo interrupted. His voice boomed off the marble floors. "Elena will take the Master Suite. She needs the most comfortable bed."

The Master Suite. The Luna Suite. My room.

"Theo," I warned, stepping forward. "That is our room. That is where I sleep. That is where your scent is strongest."

"And that is why she needs it!" Theo turned on me, his face twisted with a mix of guilt and stubbornness. *"The doctor said her stress levels are critical. My scent stabilizes her wolf. Stop being petty, Aria."*

*"Petty?" I stared at him. "You're evicting your pregnant wife for a mistress."*

"And where am I supposed to sleep?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Elena spoke up then, clutching her belly. "The doctor said I need quiet. Maybe... maybe Aria shouldn't be on the same floor? Her wolf seems so angry. I'm afraid she might hurt my baby."

"My wolf has never hurt a soul!" I shouted. The accusation was absurd.

Elena flinched, burying her face in Theo's chest. "See? She's yelling. It's terrifying."

"Enough!" Theo roared. The power of his Alpha Command slammed into me like a physical wall. My knees buckled, and I fell to the hard floor. "Aria, you will not threaten my guest."

I gasped for air, unable to stand. The command forced my muscles to lock. This was the ultimate betrayal. Using the Alpha's authority to force your Mate into submission was considered barbaric.

"Take her things to the first-floor servant's quarters," Theo ordered Martha, refusing to look at me. "The room at the end of the hall. It's quiet there."

The servant's quarters. The damp, drafty rooms near the laundry.

"Theo, please," I begged, the Command lifting slightly so I could speak. "It's cold down there. It's not good for our baby."

"It is temporary," he muttered, leading Elena up the grand staircase. "Just until Elena is stable. Don't be so selfish, Aria."

I watched them ascend. Elena glanced back over her shoulder. A small, triumphant smile played on her lips. She had won.

Martha helped me up, her eyes full of pity. "I'm so sorry, Luna," she whispered.

"Don't call me that," I said, pulling my arm away. "A Luna commands respect. I clearly have none."

That night, the servant's room was freezing. The heating vents didn't reach this part of the house. I curled up on the narrow, lumpy mattress, wrapping my arms around my belly. The air smelled of bleach and mold.

I could smell them. Even three floors down, my enhanced senses picked up the scent of Theo's musk mixing with Elena's vanilla. They were in my bed.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. *It was a reply from my mother.*

*James is assembling the War Guard. We are coming. Sit tight, baby. Do not engage.*

*Before I could reply, the door creaked open.* Theo stood there, silhouetted by the hallway light. He stepped inside, closing the door.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked awkwardly.

I sat up, pulling the thin blanket tighter. "It's freezing, Theo. There is mold on the ceiling."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. It's just for a few weeks. Elena is... she's very fragile."

He took a step toward me, reaching out to touch my cheek. As he got closer, the smell hit me.

He smelled like her. He smelled like sex and vanilla.

My stomach heaved. A violent wave of nausea rolled over me. My body, my wolf, and my baby were rejecting him.

"Don't," I gagged, scrambling back against the wall. "You smell like her. It makes me sick."

Theo froze, his hand dropping. His face hardened. "I am trying to make peace, Aria. I am trying to do the right thing. Why do you have to make this so difficult?"

"Give me my phone," I said, clutching the device to my chest.

He saw the phone in my hand. His eyes narrowed. "You aren't telling them anything. If James finds out, he will declare war. Do you want that on your conscience? A war between packs because you couldn't share a bedroom for a few weeks?"

He snatched the phone from my hand.

"Hey!" I lunged for it, but he was faster.

"You can have this back when you learn to behave," he said coldly. He turned and walked out, locking the door from the outside.

I was a prisoner in my own home. *But at least the message had been sent. Now, I just had to survive until they got here.*

Three days passed in that damp cell. I was fed, but only when Martha could sneak a tray past the guards. The dampness was seeping into my bones, making my joints ache.

I spent the time meditating, trying to reach the wolf inside me. She was usually a quiet presence, a shadow in the back of my mind. But now, she was pacing. She was agitated.

