Genevieve's POV

His strike sent me reeling sideways.

My head jerked sharply, and before I could process what had happened, the room spun violently out of balance. I crashed against the marble floor with enough force to drive the air from my lungs. A broken sound escaped me—half gasp, half cry—more from shock than pain. For a moment, everything dissolved into darkness.

When my vision cleared, heat radiated across my cheek in a fierce, pulsing ache. I remained sprawled on the cold stone floor of the guest chamber, stunned and disoriented, my wolf restless beneath my skin.

Nikolai had hit me.

In all the years we had been bound—through pack disputes, territorial challenges, and bloody confrontations with rival Alphas—he had never once raised his hand against me. Not even at the height of his fury.

My thoughts scrambled uselessly, searching for some explanation. Had I provoked him? Said something unforgivable? Nothing justified this.

I blinked hard against the dizziness and slowly pushed myself upright. My palms shook against the polished marble as I steadied myself. When my focus sharpened, I saw Sabrina standing several paces behind him.

Her arms were wrapped loosely around herself, tears streaking down her face. She appeared small. Delicate.

Believable.

“What is going on?” I asked, my voice rough from the impact.

Nikolai towered over me, his chest rising and falling with restrained rage. “You put your hands on her?” he demanded. “On a she-wolf carrying my pup?”

The accusation made no sense. “What are you talking about?”

“She came here out of concern,” he continued, his tone sharpening. “And you attacked her? Have you completely lost control?”

For several seconds, I could only stare at him.

Sabrina stepped forward hesitantly, her shoulders trembling as though she were barely holding herself together. “I only wanted to bring her tea,” she murmured. “She looked so distressed, and I thought maybe we could talk. But she started shouting. She said I destroyed her life.” Her voice cracked convincingly. “Then she struck me.”

Disbelief flooded through me.

“She told me I should be dead,” Sabrina added in a hushed tone, lowering her gaze. “I didn’t want to upset you, Nikolai, but she frightened me.”

The audacity of the lie stole the air from my lungs.

“You’re fabricating this,” I said quietly, still seated on the floor. “I never touched you.”

Her lower lip trembled, and she turned her face away as though wounded by my denial.

Nikolai didn’t hesitate.

“Get up,” he growled. “And remove yourself from my sight before I forget you’re Luna of this pack.”

I lifted my gaze to his, my cheek burning, my lip throbbing. “You truly believe her?” I asked. “You think I would harm her?”

For a flicker of a second, something uncertain crossed his eyes. Doubt. Then it hardened into cold resolve.

“You’re not thinking clearly,” he said flatly. “Jealousy has corrupted your judgment.”

A hollow sound slipped from me. “Jealous? Of what, exactly?”

The taste of copper filled my mouth. When I wiped at my lip, my fingers came away stained with blood.

His eyes dropped briefly to it. His jaw tightened, and for an instant he looked almost conflicted. He stepped forward.

“Genevieve—”

“Nikolai,” Sabrina interrupted faintly, pressing her hand to her temple. “I feel lightheaded. She hit me harder than I realized.”

His focus shifted immediately.

Without hesitation, he turned away from me and gathered her into his arms, supporting her as though she might shatter. She leaned against him, fragile and trembling.

I watched in silence.

Over his shoulder, she glanced at me.

The tears were gone.

Only triumph remained.

Three days, I reminded myself.

Three days, and I would never have to endure this house again.

—

At dawn the next morning, I slipped out before the household stirred.

The drive to the clinic felt surreal, as though I were observing someone else’s life from a distance. My chest tightened in the waiting room while the seconds dragged mercilessly. I fixed my gaze on the far wall, unwilling to think too deeply.

My hand drifted to my abdomen without conscious thought.

It was still flat, unchanged, revealing nothing of the life quietly growing inside me. But I knew.

A pup.

After years of believing my body incapable, after enduring whispers that I was defective, unworthy of carrying an Alpha’s heir, life had taken root within me.

Tears threatened again, but I forced them back. This wasn’t about longing. It was about survival.

A nurse called my name.

I rose slowly, my legs heavier than they should have been, and followed her into a consultation room. The doctor scanned my file before turning toward me.

Recognition dawned instantly in his expression.

“Mrs. Virelli?” he said, clearly startled.

He had stood at my bedside six years ago after the accident, explaining with rehearsed sympathy that my injuries made future pregnancy unlikely.

I managed a faint, strained smile.

He glanced between me and the chart. “Are you certain about this decision?”

My throat constricted, words refusing to form.

He set the file aside and stepped closer, his tone gentle but steady. “You need to understand how rare this is. Given the trauma you sustained, this pregnancy is remarkable.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

“If you proceed with termination,” he continued carefully, “there is a significant chance you will never conceive again. Even with medical assistance. This may be your only opportunity.”

The weight of his statement settled heavily over me.

