I stood at the sink, splashing cold water on my face, hoping it would calm the tight knot in my chest. The humiliation I had felt at the dinner table still clung to me. I kept hearing the words, the stares, the silence that followed every cruel remark.

But something else had started growing inside me, something worse.

It began as a dull ache in my lower stomach, but it kept getting sharper. I gripped the edge of the sink just to stay upright. At first, I thought it was just stress or maybe something I had eaten, but the pain kept building. My skin burned, my hands trembled, and something inside me felt wrong.

I turned to leave, thinking I needed to lie down, but when I grabbed the doorknob, it didn't move. I tried again, harder this time, but it still wouldn't budge. That's when I realized that it had been locked from the outside.

A second later, I heard her voice.

"Well, well. Look who's stuck," Lilith said, her tone fake and sweet, like she was savoring the moment. "Poor Selene. Locked away like the pathetic little stray you are."

Each word was soaked in smugness. My skin crawled. I slammed my hand against the door. "Lilith, open the door. Now."

She laughed, not loud or forced, just amused, like this was all a joke to her.

"Why would I do that?" she said. "So, you can go crawling back to my mate? Oh, right… he's your husband now. I keep forgetting."

Pain twisted in my stomach again, sharper than before. I leaned against the wall, pressing a hand to my abdomen.

She kept going. "You really thought he stayed with you out of love? No, sweetie. He stayed because I left. You were convenient. Quiet. Harmless. Easy to forget."

I sank to the floor. My body was giving up.

"He never chose you. Not really," she added. "You were the safe option when I wasn't around. A placeholder. A backup plan. A warm body for cold nights."

I curled in on myself, my forehead against the tile. The pain was blinding now.

"You're not his mate, Selene. You never were. You were just a pause while he waited for me to come back."

I wanted to yell at her, scream something, anything but my mouth was dry, and my lungs barely worked. Then I heard something being dragged across the floor outside. A loud scrape. A heavy thump.

"‘Restricted Area. Do Not Enter,'" she read aloud. I could hear the smile in her voice. "Perfect. Just in case someone gets the idea to come looking for you."

Her heels clicked as she walked away, each step fading until silence returned.

I stayed there, curled up on the cold floor. The pain came in waves, worse each time. I didn't know how much time had passed. Minutes. Hours. My mind drifted. My body shook. At some point, I felt something wet between my legs, and my dress clung to my skin.

Then I heard footsteps. The lock clicked and the door creaked open. Light flooded into the room as a tall figure stepped inside. He wore a black suit and moved with a certain elegance and power. The air shifted the moment he entered.

I smelled pine, leather, and something distinctly wolf. Familiar, but I couldn't place it.

His eyes locked onto mine the second he saw me. And unlike everyone else, he didn't look shocked. He looked furious. He dropped to one knee beside me. His movements were sharp but controlled, like he was holding something back.

"Selene," he said. His voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

I tried to lift my head to see him clearly, but my vision swam, and my lips barely moved.

"Who...?"

He leaned closer and brushed my damp hair from my forehead. His touch was rough, but careful.

"You shouldn't have been left alone," he murmured, mostly to himself. There was weight in his voice that made my chest tighten. "I should've come sooner."

His gaze dropped to the blood staining my dress. Under the harsh light, his eyes glowed faintly gold, unnatural and full of fury.

He stood and lifted me into his arms. His movements were efficient and steady, making me feel weightless and fragile all at once. My head rested against his chest as he turned toward the door.

And just before the light swallowed us, I heard him speak again and this time, with quiet finality.

"I warned him. I told him what would happen if he ever failed to protect you."

The antiseptic scent of the hospital clung to my nose when I woke. My body felt sore, heavy in all the wrong ways.

The door creaked open, and a doctor entered with a clipboard in hand, his face drawn in a frown.

"You've been under extreme stress lately," he said, glancing at the monitors beside me. "Even last night, you nearly succumbed to hypothermia. Fortunately, you were brought in on time."

"I accidentally got locked and..."

"Whatever the case," he said with a sigh, "it's a pity. I'm afraid your body couldn't handle it."

He paused, his eyes flicking toward my stomach.

"The baby didn't make it."

My breath caught.

"What baby?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"You didn't know?" His expression softened, his tone gentler now. "You were in the very early stages. But yes…, you were pregnant."

I stared at him, numb. I was pregnant? I had no idea. Then… the pain I felt last night, was that the baby? My hand moved to my stomach instinctively. It still ached, but now it feels empty. Hollow. As if something had been taken from me.

The doctor continued, unaware of the storm beginning to churn inside me.

"I've already scolded your husband. I couldn't believe it. He looked decent, but he completely neglected your condition. He should never have let it get this far."

I blinked, momentarily confused. "My husband? Who?"