*He is leaving,* she whispered to me on the morning of the fourth day.

I scrambled to the small, barred window that looked out onto the driveway.

A convoy of SUVs was idling in the driveway. Servants were loading suitcases-Elena's suitcases.

The door to my room unlocked. It wasn't Theo. It was the Pack Doctor, a weaselly man named Dr. Evans who had always been too eager to please the highest bidder.

"The Alpha requested I check on you before he departs," Dr. Evans said, not meeting my eyes.

"Departs?" I stood up, ignoring the dizziness that swayed me. "Where is he going?"

"Miss Elena... she has a condition," the doctor lied smoothly. I could smell the deception on him; it smelled like sour milk. "The baby is in a breech position. Very dangerous. She requires surgery at the human hospital in the city. It is the best facility in the state."

"That hospital is four hours away," I said. "And my due date is in two weeks."

"You are perfectly healthy, Luna Aria," he said dismissively. "The Alpha will return in a few days."

I pushed past him. I had to stop him.

I ran through the hallways, my bare feet slapping against the cold tile. I burst out the front door just as Theo was getting into the driver's seat of the lead car.

"Theo!" I screamed.

He froze, one foot inside the car. He looked back at me. I must have looked terrible-my hair matted, my dress wrinkled, dark circles under my eyes.

"Aria?" He stepped back out. "What are you doing out here?"

"You're leaving?" I walked down the steps, ignoring the stares of his warriors. "You're leaving your Mate weeks before she gives birth? To drive your ex-girlfriend to the city?"

"It's an emergency," Theo said, but his eyes darted away. "Elena needs special care."

"I need you!" I cried out. The desperation was raw. "My wolf is weak, Theo. The bond... it's hurting me. If you leave the territory, the distance will weaken me further. You know the laws of the Mate Bond. An Alpha must be near his pregnant Mate."

It was biology. The father's presence strengthened the mother and the pup. His absence left us vulnerable.

Theo looked at me, and for a second, I saw a flicker of the man I fell in love with. I saw the conflict. His hand twitched, reaching toward me. The Mate Bond was pulling at him, screaming at him to stay, to protect what was his.

"Theo?" Elena's voice drifted from inside the car. She sounded pained. "Oh god, it hurts... Theo, please..."

*The chemical scent of vanilla wafted from the open car door, hitting Theo like a drug.* The conflict in his eyes vanished, replaced by a glassy, compliant mask of duty.

"She needs me more right now, Aria," he said. "You are strong. You always have been."

He turned his back on me.

"If you get in that car," I said, my voice trembling but loud, "don't bother coming back."

He paused, his hand on the door. He didn't look at me. He got in.

The engine roared to life.

I stood there, shivering in the morning breeze, as the convoy pulled away. I focused on the invisible thread that connected our souls. As the distance between us grew, I felt the thread stretch. It grew thinner and thinner.

Usually, this would cause panic. But as I watched his taillights disappear around the bend, I didn't feel panic.

I felt the snap.

It wasn't a full rejection-we hadn't spoken the words. But emotionally, the connection severed. The warmth that usually flowed from him to me was gone.

I was truly alone.

I turned back to the house. The servants were looking at me with a mix of pity and contempt. An abandoned Mate was a bad omen.

"Get back to your room," Theo's mother, the former Luna, stepped out onto the porch. She was a tall, severe woman with silver hair and eyes like flint. She had never liked me. *She considered my quiet wolf a genetic defect.*

"I am going to the kitchen," I said. "I am hungry."

"You are going to your room," she spat. "And you will stay there. We have tolerated your jealousy long enough. Now that my son is gone, I will not have you roaming around causing trouble."

She signaled to two guards. "Escort her."

They grabbed my arms.

"Don't touch me!" I snarled.

But I was weak. The stress, the lack of food, and the distance from my Mate had drained my energy. They dragged me back to the servant's quarters and threw me in.

This time, I heard the heavy slide of a deadbolt.