Only opportunity.

I saw Nikolai’s hand striking my face. Sabrina draped in my robe. Kael waiting for my answer.

My world had already shattered.

Now I had to decide which fragments were worth saving.

Genevieve’s POV

His warning lingered in my ears long after he stopped speaking.

For several seconds, I couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. The doctor’s words—a miracle… perhaps your only chance—collided violently with the chaos of the past few days. My pulse pounded so fiercely it almost hurt.

My hand drifted to my abdomen again without thinking.

I remembered the countless nights I had lain awake inside the Alpha estate, staring into the darkness while Nikolai slept beside me as though nothing in the world troubled him. I remembered the quiet humiliation of pack gatherings, when other Luna’s would announce their pregnancies beneath glittering chandeliers while congratulations echoed around the hall. I would always excuse myself before my composure fractured, hiding in empty corridors until the ache in my chest dulled.

I remembered praying silently to the Moon Goddess for something—anything—that would fill the hollow space inside me.

And now, that answer was here.

And I had nearly chosen to destroy it because of a male who had already erased me from his life.

The realization broke whatever restraint I had been clinging to. Tears spilled over as I covered my mouth, my shoulders shaking. The thought of willingly ending the only life that had chosen me felt unbearable.

“No,” I whispered hoarsely, shaking my head. “I can’t do it.”

The doctor studied me carefully. “You’ve reconsidered?”

“I’m keeping this pup,” I said, my voice trembling but firm. “Even if I have to raise it alone. This isn’t a mistake. It’s the only blessing I’ve ever been given.”

A faint warmth touched his expression. “Then we’ll proceed carefully. Given your medical history, we’ll monitor you closely. You’ll need to be cautious.”

When I stepped out of the hospital later, the air felt different—lighter somehow. For the first time in days, something steadier than grief settled in my chest.

In three days, I would leave.

And this time, I would not be alone.

“Genevieve!”

My name cut sharply through the air, freezing me mid-step.

Nikolai.

I turned slowly, tension tightening every muscle. He crossed the hospital entrance in long, urgent strides and seized my arm before I could speak, his fingers gripping hard enough to bruise.

“Thank the Goddess I found you,” he said, breath uneven, eyes alert in a way that told me this wasn’t about reconciliation.

I pulled slightly against his hold. “What’s happened?”

“It’s Sabrina,” he answered quickly. “She’s been admitted.”

I frowned. “Admitted for what?”

“She spiked a fever during the night,” he said, his tone sharpening. “After the stress you put her under.”

My jaw clenched. “I never laid a hand on her.”

He ignored that entirely. “She collapsed this morning. The physicians say she’s weak and dehydrated. They need to transfuse blood.”

A cold sensation crept through me. “And?”

Nikolai’s gaze locked onto mine. “Her blood type is rare. You’re a universal donor. You’re the only immediate match available.”

For a moment, I simply stared at him.

“You expect me to give her my blood?” I asked quietly.

“This isn’t about your wounded pride,” he snapped. “It’s about protecting my heir.”

He began pulling me toward the entrance.

I dug my heels into the pavement. “You command half the hospitals in this city. You have access to private reserves and blood banks. Why me?”

He turned sharply, his eyes hard as stone. “Because this situation is your fault.”

The accusation stunned me. “She lied to you!”

“I don’t have time for your delusions,” he cut in coldly. “She carries my pup. If anything happens to her—”

Something inside me snapped.

“I’m pregnant,” I said.

The words escaped before I could reconsider them.

He went completely still.

“What did you say?”

“I’m pregnant,” I repeated, louder now, my voice shaking despite my effort to remain steady. “The doctor confirmed it. It’s high risk. If I donate blood, it could jeopardize the pregnancy.”

Silence stretched between us.

Then he laughed.

It wasn’t disbelief.

It was disdain.

“You expect me to accept that?” he said slowly, shaking his head. “You think fabricating a pregnancy will excuse you from responsibility?”

“I’m not lying,” I whispered, tears threatening again. “You remember what the healers told us after the accident. They said it was nearly impossible. This is a miracle.”

His expression only hardened. “You’ve always wanted leverage. Now you believe this makes you untouchable.”

“Nikolai—”

“Enough.” His voice dropped, final and absolute. “You will donate. That is not negotiable.”

Anger surged through me, stronger than fear this time. I pulled my arm free.

“No,” I said, meeting his gaze without flinching. “I won’t risk my child for her.”

His face darkened dangerously.

“You would let her die because of jealousy?”

“I won’t sacrifice my pup,” I answered steadily. “Not for Sabrina. Not for you.”

The fury in his eyes burned hotter.

“If you walk away from this,” he said slowly, jaw clenched tight, “I will dismantle that sanctuary your father built. Stone by stone. And I’ll make sure you’re there to witness it.”

The threat struck exactly where he intended.

