Daphne's p o v

My fingers trembled over the furniture handle as I listened to the woman's hushed voice coming from my husband's bedroom.

I crept silently inside the closet, my ears perked for any sound. As I stared at the image of my mate and Rosie and listened to the things they said without realizing I was listening, my blood ran cold with shock.

I had been barren for ten years and my mate and husband, Stephen has always been my supporter but as I listened to the things he said now, I realized he has been a trickster all along.

I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from crying out as I watched him and Rosie, my student. My heart raced as I listened to their conversation. They were talking about me and making plans against me. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. It had to do with my baby and my power!!

* *. * *. * *

Nothing brought me genuine happiness more than being the alpha to this wonderful pack. Since I was a child, I dreamed of nothing else but becoming an irreplaceable leader to my pack. Seeing them thrive was all that brought me satisfaction.

This morning, before I heard the conversation between Stephen and Rosie, I was carrying out the usual morning activity with my pack members.

The woods echoed with the excited howls of the wolves as they raced through the underbrush. I was always at the head of the group, my powerful muscles carrying me effortlessly over fallen logs and through dense foliage.

The air was crisp and fresh, and the smell of the petricor and morning dew filled my nostrils.

The morning hunts always made me feel alive and free, and for a moment, all my worries melted away.

The wolves howled joyously behind me as we reached Green Hills- my pack.

But as soon as I stepped into the welcoming parade of the people, something caught my eyes at once.

I saw them- the other wolves, frolicking with their pups. Other mothers clutched their babies on their sides. They looked so happy, so content with their little ones- something I didn't have. My heart sank.

I jumped into the balcony of my bedroom and shifted back to meet Stephen waiting for me with a dress.

As I walked passed the balcony to meet him, I tuned my back to him as he holds the robe for me while I put my hands through them to wear it.

I had always wanted a child of my own, someone to pass my legacy on to. But despite all my power, I had been unable to conceive. The moon goddess knew one thing that I still deeply craved for - a child.

"How was the hunt?" Stephen asked.

"It was fun. You should have come."

"Thrust me I wanted to but I was just tired."

"Yeah. I remember." I lean forward to kiss him. "Hope it has gone down now?"

"Yeah." He walked back to the bed while I tied the rope to hold the robe around my waist.

"Was Rosie around? I am catching her scent."

"Oh. She was here a few minutes ago. She came by to say hi."

"Ok." I sit on the bed and let out a deep sigh, my mind wandering back to those cute little children I had seen earlier.

Stephen seemed to notice my dejected mood immediately and he asked. “What’s wrong, Daphne?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

I sighed. “It’s nothing.” I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice.

But Stephen was not fooled. “Come on, tell me,” he said taking his eyes off his phone.

“I just … I can’t stop thinking about the hunt, this morning” I admitted. “when I arrived, I saw those other mothers with their pups, the way they held them jealously, it just reminded me of what I didn't have”

Stephen sighed and got up. He sits behind me on the bed and wraps his arms around me. “You’re still young, Daphne. We can keep trying and we'll make it work somehow.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can keep trying, Stephen. Every month that goes by without a pregnancy, and the chances getting lower. It just breaks my heart a little more.”

"Soon." He finalized. "We just have to keep trying, ok?"

"Okay." I nod.

Stephen has been loving and supportive but I could see that even he was running out of patience. At some times he couldn't help but get angry at my little mistakes because I was childless but all through, he was still the supportive mate I was grateful for.

I hoped that just as he said, I would be able to carry our child one day.

Just a week after that conversation, Stephen drew me to the hospital claiming he she some good news for me.

As we sat before the doctor, even he was smiling at us. “I have some good news for you both. Your symptoms have finally been completely healed and you can now safely proceed to IVF inorder to conceive a baby.”

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of it. “Really?” I asked, my voice trembling with hope.

"Just like I explained earlier, I would harvest some of your eggs, fertilize them with Stephen’s sperm in a lab, and then implant the fertilized eggs back into your uterus.”

Stephen grasped my hand, his eyes shining with excitement.

"You see, Daphne? I told you it'll work out."

I couldn't believe it. It was roo good to be true.

Immediately, we fixed a date for the surgery. Rosie who was always the supportive maid, cane with us.

And after the success of it, I woke up to feel the mild pain and discomfort in my abdomen. As I touched the part that was covered in plaster, Stephen smiled at me.

"We did it."

Yes we did. I was finally pregnant. I was finally going to have a child I can call mine after six years of childlessness.

Chapter 2

Daphne's p o v

I was repeatedly thankful that I was pregnant at last. Barely after two months, I was beginning to set the cahbge in me. From my behavior to my body, I could feel what it was like to Carey a child.

