I pressed the cold metal key into my palm as I stepped back inside my old quarters. My heart was still racing from seeing Ethan outside, from feeling his arms around me one last time. Behind me, I heard the sound of sobbing, raw and broken. Daisy had seen us. Good. Let her feel what I felt all those years ago.
I closed the door and leaned against it, trying to steady my breathing. The key Ethan gave me felt heavy with possibility. It was the key to my previous chambers in the northern territory, the ones he had locked me out of after he chose Daisy over me. After he left me standing at the altar in my white dress while the entire pack watched.
"Everything that belonged to your mother is still there," he had whispered against my hair. "I kept it safe. All the boxes, all her things. I knew they mattered to you."
That was what made my wolf purr with satisfaction. Not his touch, not his apologies, but this. My mother's belongings. The boxes I had never fully sorted through before everything fell apart. There was one in particular, a locked chest she had left me, that I had never had time to open properly.
Maybe inside I would find answers. Who was my father? What did he look like? Was he still alive, or had I lost both parents? Did I have siblings somewhere in another pack? The questions had haunted me since my mother died, leaving me alone in a world that suddenly felt too big and too cold.
I tucked the key carefully into my bag and glanced around the small apartment I had been renting in the human part of the city. Coming here without telling Jack felt dangerous, but I needed this space. I needed to remember who I was before I became the Alpha King's mate.
I gathered a few of my design sketches and my most recent painting, the one of a silver wolf running under the moon. My art had always been my escape, the one thing that was purely mine. I took one last look at the apartment before stepping out into the hallway.
I did not know when I would return here. Probably not for a long time. Being Jack's mate meant my freedom was measured in stolen moments like these.
I hailed a cab outside and slid into the back seat with my belongings. The driver pulled away from the curb, and I watched the city streets blur past the window. My phone buzzed, but I ignored it. Probably Jack wondering where I was.
What I did not know was that from the moment I had left the palace, someone had been following me. Taking pictures. Watching. Reporting every move back to the Alpha King.
***
Rosalinda walked into the hotel room at the Crescent Moon Hotel and found John standing with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. His jaw was tight, his eyes burning with barely contained rage. The Beta wolf looked like he wanted to tear something apart.
"Hello," she said, taking a seat without waiting for an invitation. His body language told her he would not be offering her one anyway.
John did not return her greeting. "What is the meaning of that test result you threw at me yesterday?"
"What does it look like?" Rosalinda kept her voice calm, her face blank. She would not let him see how much his anger affected her.
"You will answer my question and not ask me one in return." His voice rose to a growl that made her wolf whimper.
"Do not yell at me, John. I am pregnant and you are the father of my baby. What else do you want to know?" She forced steel into her voice, meeting his glare without flinching.
His expression darkened. "How do I know I am the father of the child in your belly?"
Rosalinda felt her control snap. "What kind of question is that? You are the only man I have been with in months. Who else would be the father?"
"I only remember having sex with you twice without protection. You should have used a contraceptive pill afterward. Why did you not?" His tone was accusatory, cold.
She shrugged, looking away. "I did not remember to."
That was a lie. She had not wanted to take anything. She had planned it carefully, tracking her cycle, making sure she would conceive. She had needed this baby to secure her future, to tie herself to him permanently.
"It does not seem to me like you forgot." John stepped closer, towering over her. "I think you decided to get pregnant. Who knows, probably to trap me into a mating bond. Or better still, I am not the father of your baby. Do not try to trap me into accepting a pup that is not mine."
Rosalinda shot to her feet, fury coursing through her veins. "Enough, John. I will not let you insult me any further. This baby is yours and if you do not believe it, we can have a paternity test performed after it is born."
John laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. "After it is born? You really plan to go through with this? You have not even asked if I want this baby."
"You have insulted yourself, Rosalinda." His voice dropped to something crueler. "When I sleep with you, or rather when you seduce me most times, do I not pay you well? Do I not make transfers into your account? I paid you for access to your body and I made sure I paid you more than your other clients. You should have taken a contraceptive but chose to trap me with that mistake in your belly."
Before he could say another word, Rosalinda's hand connected with his face in a sharp slap that echoed through the room.