Adeline POV:

My mouth opened, but the words choked in my throat. "Grandma, I..."

Even Grandma didn't believe me?

"Pack your things. Get ready to go." Genevieve stood up, giving me one last look. "Behave yourself. Once you've changed your ways, I'll send someone to bring you back."

With that, she turned and left.

I stood there, feeling like my soul had been sucked out of my body. To cast me out into the human world... it meant stripping me of my pack.

Suddenly, a violent wave of nausea surged from my stomach. I clamped a hand over my mouth and rushed into the bathroom. I retched over the toilet until I felt like my insides were coming out.

Because the vomiting was so severe, I went to the pack clinic.

"Doctor, what's wrong with me?" I asked anxiously.

The doctor reviewed my blood test results. "Are you mated?"

I paused. "Yes. We just completed the mating ceremony two months ago."

"Congratulations, Luna," the doctor smiled. "You're pregnant. Morning sickness for a werewolf carrying an Alpha's pup can be notoriously brutal."

I couldn't believe it. I stared at the paper. Early Pregnancy.

Alston and I had only shared a bed a handful of times, driven by the irresistible pull of the mate bond during my heat, and it was always rushed. I thought he just wasn't interested. But now I understood. He was disgusted by me!

And yet, I was carrying his heir. At the worst possible time!

After agonizing over it, I decided I had to ask Alston. After all, he was the father. Maybe... just maybe, knowing he had his own flesh and blood would change things.

At this hour, Alston was at the pack hospital. Dayana was recovering from her miscarriage in the VIP suite.

When I arrived, I was blocked at the door by Alston's personal guards, Caleb and Seth. "Luna, please stop. You cannot enter. Alpha's orders."

I lowered my head, clenching my fists. "I won't go in. Please, just tell him I'm here. I have something crucial to tell him."

The brothers exchanged a look. Seth's eyes glazed over slightly as he used the mind-link to inform the Alpha inside. A moment later, I heard Alston's voice through the crack in the door.

"I won't see her." His voice was terrifyingly indifferent. "Tell her to stay far away from this ward! Don't let her scent disturb Dayana's rest!"

Through the narrow gap, my eyes caught a glimpse of the inside.

Alston was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently blowing on a spoonful of soup before feeding it to Dayana. He looked so gentle—a side of him my inner wolf had always craved but never received.

Dayana leaned against his chest. As she took the soup, she lifted her head. Over Alston's broad shoulder, her eyes met mine through the crack in the door.

And then, she smiled.

It was a vicious, triumphant smirk. A smile that said: I won. He is mine.

Crack.

That was the sound of my mate bond, and my heart, finally shattering. My inner wolf howled in absolute agony, then curled up in the darkest corner of my mind, giving up.

I was a joke. A complete, utter joke.