Perry glared at Sarah, fists clenched tight on her thighs. "What did you just call me?"

"I said, Mrs. Pierce," Sarah repeated smugly, leaning in like a snake ready to strike. She studied Perry's face with exaggerated interest. "You look terrible. Was alpha Tom a little too rough with you last night? I mean, sure, you guys just mated, but even so... he totally wrecked you, didn't he?"

Perry's jaw tensed. She shot to her feet and, in one swift motion, grabbed Sarah's throat with both hands before slapping her hard across the face with her right hand. A loud crack echoed as Sarah let out a shriek, red marks quickly blooming on her cheek.

"Watch your mouth!" Perry snapped, eyes flaming. "And don't ever call me that again!"

Sarah froze for a second, then slapped Perry's hands away while covering her stinging face. Her gaze turned poisonous. "You bitch! You backward freak! How dare you hit me?!"

"I damn well did." Perry sneered. "How's it feel?"

"You're dead!" Sarah exploded, lifting her hand to strike back. But Perry twisted, grabbed her wrist tightly, and flung her aside. Sarah stumbled awkwardly, yelping from the sharp pain.

Fury rolled off Sarah like a wave-her rage was boiling over. For a second, it looked like she was about to shift into her wolf form and go straight for Perry's throat. Perry stood rigid, ready to go head-to-head with her.

"What the hell is going on?! Stop this, right now!"

Francis's voice cut through the tension as he strode in, snapping his phone shut. The raw alpha pressure coming from him made Sarah flinch and retreat behind him.

Perry rolled her eyes in disgust. Francis's glare locked onto her. "Perry, you're her big sister-how could you hit Sarah like that? She just said a few words and you come at her like this?"

"You're all seriously sick." Perry let out a cold laugh and turned to leave before she lost it even more.

But Francis wasn't letting her go that easy-he followed close behind. "Perry! Look, fine, I'll drop what happened with Sarah. But you need to tell me-what did you say to Alpha Tom? He doesn't want to work with me anymore!"

"Not my problem," Perry said sharply. "I don't even know him like that."

"I heard he came to speak with you-" Francis growled.

"You mean when he kidnapped me? That?" Perry's face twisted in disgust. "Francis, the Ashen Pack has nothing to do with me. Whatever mess you're in, deal with it yourself. The stupid alliance thing is between you and Pierce, not me."

Francis opened his mouth to argue again, but Sarah stormed up and planted herself by his side, shooting daggers at Perry. "You should be grateful you're even alive-that's my dad's mercy. He gave you to Tom Pierce, and if Tom wanted you dead, Dad could've let that happen."

Perry met her stare with burning hatred and then turned that same look on Francis. "You sold me to him for a handful of deltas. That's all it took for you to give me away. I owe you nothing, Francis. As of today, we're done. I'm not your daughter. Don't ever pretend you're my father again."

"You?" Sarah screamed, nearly losing it. "You don't get to say that! You belong to the Ashen Pack-you owe us! If you still know your place, you better get Tom Pierce to agree, or I'll tell everyone he slept with you!"

Tom Pierce had such a trash reputation when it came to relationships that even the most reckless she-wolves avoided him like the plague.

Hearing that, Perry boiled with anger, but then it hit her-Sarah had actually slept with him that night. She shot a disgusted look at her sister, eyeing her up and down for any signs of illness, but oddly enough, nothing seemed off. Was it possible Sarah hadn't shown symptoms yet?

Clueless about Perry's gaze, Sarah kept taunting with a smug look. "Scared now, huh?"

"Oh my god, Perry! Why didn't you run when you saw a nutcase coming your way?" Gina suddenly rushed over, throwing an arm around Perry's shoulders as she stood firm by her side. "Come on, don't waste time on idiots."

The rage boiling inside Perry cooled instantly. She looked over gratefully, and Gina gave her a cheeky wink. Sarah, caught off guard, instantly turned sour. "Who are you calling an idiot?!"

"If the shoe fits..." Gina shot back without hesitation, rolling her eyes hard.

"You-ugh!" Sarah nearly shrieked. "Gina Layton! We're honorable guests at the Crown Regent Hotel! No wolf here has ever disrespected us like you! Do you really want to start beef with the Ashen Pack?"

Gina scoffed. "Like I'm supposed to be scared of you? Spoiler alert: rude wolves aren't welcome here."