"The man who brought you in," he replied, frowning at my reaction. Then, seeing the confusion on my face, he hesitated. "He seemed really concerned when he arrived at the ER last night. Is he… not your husband?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know. But I was certain it wasn't Lucas. He hadn't even saved me from when I was kidnapped. Why would I expect him to notice I was gone? My own Alpha had been too busy coddling my sister to even realize I was missing.

Instead, I asked, "When can I leave?"

"You should stay for at least a few more days. Your body needs to rest."

"I'm fine," I interrupted. "I want to leave."

He looked at me for a long moment, clearly debating whether to push the matter further. But in the end, he simply nodded.

The ride home felt like drifting through fog. My body moved, but my mind lagged behind, heavy and slow. As soon as I stepped into the house, a familiar scent struck me. It was Lilith's scent. And not just that. Her scent was mingled with something sweeter, more intimate, thick and cloying with the unmistakable trace of heat.

I followed it down the hallway to the room that used to be mine. The door was slightly ajar, and I didn't bother to knock.

From the hallway, I could see them, Lucas and Lilith, tangled in the sheets, both of them naked. Her leg was draped over his waist. His arm was curled lazily around her bare shoulder.

I didn't feel rage. Not anymore. I just… watched.

Then I laughed. A quiet, humorless sound that echoed too loudly in the silence. Even I was startled by it.

Without another glance, I turned away and walked to the guest room, where I had been keeping my things. I opened the closet and pulled out a small wooden box hidden beneath my clothes. Carefully, I placed the freshly signed divorce papers inside, followed by the hospital report confirming the miscarriage.

I stared at the report for a long time.

My fingers hovered over the printed words, unable to touch them. They described the end of a life that never even had a chance to begin.

Our child.

A child who died quietly, without even the whisper of a heartbeat.

Then my phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, but I was too numb to care. I answered without thinking.

"Hello?"

"You left without a word," said a deep voice.

I froze. It was him, the man who found me locked in that cold bathroom. The one with steady hands and a scent of pine and wolf and something I still couldn't name.

"I thought you'd still be resting," he said gently.

I swallowed, trying to keep my voice from trembling. "I'm at home. Just picking up my things."

There was a pause. I could hear his breath in the line, calm but tense.

"I'm outside."

I blinked, startled. Slowly, I walked to the window and peeked through the blinds.

There he was. Standing beside a black SUV I didn't recognize, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the house like it had personally offended him.

"Come with me," he said. "I'll take care of you."

--

Lucas stirred awake after a few hours.

The soft buzzing of his phone on the nightstand grew louder, more insistent. He groaned, his hand blindly searching for the device while the pounding in his head reminded him of how much he had drunk the night before.

As he sat up, rubbing his eyes, his hand brushed against warm skin beside him.

He froze.

Lying next to him, tangled in the sheets, was Lilith who was naked. Her scent clung to the room, sweet, overwhelming, and unmistakable. His gaze dropped to the marks on his chest and neck, evidence of what had happened.

His brows pulled together as he tried to piece together the night. He didn't remember kissing her. He certainly didn't remember sleeping with her. Weren't they just having a dinner for Lilith's homecoming? Then what was this…?

The phone kept buzzing.

"Damn it," he muttered, grabbing it and answering without checking the caller ID. "What?"

"Alpha Lucas, it's the board," the voice on the other end said quickly, breathless and urgent. "Something happened. Gold Fang Enterprises just pulled out. Our stocks are crashing. The board of directors is calling an emergency meeting. They want answers."

"What?" Lucas sat up straighter, now fully alert. "What do you mean they pulled out? Are you kidding me?"

"No, sir. Their CEO made the announcement early this morning. They're pulling all investments and cutting ties with our projects. Other investors are panicking. We've already lost half of them."

"Shit. Alright. I'm on my way."

He ended the call and jumped out of bed, reaching for the wrinkled suit he had tossed over a chair the night before. Behind him, Lilith stirred. She stretched, her tone teasing and sleepy. "What's going on?"

"I have to go," Lucas said, hurriedly fixing his collar and searching for his shoes. "There's an emergency at the company."

She got up slowly and walked out into the living room, unconcerned that she wasn't wearing anything. As she passed the couch, her eyes caught something.

It was an exquisite box, sitting neatly in the center of the living room. It was impossible to miss. It looked like a well-prepared gift with an elegant ribbon tied in a perfect bow.

"Oh, what's this?" She asked with a smile. "A gift for me?"

Lucas glanced up and frowned. "I don't know where that came from."

"Really?" She turned it over in her hands and looked for a name tag, but there was none.

Lucas walked over, something twisting in his gut. He realized he hadn't seen me after I went to the restroom last night. More importantly, he couldn't sense my presence in the house. A sudden chill crawled up his spine.

He took the box from Lilith and slowly lifted the lid. What he saw was like a punch to his chest.