Two days after Theo left, the pain started. It wasn't labor pains. It was a burning sensation in my gut, like I had swallowed hot coals.

I banged on the door. "Help! Something is wrong!"

No one came.

Hours later, the door finally opened. But it wasn't help.

It was Theo's mother, Lydia, and Elena's mother, a bitter woman named Carol. Behind them stood Theo's father, the former Alpha Marcus.

"Stop your screaming," Lydia snapped, entering the small room. She held a handkerchief over her nose as if I smelled like garbage.

"My baby," I gasped, clutching the wall for support. "I need a doctor."

"There is no baby," Lydia said coldly.

I froze. "What?"

"We know the truth," Marcus grunted, stepping forward. He was a large man, his muscles still thick despite his age. "Theo is too soft. He tried to protect you. But we know what you carry."

"A Rogue's bastard," Carol hissed, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Just like my daughter said. You tried to pin it on Theo, didn't you? You whore."

"No!" I screamed. "It's Theo's! Elena lied! She's the one carrying the Rogue child!"

"Lies!" Lydia stepped forward. She was wearing elegant leather gloves. "My son has pure blood. He would never sire a weakling like the thing inside you. I can smell it, Aria. It smells of rot."

She slapped me.

The pain was blinding. It wasn't just the force of the blow. Her glove... it burned. My skin sizzled where she struck me.

"Silver," I gasped, falling to my knees. She had woven silver dust into the leather. For a wolf, silver is poison. It disrupts our healing and causes agony.

"We are cleansing the pack," Marcus declared. "We cannot allow a Rogue spawn to be born on our land."

"Get her up," Lydia ordered.

Two warriors I didn't recognize rushed in. They grabbed me by my hair and arms, dragging me across the rough floor.

"No! Please!" I fought, kicking and scratching. "You're killing him! You're killing your grandson!"

"It is an abomination!" Marcus kicked me in the ribs.

I heard a crack. White hot pain exploded in my side. I screamed, a sound that tore my throat raw.

They dragged me out of the house, into the courtyard. It was raining. The cold water mixed with the blood running down my face.

"Throw her beyond the border," Lydia commanded. "Let her die in the woods with the other Rogues."

They dragged me toward the iron gates. My vision was blurring. The pain in my stomach was unbearable. I could feel the life inside me fading, the tiny heartbeat slowing down.

*Mama...* a faint, tiny voice echoed in my mind. It was my pup. He was dying.

*No, stay with me!* I mentally screamed. *Hold on!*

The guards threw me onto the asphalt just outside the pack gates. I landed hard on my stomach.

"And don't come back," Marcus spat, standing on the other side of the bars.

Darkness was closing in. The rain pounded against my back. I was going to die here. My baby was going to die here.

*I had sent the message days ago. Had it failed? Had James abandoned me too?*

Then, the ground shook.

It wasn't thunder. It was the sound of engines. Dozens of them.

Roaring down the highway, a fleet of armored vehicles screeched to a halt. *They had torn through three state lines to get here.* The lead car, a massive military-grade truck, smashed straight through the iron gates of the Black Rose Pack, sending metal flying.

Marcus and Lydia stumbled back in terror.

A figure leaped from the truck before it even stopped moving. He was a giant of a man, radiating an aura so powerful it felt like the sun had descended to earth. His eyes were glowing a furious, molten gold.

Alpha King James.

He didn't look at the guards. He didn't look at Theo's parents. He ran straight to me, falling to his knees in the mud.

"Aria!" His voice was a roar of pure panic. He scooped me up into his arms, ignoring the blood and mud.

"Dad..." I whispered, the word slipping out. I had never called him that before.

"I'm here," he growled, tears streaming down his face. *"The storm delayed the choppers. I drove. I drove as fast as I could."* He looked up at Marcus, and the killing intent that exploded from him made the former Alpha drop to his knees, forced down by the sheer weight of James's power.

"If she dies," James bellowed, his voice shaking the very foundations of the Pack House, "I will slaughter every single one of you!"

I looked up at his face one last time. Then, the pain became too much, and the world went black.