Her pack's businesses didn't need a handful of guests like Sarah and her crew, so Gina couldn't care less about the threats. With that, she grabbed Perry and walked straight to the elevator. As the doors slid shut, Sarah's yelling was cut off mid-curse.

Once they were alone, Gina turned to Perry, looking relaxed but curious. "She still looks annoyingly energetic. Don't tell me Pierce's infection missed her? Ugh, I was so ready to roast her for that."

"I don't know either." Perry shook her head, confused. "Maybe it's just taking time to show."

Gina shrugged it off. Either way, Sarah's downfall was coming sooner or later. She grinned. "We don't need to stress about her. When that disease hits, she's gonna wish she kept her mouth shut. Karma's a beast, right?"

Perry thought about Sarah's arrogant attitude, and about her and Francis's disgusting schemes. All she felt was satisfaction, no pity. But neither of them knew Mara was the one who actually got infected.

A few days later, Perry made one last trip to the Bloodmoon Pack for Benjamin's final treatment.

Holding Benjamin's hand gently, she smiled warmly at him. "Mr. Scott, your body's almost fully recovered now. But you still need to stick with the meds, okay?"

Benjamin looked up at her, that lovely pale face-he never got tired of looking at her. In his eyes, she was the most breathtaking she-wolf he'd ever seen. Those clear, soft eyes of hers felt like springwater, pure and calming.

She made his heart race. Whenever she busied herself with his treatment, he felt both grateful and guilty. "Thank you, Miss Lake. Please, just call me Benjamin."

Perry blinked in surprise, then gave him a playful smile. Her voice was soft and teasing-it made his heartbeat go wild. "Alright, Benjamin. You can call me Perry too. Now get some rest."

She straightened her clothes, stood up, and turned to leave. Benjamin watched her back disappear with a sudden sadness in his chest. Before he could stop himself, he called out, "Perry! Will you come back tomorrow?"

She turned, surprised. The handsome wolf sat on the bed, those moody eyes filled with reluctant longing. Meeting his gaze, she gave a gentle, soothing smile. "Of course."

"Great," Benjamin said, lighting up with a smile. His cheeks flushed slightly. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Perry felt a sudden tightness in her chest. She nodded quickly and walked off without looking back.

After handing the new formula to the healer inside, she stepped out of the hospital. The midday sun was a bit too intense, and Perry lifted her hand to block the light as she squinted against it. Out of nowhere, her lower abdomen clenched with a sharp ache.

Sweat instantly broke out on her forehead. She gasped for air, her heart racing uncontrollably. Her vision blurred, and she sank to the ground, clutching at her chest. The world went black as she lost consciousness.

"Miss Lake!" That was the last thing she heard-Miles' panicked voice ringing in her ears.

Miles had just reached the entrance when he saw her collapse. He rushed over and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her swiftly into an empty ward. When Perry finally woke up, a few healers were standing nearby.

"Glad you're awake, Miss Lake," said Miles, his voice sounding a little off.

Holding her head, Perry slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She had no clue what had just happened and guessed her exhaustion was just from overworking herself on Benjamin's case. "Did I just faint? Sorry... I must've scared you."

"It's alright. But... there's something important you need to hear." Miles exhaled deeply, the weight of his words obvious.

Perry stared at him, confused. "What is it?"

He gestured for the others to leave before turning to meet her gaze seriously.

"Miss Lake, did you know you're pregnant?"

It felt like the ground vanished underneath her. A cold dread squeezed her stomach. For what felt like forever, she couldn't speak. Then a raspy, barely-there voice escaped her lips. "What... did you just say?"

Miles shot her a sympathetic look. He could tell she hadn't had a clue. She didn't even have a mate, and now she was pregnant. For a single female werewolf, that was complicated, to say the least.

"You're pregnant. It's still early, which is probably why you hadn't noticed," he explained gently.

Perry felt off-completely off. She'd been pouring all her energy into Benjamin's treatment and hadn't paid attention to her own health. She just thought the fatigue came from the blood transfusions.

After a pause, she looked up sharply, nervous. "Does... anyone else know?"

"Relax. Just me," Miles assured her. "Do you want me to find your boyfriend?"

"I don't have one." Perry shook her head, biting her lip as she placed a hand on her belly. A tiny life was growing inside her, and she didn't even know who the alpha was that night. How was she supposed to find him?