I woke up feeling sick with Rosie always on my side. I kist my appetite and lost interest in almost anything. I let my beta take over most of my duties for me because I wanted to relax as much as I needed to to make me and my baby healthy.

I was standing in front of my mirror sideways almost every morning to see the growth of my belly.

My wolf would mention my innocent impatience and I would laugh with joy.

After rubbing my belly I decided to take a stroll out of the pack house. As soon as I stepped into the corridor, I was faced with Stephen and Rosie facing each other at a strange distance from the other. They were speaking in hushed tones while Rosie folded her arms.

Immediately they saw me, they both draw away from each other and Stephen calls out to me.

"Daphne, where are you headed?" He is coming to meet me while Rosie still remains where she is.

"I got tired of staying indoor. I just want to take a slow stroll out till I get tired."

"Isn't it safer for you to stay inside?" Rosie quickly asked. "You know stressing yourself want be healthy for the baby at all."

"Thanks for your concern, Rosie but it's alright. I am not intending to walk too far." I say bede walking on.

"Do you sense anything suspicious?" My wolf asked as I draw nearer to the walkway.

"There's really nothing to be suspicious about. They're just talking about the house probably."

I was about five years older than Rosie and had taken her in when I becane the alpha at barely eighteen years. Just like me she had lost her parents and had been a school mate so Stephen suggested it would be nice if me to take her in since we had all of the rooms to spare.

Rosie was hardworking as she took to earning her space in the pack house. I wanted us to be friends but she was straight and bent on serving me instead. So I made her the head of the pack servants where she did a great job by conducting them at their quarters.

One day I was shocked when she suddenly suggested that she should like to become a breeder someday.

The breeders helped other women carry their babies before and after birth through surrogacy. And the fact that she had suddenly mentioned that while Stephen and I were talking about our childlessness shocked me. But brushed it all off. She never spoke of such again.

And now that I was pregnant, I couldn't help but notice how she was becoming more frequent at my quarters.

I could not help but see the way Stephen and Rosie had grown closer over the past few months. They seemed to be spending more and more time together, often huddled together in hushed conversation.

The way she was regularly having discussions with my husband as well always made me suspicious. When I asked Stephen, he would say it had something to do with the quarter management that he didn't want me to worry about it.

But something didnt feel right. My spirit was unsettled and my wolf was always trying to give me hints but I didn't want to start staring up unnecessary assumptions.

My pregnancy should have been a time of joy and celebration, but instead, it was marred by a growing sense of unease.

And Rosie herself had become increasingly clingy, on me as well. Always hovering around me and offering to help with even the smallest tasks.

At first, I had brushed it off as nothing more than an overeager attempt to be helpful. But the more I thought about it, the more my suspicions grew. Why was Rosie so interested in helping me and having a say in anything that had to do with my baby? Why was she so full of anticipation. It was almost like she was more desperate to see the baby than me. Her enthusiasm was becoming irritating.

I decided it was high time I started becoming more watchful.

Not until that evening when I finally got the story. The secret my husband and my acquaintance were both hiding from me.

That evening I was supposed to be away at the meeting then I remembered I hadn't taken my lips that helped me with stress management so I hurried back to our bedroom to get them.

But while I was doing my search, I started hearing Stephen's voice mixed with Rosie's.

Quickly I climbed into my closer and closed the door. Making the smell peephole my source of sight.

I watched as Rosie and my husband walked into the bedroom with Stephen all over her.

Chapter 3

Daphne's p o v

"You think it's easy for me either having to watch another woman carry my child?" Rosie asked as they stopped in the middle of the room facing each other.

"Our baby!" Stephen corrected.

Rosie chuckles. "You know, I have been thinking what Daphne would do if she finds out that the baby in her womb is actually our fertilized egg, she might get so mad and depressed that she’d kill herself, don’t you think?" Rosie said and laughed quietly.

"It would have been better if she died. That way, the pack would become mine. That would save us a lot of trouble. Maybe we'll just make our own baby in here then." Stephen says coldly, while pressing his index finger into her belly. I could not believe what I was hearing.

"As of that would be easy." Rosie added.

"And I'm not a murderer so this is our best option. The only thing to worry about is she rejecting me before then. That's why we have to be careful because if she suspects anything she may reject me and then divorce me. That’s why we need to keep this secret. Once our child inherits the pack, we’ll deliver her a crushing blow."

"Of course." Rosie says and leans closer her hands now latched on Stephen's shoulder. "There's nothing you would do that will make her reject you. You know that. Aside the fact that she is a fool easy to manipulate, she can't resist you." I watch when finger trailing through his beard.

