Voices pulled me from the darkness. Male voices, familiar but distant, like I was underwater trying to surface.
"You fucked his mate and got her pregnant." The words cut through my fog. "He was taking revenge on you."
I tried to open my eyes, but my body refused to cooperate. My wolf stirred weakly inside me, confused and exhausted.
"Who is he?" That was Jack. His voice was sharp, commanding. The Alpha King tone that made wolves submit without question.
I heard grunts, the sound of pain. Someone was being tortured. My stomach turned. This was happening because of me. Because I carried Cody. Because someone wanted revenge on Jack for making me pregnant.
"She was someone else's woman," the stranger gasped. "You broke pack law. You took what belonged to another."
"Since he does not want to say the name, continue." Jack's voice was ice. "And when you are done, we begin with his wife and daughter."
"No. Do not mess with my wife and daughter." Panic flooded the stranger's words. "He killed her. Made it look like a car crash. She did the third abortion and the boss was not happy because she refused to destroy you and the kingdom. Against her assignment, she fell for you and offered you her body, getting pregnant for you over and over."
"Shut up." Jack's command echoed with Alpha power.
The room fell silent. I forced my eyes open just a crack. Hospital room. White walls. The scent of antiseptic mixed with wolf musk. Richard sat in the chair beside my bed, his face tense.
"Clara," I heard Jack whisper from somewhere beyond my sight. "It cannot be Clara."
My wolf whimpered. Clara. His dead mate. The one whose memory haunted him.
"She was not a virgin when you first claimed her," the stranger said. "But she told you she was with no one else except you and you believed her. You believed her because you loved her."
"That is a lie. You think you can deceive me by lying?"
"Give me a laptop connected to the internet and I will show you everything you need to see in my email. Promise me that you keep my wife and daughter out of this. Kill me after this but do not hurt them."
"You are not in any position to strike a bargain with me."
I heard typing. Silence. Then Jack's voice again, broken in a way I had never heard before. "Since she was dead, why were you after me again?"
"I do not care about any of these." His voice rose, filled with rage that made my wolf cower. "I want to know who your boss is."
"I will not. So just kill me and keep my wife and daughter safe."
"Cut off his toes and remove the rest of his teeth."
Footsteps. A door slamming. Then silence.
I let my eyes close again. My mind spun with what I had heard. Clara had been a spy. Sent to destroy Jack. She had gotten pregnant multiple times and had abortions. Someone had killed her.
Time passed. I drifted in and out.
When I surfaced again, different voices filled the room. John. I recognized his gentler tone immediately.
"Richard, about yesterday, I am sorry. I did not mean to hit you but I could not stand it that you hit my brother as well. I know that Aurora is important to you, but she is to us as well, most importantly to Jack."
I kept my breathing steady, pretending sleep. I wanted to hear this.
"You have only known Jack's other side," John continued. "He is a great Alpha and someone lovable if you get to meet him as who he is. He is great to be with, loving and fun. Do not judge him from this part of him you know. People said he is arrogant, aloof and scary, but how else do they want him to be? He controls the entire kingdom, multiple packs, and is always on the throne. Why would he not appear so?"
Richard said nothing. I sensed him shift in his chair.
"What happened yesterday was not his fault. He might have been mean towards Aurora in the past but this present one was not his doing. And I am also glad that Aurora is safe. When Jack's mate died, it seemed that a part of him was gone. He loved her very much and he became introverted and this side of him overshadowed his true personality. But after he saw Aurora's condition yesterday, I saw the old Jack come back to life. His true nature had taken over his sad, unhappy part."
My heart squeezed. So Clara's death had broken him that completely.
"Please do not be hostile towards him again. Help me to get my brother back. It seems Aurora is the only person who can make Jack be the person he used to be. Please."
The weight of John's words settled over me like a heavy blanket. They wanted me to fix Jack. To bring back the Alpha he used to be before grief destroyed him. But I was not Clara. I was just the omega who got pregnant with his son.
"Good morning, buddies."
My eyes flew open at Jack's voice. He stood in the doorway, and the sight of him stole my breath. He was smiling. Actually smiling. A broad, genuine smile I had never seen on his face before.
His dark eyes found mine immediately. The smile faltered for just a second, surprise flickering across his features before it returned, softer this time. More careful.
"Aurora," he said. "You are awake."