Miles looked taken aback. He stared at her, clearly shocked. "Oh... then is there anything I can do?"

"Just... please don't tell anyone else," she whispered. Her voice was faint, her face pale. "No one can know."

Miles frowned, clearly uneasy with the idea, but finally nodded. "Alright. But you need to take it easy now. No more treating Mr. Scott."

"I get it... but I can't stop now." Perry sighed heavily. "If I quit, everything I did before is wasted."

"There might be other ways. You're pregnant-you shouldn't be exhausting yourself."

"Benjamin isn't just your patient. He's mine too," Perry said firmly. "I have to see this through."

Miles raised his hands in surrender. He knew better than to argue with her when she made up her mind.

She closed her eyes and lay back down, but her thoughts were a chaotic mess. That night kept replaying in her head.

This sudden pregnancy had hit her hard.

What was she supposed to do now?

After spending the whole afternoon resting at the hospital, Perry dragged her tired body back to the hotel just before dusk. Every step felt heavy; she looked completely drained. The truth was-she wasn't ready for any of this. A baby? She hadn't even figured out her own life yet.

Clutching her mouth, she suddenly doubled over as another wave of nausea hit her. She dry-heaved right there in the lobby. Gina, just off work, happened to catch sight of her and rushed over in alarm. She wrapped her arms around Perry's trembling frame.

"Babe, what's going on? Talk to me, are you okay?"

Perry gritted her teeth and let out a faint whisper. Her voice was barely audible. "I'm just... starving. Can we grab something to eat first?"

Worried sick, Gina guided her to the hotel restaurant and poured her a glass of water. "Now spill-what's really up?"

Perry's eyes brimmed with tears, her expression sinking into sadness. "Gina, I... I'm pregnant. What am I supposed to do?"

"What?!" Gina nearly dropped her glass. Her hand flew to her mouth, overwhelmed. "Wait-no way. This has to be from that night, right? But we still don't know who that asshole even is! What are we gonna do?"

Perry's face showed raw panic. She said nothing at first, then barely managed, "I honestly have no clue."

Gina shot her a look-worried, furious. "Perry, we need to track him down. He deserves to know!"

She banged her fist on the table, eyes fierce with frustration. Perry, meanwhile, gave a helpless shake of her head, exhausted and bitter. That hollow pressure in her chest made every breath feel like a chore.

"And then what?" she muttered. "Force him to admit it's his? Act like we're meant to be mates and play house together?"

Gina didn't budge, locking eyes with her. "You at least need to know who he is, Perry. Leave the rest to me-I'm going to figure this out."

Perry didn't have the heart to argue. She gave a tiny nod, distracted, and flipped open the menu.

"Let's just eat something first, Gina, I'm really hungry."

The meal was quick and tense. Afterward, Gina brought her down to the hotel's security room. Perry's chest tightened as the door clicked shut. Her breathing turned shallow-part of her needed the truth, but another part wanted to run from it. What if the answer broke her?

Her mind rewound back to that night-it was all shadows and heat and him. His hands, his body-it all felt so painfully real. She hadn't really seen his face... but now that she thought about it, the build, the feel... he reminded her of Richard.

Could it really be him? That thought sent little jolts through her, nerves firing everywhere.

Gina was all business as she told Riley, the guy in charge, to pull up the hallway footage from that night. But after combing through countless files, that day's videos were mysteriously gone. Gina narrowed her eyes and frowned.

"Why's this the only day that's missing?"

Riley looked super awkward. "Maybe there was a system glitch... I can't recover it."

"What the hell are you guys even doing? You can't even get this right?" Gina snapped, clearly pissed off. She took a deep breath, then turned to Perry with a concerned look. "Sweetie, do you think you can recover it?"

Perry sat quietly in front of the computer, not saying a word. A few years back, she'd picked up some hacking skills from a guy she knew-she was a fast learner, and recovering a video file like this wasn't really tough for her.

Still, she hesitated. What if, once that video was played, she saw an alpha who already had a mate?

Gina, more desperate than Perry to find out the truth about that night, had kicked Riley out so they'd have the room to themselves. She sat next to Perry, her voice gentle. "I know it's hard, but you can't keep running from this."