The sanctuary was the last untouched piece of my father’s legacy—the only place in this territory not stained by pack politics or blood.

And Nikolai knew it.

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to something lethal. “Choose wisely, Genevieve.”

In that moment, clarity settled over me.

I was no longer afraid of losing him.

I was afraid of what I would become if I stayed.

Genevieve's POV

Ice spread through my veins the instant he mentioned the sanctuary again.

He knew precisely where to wound me. That place wasn’t just some charitable front funded by pack politics and blood-soaked deals. It was my father’s final untouched legacy in a world ruled by dominance and violence. He had built it long before alliances with the Virelli pack, before power carved the softness out of him. The orphaned wolf pups there were the last innocent thing left tied to my name.

“You wouldn’t,” I said under my breath, though the tremor in my voice betrayed the doubt I felt.

Nikolai stepped closer until the heat of his anger brushed against my skin. There was no uncertainty in his expression—only a challenge. “Try me.”

For several seconds, I could only look at him. This was the male I had once trusted with every vulnerable part of myself. The Alpha who had sworn to protect what I loved. Now he was threatening to destroy it without hesitation.

My palm drifted instinctively to my stomach. Tears slipped down my cheeks in silence.

When he seized my wrist and began pulling me toward Sabrina’s private wing of the hospital, I didn’t resist this time. I followed without protest, numb, his threat echoing inside my skull.

He had secured one of the elite suites reserved for high-ranking officials and powerful Alphas. Sabrina lay propped against crisp white pillows, machines humming steadily around her, an IV threaded into her arm. Her complexion looked pale, lips parted slightly as if she were struggling to remain conscious.

Nikolai went to her immediately.

“I’m here,” he murmured, his voice soft in a way I hadn’t heard directed at me in months. He took her hand carefully. “You’ll be fine. I brought Genevieve.”

Sabrina released a weak, trembling breath. “Nikolai… it hurts… everything feels wrong…”

I stood near the doorway, watching my mate lean over her with tenderness that felt like claws dragging across my ribs. He brushed strands of hair from her face and whispered reassurances meant for her alone.

Then he turned to call for the physician.

The moment his back faced her, Sabrina’s eyelids lifted.

One eye opened.

She looked directly at me.

And she winked.

Slowly. Deliberately.

A faint curve tugged at her lips before her expression slipped back into feigned fragility.

The sound of my own pulse thundered in my ears.

Was this entire display a performance? Was I about to endanger my child for a staged spectacle orchestrated by a woman who took pleasure in humiliating me?

Rage tightened my fists.

I stepped forward, ready to expose her, but Nikolai’s grip clamped down on my hand with bruising force. His fingers dug into my skin in silent warning, his gaze sharp and unmistakable.

Don’t.

The memory of his promise to tear down my father’s sanctuary snapped me back into stillness.

The door opened, and a doctor entered briskly. Nikolai moved toward her without hesitation.

“She’s getting worse,” he said. “Begin the transfusion.”

The doctor glanced at the monitors. “Her vitals are stable at the moment. We can wait until we confirm compatibility—”

Sabrina let out another fragile sound.

Nikolai’s patience evaporated. “The donor is here,” he said curtly, gesturing toward me as though I were a tool rather than his Luna.

The doctor’s eyes shifted to me briefly before she nodded and instructed the nurses to prepare.

Cold sweat slid down my spine as they arranged the tray. I had always despised needles. Nikolai knew that. Once, he would have stood beside me, distracting me until it was over.

For a fleeting moment, his hand hovered near mine as though memory tugged at him.

Then Sabrina whimpered again.

He withdrew instantly and returned to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as if I no longer existed.

Something in my chest tightened painfully.

I turned my face away when the nurse approached, my stomach twisting—not from fear of the needle, but from what this could cost.

Please, I begged silently. Please let something interrupt this.

Just as the doctor lifted the needle toward my arm, the door flew open.

“Stop!”

Another physician rushed in, breath uneven, a file clutched tightly in his hand.

The room went still.

He looked directly at Nikolai. “Mrs. Virelli is pregnant.”

The doctor holding the needle froze mid-motion.

Nikolai stared at the newcomer as though he had spoken nonsense. “That’s not possible.”

“She was scheduled for a termination this morning,” the doctor explained quickly, extending the chart. “She canceled. The test results confirm the pregnancy.”

Nikolai took the file, scanning it with narrowed eyes.

Relief surged through me so abruptly my knees nearly buckled. Proof. Tangible proof that I hadn’t fabricated anything. That I wasn’t manipulating the situation to escape responsibility.

For the first time in hours, I exhaled fully.

Then Nikolai closed the file.

When he spoke, his voice was colder than I had ever heard it.

“Continue.”

The word didn’t register immediately.

My eyes widened slowly. “What did you say?”

He didn’t even look at me.

“I said take the blood.”