"The same way you can't resist me huh?" Stephen asks grabbing her waist.

I let the tears pour freely but bite back my cry as I watched them. Rosie and Stephen on his aback while they kissed passionately like pure lovers. Right in my bedroom.

I had received the two biggest blows of my life at the same time. My husband was cheating on me and the child that I have been carrying for six months, that has been giving me so much joy wasn't even mine.

How could I be strong enough to handle this betrayal?

I almost fainted as I watched Rosie sleeping with my husband right on top of my own matrimonial bed. It was too much for me to bear.

I ended up cancelling the meeting that day as I was too weak to carry on with it.

Even after a whole month, I won't be able to get over this shock. A lifetime would not even be enough for me to heal.

After that they went out together and I was left pondering on what to do next. If this was really true then I was more than doomed. Could I believe the words that came out of their mouths? Could I afford not to believe it?

There was only one way to confirm all of this.

I told myself before making my way to the doctor's house. The same one who had done the IVF for me and Stephen. Or so he had claimed.

I knocked on the door twice before he answered. He flicked the curtain off and appeared behind the hands door.

"Hello doctor." I greeted with my hands pulling down the pockets of the coat I was wearing.

He casually outs on his glass before jerking closer to the door to look at me more clearly.

"Alpha Daphne! To what do I owe this late visit?"

"Open the door, doctor. You and I need to talk."

Noticing the tension in my voice as expression, he stands straight.

"What about, alpha?"

"Are you going to let me in or not?"

"Eerhn ... It's quite late, alpha Daphne ... Why don't we reschedule the meeting ... "

But before he could finish, I raised my leg high and landed a kick on the door. He draws back at once in shock.

I kick the side again with all my might.

"Daphne! Stop!" I could hear the fight in his voice as he could see my rage.

"You're gonna break it down ..."

As of I didn't hear him, I sent another kick which sends the handle flying off the door.

"Hold on! Hold on, alpha Daphne. I'll open the door for you."

He pushes his glasses closer to his eyes before opening the door with trembling hands.

"Thank you." I say as I walk in. "Sir down!" I order him and he falls into his seat.

"Now I'm going to ask you a question and you're either honest with me or you lose your teeth as your job!"

He stares up at me with awe, my alpha aura spreading over him.

"The baby I'm carrying. Of who's eggs is it?"

"Y ... Yours of course. It's yours and your husband's."

Before he could say another word, I sent a kick that landed on his mouth.

The kick sends him off his seat and he lands on the floor. But I don't stop. I continued kicking and tramping on him. My wolf churned in excitement as I did what she wanted. Kicking his ass. I continued kicking till his face was covered in blood and I could see two of his teeth on the floor beside him.

"I'll tell you the truth." He calls out in pain and step back away from him panting heavily. It was hard work having to tramp on him like that with the baby. I could barely catch my breath now as my face covered in sweat but I didn't show any form of tiredness. "Go on." I tell him.

"That day. I harvested the egg from Rosie not yours and made it with Stephen's sperm. He made me do it. He offered me a lot and I couldn't resist. I'm sorry."

"Are my eggs damaged?" I asked while keeping a straight face.

"No. But the chance of your eggs being fertilized was just ten per cent. It was very low so Stephen was sure it wouldn't work anyway so I suggested I used Rosie's eggs instead. But ... But after having this child it may be impossible for you to carry another baby. the IVF wouldn't work on you again. You have a case of OHSS. An ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome that would make it hard for you to carry the baby.."

"So you and my husband knew this was my only chance of carrying my own child and you made me carry someone else's baby?" It took a lot of strength to hold myself from crying in front of him. What if that ten percent chance that my eggs were good could have been effective? Just what if?

"I am sorry alpha. But Stephen and made me a lot of offers that I couldn't resist. Forgive me."

"Now I am going to make you a better offer." He looks up at me as I say that. "I am going to offer you a life rather than take it. Because that is what I want to do right now. I will give you just a week to get your things and get our of my pack. And if Stephen ever finds out that I know about his little secret, I would know that no one else told him but you. Then I would have to kill you and I wouldn't hesitate to snap the life out of you. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" He nods. "Yes, alpha!"

After leaving his house. I stopped at another pharmacy store. "I need the most effective abortion pills that you have."

When I got home, I stood before the mirror, staring at my image with the abaya in front of me. I could feel its unsettled movement as it was trying to settle down from the shock and discomfort it went through while I was kicking at the doctor. Now I was going to get rid of you. I clench the abortion pills in my fist.

"See you sure you want to do this?" My wolf asked as stood like a statue.

Of course I was sure. It was not too late to get rid of it.

Having told myself this, I throw the pills in my mouth and swallow!