POV Odette
I pushed myself upright against the headboard, one hand pressed to my stomach while the other fumbled for my phone.
Nina would know what to do. She could send the pack healer without questions, without judgment—
Boots thundered up the stairs. The bedroom door slammed open hard enough to bounce off the wall.
Nathaniel filled the doorway, chest heaving, his usually perfect composure shattered. His dark eyes blazed with something between fury and fear.
"What the hell are you doing here?" The words ripped from my throat.
"Stand down!" He barked the command over his shoulder to unseen warriors below. "Secure the perimeter. No one enters without my word."
"You can't just—"
Another wave of pain cut through me. I bit my lip hard enough to taste copper.
"How did you even find me?"
"Your scent." He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him with deliberate control. "I could track you across continents, Odette. Finding you in a pack house was child's play."
Heat flooded my cheeks. "That's incredibly invasive—"
"How long have you been hiding it?"
The question landed like a punch. My arm moved instinctively to cover my abdomen, protective and telling.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't." His voice dropped to something dangerous. "Don't lie to me. Not about this."
He crossed the room in three strides, dropping to his knees beside the bed. Before I could protest, his hand pressed against my stomach, palm flat against the thin fabric of my shirt.
"You're pregnant."
The words weren't a question. Relief crashed through me so suddenly, so completely, that a sob escaped before I could stop it. His touch—warm, steady, certain—seemed to calm something deep inside. The pain didn't disappear, but it gentled, became bearable.
"Nathaniel—"
"Look at me." His other hand cupped my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "I can feel it. The connection. Your wolf calling to mine through this child."
"You can't possibly—"
"I can." His thumb traced my cheekbone. "Just like you can feel how my touch eases your pain. Your body knows, even if your mind fights it."
I wanted to deny it, but the evidence pulsed between us—the way the cramping had retreated at his presence, how my wolf had stopped her panicked whining the moment he touched me.
"Your father called." His hand remained on my stomach, possessive and protective. "Told me about the attack, about Devon dragging you back here."
"Nobody dragged me. I chose to come."
"To an active war zone?" His jaw clenched. "That's not brave, Odette. It's reckless."
"His sister was dying—"
"I brought forty of my best warriors." He cut me off. "We've secured the entire eastern border. The Savage Creek wolves retreated the moment they saw our banners."
"You brought an army? For Devon's pack?"
"For you." His eyes burned into mine. "Everything I do is for you. Your safety, your peace, your happiness."
"That's not—you barely know me."
"I know enough." His hand pressed slightly firmer against my stomach. "I know you're carrying a child in the middle of a pack war. I know Devon used your loyalty to get you here faster, then abandoned you the moment you landed."
"He had responsibilities—"
"He's an asshole."
The crude word from his usually controlled mouth shocked me. "Nathaniel!"
"Any man who leaves you alone in a contested territory is an asshole." He stood, pacing to the window. "Where is he now? Still at the hospital? Still prioritizing everyone except the woman—"
He stopped himself, hands clenching on the window frame.
"Devon's doing his duty as Alpha," I said carefully. "His pack needed him."
"You needed him." Nathaniel spun to face me. "You're in pain, you're scared, and he left you here alone."
"I'm not alone. There are guards—"
"Two pups who wouldn't last thirty seconds against a real threat." He stalked back to the bed. "I had to order them to stand down just to enter. They didn't even try to stop me."
"Because you're an Alpha—"
"Because they don't care." The words came harsh but true. "You're not their Luna anymore. You're just Devon's discarded wife who might be useful for negotiations."
"That's cruel."
"That's honest." He sat on the bed's edge, close enough that his thigh pressed against mine.
I couldn't deny that.
"Does he know?" Nathaniel's voice gentled. "Does Devon know you're pregnant?"
I nodded, unable to form words.
"And he still left you here alone?" Something shifted in his expression—not anger now, but something rawer. "He knows you're carrying a child and he still chose duty over you?"
"It's not his child to worry about."
The admission hung between us like a loaded weapon. Nathaniel went completely still.
"Whose child is it?"
The question came soft, almost vulnerable. His hand found mine, fingers interlacing with desperate strength.
"Odette." My name on his lips sounded like a prayer. "Whose child are you carrying?"
I stared at our joined hands—his so much larger, darker against my pale skin. The truth balanced on my tongue, sharp as glass. One word would change everything. One word would shatter the careful balance between Devon's offer and Nathaniel's pursuit.
"The timeline—"
I started.
"I don't care about timelines." He lifted our joined hands, pressing them against my stomach where our child grew. "I care about the truth. Who is the father?"
My wolf stirred, recognizing something in his touch, in his scent, in the way his presence made everything hurt less. She knew what my mind still fought—this child belonged to the man kneeling beside me, not the one who'd abandoned me for duty.
"You already know," I whispered.
"I need to hear you say it." His free hand cupped my face again. "I need you to look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Please."
The room seemed to shrink to just us—his hands on me, his eyes burning with desperate hope, the tiny life between us that would either unite or destroy everything.
"Tell me," he breathed against my lips, close enough to kiss but holding back. "Tell me this child is mine."
The words gathered in my throat while my heart hammered against my ribs. Outside, I could hear Devon's pack mobilizing, preparing for another attack. But here, in this suspended moment, there was only Nathaniel's question and the truth I could no longer hide.