POV Odette
"The father is—"
"What the hell is going on here?"
Devon filled the doorway, his eyes locked on Nathaniel. Blood stained his shirt. His sister's or someone else's—I couldn't tell.
Nathaniel rose slowly, deliberately keeping himself between Devon and me. "Your Luna is in pain. Where were you?"
"Where was I?" Devon's voice cracked with disbelief. "My sister was dying!"
"And your pregnant wife was alone in a war zone." Nathaniel's words cut like blades. "You're either reckless or stupid. Today, I can't tell which."
"Watch your mouth—"
"Why? So you can pretend you didn't abandon her the second you landed?" Nathaniel stepped forward. "You used her royal status to get here faster, then threw her aside like luggage."
"I had responsibilities!"
"She IS your responsibility!" Nathaniel's control shattered. "A pregnant woman in active danger should be your ONLY responsibility!"
"Don't lecture me about my wife in my own house!"
"Is the child yours, Devon?" Nathaniel laughed, sharp and vicious. "Is that what you're claiming?"
My breath froze in my lungs. The room crystallized around that single question.
Devon's jaw worked, his eyes flicking to me before returning to Nathaniel. "Of course it's mine. How dare you question my wife's fidelity?"
The lie landed like a stone in still water. Nathaniel's laugh came darker this time, but he said nothing. The silence stretched until it screamed.
"We have bigger problems," Nathaniel finally said, his voice arctic. "The Savage Creek Alpha wants to negotiate."
"Negotiate?" Devon spat. "After killing four of my people?"
"Unless you prefer total war with half your fighters dead?" Nathaniel pulled out his phone, already typing. "My team secured your borders, but that's temporary. You need terms."
"I don't need—"
"Yes, you do." Nathaniel's eyes could have frozen fire. "Here's what happens next. You and I take my warriors to meet their Alpha. I handle negotiations because that's what I do best—I win. You stand there and don't sabotage us with your pride."
"You arrogant—"
"I'm practical. Your pack is three bad seasons from collapse. Your council already tried to replace you once. You need this win more than you need your ego."
Devon's hands clenched into fists. I watched him calculate—pride against survival, his authority against his pack's future.
"Devon," I said softly. "Let him help."
His shoulders sagged. "Fine. But I'm not your subordinate, Nathaniel."
"You're a good wolf who loves his pack." Nathaniel's tone shifted, almost gentle. "That's enough for now."
"I'll watch Catherine while you're gone," I offered. "Nina will help me."
Devon's face softened fractionally. "You'd do that?"
"She's still family, Devon. Whatever else has changed."
He crossed to me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Thank you."
"We leave in twenty minutes," Nathaniel announced. "Gather whoever you trust to watch your back."
Devon nodded and headed for the door. At the threshold, Nathaniel turned back.
"This could take days. If you need anything—anything at all—you call me immediately."
"I'll be fine—"
"Promise me." The intensity in his voice made my wolf stir. "Promise you'll call if there's trouble."
"I promise."
Devon had already disappeared down the stairs. Nathaniel lingered another heartbeat, his gaze dropping to my stomach with unmistakable possession.
"Keep our secret safe," he murmured, then followed Devon out.
* * *
The next three days crawled past in hostile silence. The pack house staff brought meals but wouldn't meet my eyes. Guards changed shifts without acknowledging my existence. I'd become a ghost haunting my own former life.
Nina arrived the second morning, taking one look at my face before pulling me into a fierce hug.
"They're treating you like you have plague," she said bluntly.
"They're treating me like what I am—an outsider who doesn't belong."
"Bullshit. You're their Luna."
"Was. I was their Luna." I pulled on a jacket. "Let's go see Catherine."
The walk to the pack hospital should have taken ten minutes. It took twenty with all the stares and whispers following our steps.
"He chose her over the three wives." A woman's voice carried from a shop doorway. "Chose a barren woman over fertile she-wolves."
"Madness," her companion agreed. "Love-sick madness."
"Maybe she enchanted him. Witchcraft would explain—"
Nina grabbed my arm before I could confront them. "Don't give them satisfaction."
"They think I'm either barren or a witch."
"They think Devon lost his mind choosing you." Nina steered me forward. "Which makes them idiots, but harmless idiots."
By the time Nina’s pep talk ran out, the elevator doors were opening onto the ICU floor.
Catherine lay unconscious in the hospital's best room, machines tracking her heartbeat with mechanical precision. Mira sat beside the bed, holding Catherine's hand.
"You shouldn't be here," Mira said without looking up.
"Devon asked me to watch over her."
"Devon's not thinking clearly." Mira finally met my eyes. "He hasn't been since you disappeared. Now you're back, parading around like a princess while his pack bleeds."
"I came to help—"
"You came because he begged." She stood, moving closer. "Just like he cancelled our marriages because he's obsessed with you. Three fertile wives thrown away for a barren Luna who abandoned him."
"I didn't abandon—"
"Didn't you? You vanished to your palace, played princess while we fought for survival." Her smile turned predatory. "And now you return with that Alpha circling you like a wolf scenting prey."
"Nathaniel is helping—"
"Nathaniel wants you. Everyone will see it." She leaned closer, voice dropping. "His scent is all over you. Has been since the moment he arrived. How long before Devon realizes his precious wife has already chosen another?"
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I? I know Devon sacrificed everything for you—his council's trust, his pack's respect, his chance for heirs." She returned to Catherine's bedside. "When you leave again—and you will—I'll be here to rebuild what your selfishness destroyed."
"Mira—"
"Get out." She didn't look up. "Catherine doesn't need your false concern."
Nina pulled me from the room before I could respond. Outside, pack members gathered in clusters, their whispers following us like smoke.
"Devon gave up three wives for her."
"Lost his mind."
"Love-sick fool."
"The pack will suffer for his weakness."
Each word carved deeper, confirming what I already knew—I didn't belong here anymore. Devon's love had become a liability in their eyes, my presence a reminder of his perceived weakness.
"They hate me," I said as we walked back.
"They fear change," Nina corrected. "And you represent everything changing."
"I represent Devon choosing heart over duty."
"Which here counts as madness." Nina squeezed my hand. "But maybe madness is what this pack needs."
I doubted that. Standing in the house that no longer felt like home, surrounded by a pack that no longer claimed me, carrying a secret that would shatter everything when revealed—madness seemed like too gentle a word for the disaster we'd created.