Perry rubbed her nose, clearly flustered. Then she nodded, her tone firm. "You're right. No matter what it is, I need to face it."

It didn't take her long to recover the footage. Gina leaned in, eyes locked on the screen.

"I knew it! Byron totally lied back then," Gina said, trying to stay calm. "Look, Richard went in and never came back out. See? And right after that, it was you who went in. Then there was that female wolf-she walked out after like a minute. Maybe Richard called her, but by then, you were already inside..."

The tension on Perry's face slowly melted into shock. Her stomach twisted, and her thoughts scrambled. "So it really was him. Richard Scott. But... why didn't he say anything?"

"What a jerk alpha," Gina fumed, anger bubbling up. "He slept with you and said nothing. Not even a word after. Then he asks you to help his little brother like it's no big deal. What kind of person does that?"

Perry felt like she'd been stabbed right in the heart. Her mind spun in circles. "He acts like that night never happened. Like I don't matter at all. He chased me, kissed me... then kept getting close to Mara like nothing was wrong."

Tears welled up in Perry's eyes. Her sorrow hit like a wave and just kept crashing down. Her heart felt like it was collapsing in on itself. She clutched her chest and didn't say a word, drowning in despair.

"I can't stand that bastard anymore," Gina exploded, shooting up from her seat. She grabbed Perry's hand and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, we're going to find him. He's got some serious explaining to do. Just 'cause he's an alpha doesn't mean he gets to treat people like this!"

Hidden in the corner, Riley had seen everything. As the girls left, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Belen's number. "Alpha Belen! They got the footage back. They know."

"Damn it!" Belen's voice roared through the speaker. "How the hell did they recover it?!"

His face twisted with fury, he kicked the wall hard enough to shake it. After a few harsh breaths, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Keep your eyes on them. I want to know every move they make next."

"Yeah, yeah, got it," Riley replied with a flattering laugh, but in his head, he was already scheming how to squeeze more out of the deal. Belen had paid him off to erase the security footage from the Crown Regent Hotel-and the money was way too tempting to say no.

Chuck, Gina's alpha dad, had asked about it once, and Riley had thrown Richard under the bus, claiming it was his request. Chuck hadn't thought much of it. Now, he was spinning a new tale-said the system had glitched. No one would suspect a thing.

--

Gina dragged Perry straight to the top floor. They stopped in front of Richard's room and Gina knocked hard, but nothing.

She glanced over at a cleaner nearby. The woman's answer only made her more annoyed. "Alpha Richard hasn't been staying here these past few days. Might not be in today either. Ms. Layton, I can unlock the door for you, there's no one inside."

Gina waved her hand, frustrated, and let out a sigh. "What now? That jerk isn't even here anymore... Wait-he must be at Bloodmoon Pack. Let's go find him!"

She turned to pull Perry along, but Perry shook her off. Gina looked over, surprised, only to see the crushed look on Perry's face. Perry covered her face with her hands. "I don't want to go. What's the point? Just to get humiliated again?"

Her voice cracked, raw and full of pain, and Gina couldn't bring herself to keep pushing. Perry stood there, lost in thought, thinking, "How can I stop him from being with Mara? I can't be some pathetic side chick raising his kid."

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Gina finally reached out and hugged her.

"Did you just change your mind? Weren't we set on making him pay?" Gina said softly. "Don't worry, I've got your back. He's not gonna hurt you."

"That's not it," Perry said weakly. "I just... I don't know how to face him."

"And the baby?" Gina asked, helpless now.

Perry looked down and gently rested her hand on her still-flat stomach. She let out a long sigh. "I don't know."

"You're still so young, Perry... You don't even have a mate yet!"

"I know. But I've made up my mind. I won't hurt my child," Perry said, her voice steady now.

Her eyes held firm resolve, but Gina could still see the pain behind them. "Whatever you decide, I'm with you. If you want to have this baby, I'll help you raise it. We're a team-no one's messing with you, I swear."

Gina looked her right in the eyes, her tone serious and full of certainty. And that made Perry tear up again. Gina's unwavering support made things just a little less unbearable.

"Thanks, Gina."

Now Perry had to start figuring out how to keep her pregnancy under wraps.

The thought itself felt like a brick on her chest. After parting with Gina, she dragged herself back to her room. It was late before she finally managed to fall asleep.

One thing she knew for sure-Richard could never find out.