“Once the pup is born, we’ll invite the Pack for a grand celebration,” she declared with a smile.

       Their decision was final. They were keeping the pup.

       A crushing weight pressed against my chest. I pushed open the window, hoping the crisp night air would clear my mind, but the cold did nothing to soothe the storm inside me.

       I stepped onto the balcony, inhaling deeply, but my wolf remained restless. The chill in the air nipped at my skin, but it was nothing compared to the icy dread curling in my gut.

       After some time, I forced myself to regain composure. I snapped a screenshot of the Pack’s group chat and silently left it, though I remained seated in the farthest corner of the balcony, lost in thought. That was where Alpha Dashiell found me when he unexpectedly returned home early. He pulled me up from the floor and shut the window with a sharp motion.

       “It’s the dead of winter. Sitting out here with the cold wind blowing—you’ll make yourself sick,” he scolded, his voice edged with irritation.

       I stared at him, searching his face for something—anything. He adjusted my coat, fussing over me as though he cared, but there was something different about him. Something off. A flicker of hesitation in his movements, an unfamiliar weight in his gaze. Was it guilt? Did he finally feel the weight of his betrayal?

       The thought repulsed me. I stepped back, shaking off his touch.

       “Don’t touch me.”

       He froze, his expression unreadable. Then, after a pause, he spoke lightly, almost as if testing the waters. “This is about the group chat, isn’t it?”

       “Ione, didn’t we agree before our bonding? This was just a duty, something to fulfill our parents’ expectations.”

       “They got what they wanted. I have no complaints. So what more do you want?”

       Our so-called bond had never been about love—it was a contract, a necessity. The Gardner and Hargrove Packs had been allies for generations, but while I spent my early years training as a Pack doctor abroad, Alpha Dashiell had remained here, learning to lead. Our lives had barely crossed paths, and our relationship was nothing like that of our fathers. But when I returned, our parents had forced our fates together.

       They had pleaded, demanded, wept. “This is what’s best for you both.”

       “We’ve already laid out the perfect path. Why are you so determined to stray?”

       “That Beta you were with? Forget him. We won’t allow it. Not unless we’re dead and buried.”

       They had stripped me of my Pack privileges, stationed lead warriors at my door, and crushed every means of resistance. In the end, I had no choice but to sever ties with the wolf I loved. And then, I was bonded to Alpha Dashiell.

       On the day we received our bonding mark, he had barely looked at me. His voice had been devoid of emotion. “We’ll endure this together. As long as they’re satisfied, nothing else matters.”

       I had known he loved Callista. But I had never expected him to be so shameless about it—to go so far as to secretly drug me for three years.

       Our bond had been a farce from the start, but five years was a long time. To say I wasn’t hurt would be a lie. To say I wasn’t disgusted—an even bigger one.

       I turned to him, my voice eerily calm. “So you’re keeping the pup?”

       Even as I asked, I already knew the answer.

       If Callista hadn’t secured Alpha Dashiell’s approval, she wouldn’t have dared to flaunt the Pack’s blessings. She wouldn’t have made such a spectacle unless she was absolutely certain of his support.

       His jaw tightened. “Ione, I need an heir.”

       Something inside me snapped. My hand flew before I could stop it, striking him across the face. A sharp crack echoed through the room. But the absurdity of it all was what truly undid me. I let out a laugh—harsh, bitter, uncontrollable. Laughter that bled into gasping sobs as the weight of betrayal pressed down on me.

       Without another word, I strode into the bedroom. The test results from the Pack doctor still lay on the table, right beside the official reports from the Pack Hospital.

       Rage ignited like wildfire in my veins. I snatched the papers and flung them at him.

       “Take a good look, Alpha Dashiell.”

       “The ‘herbal supplements’ you gave me—tell me, what exactly were they?”

       His hands trembled as he picked up the reports, his eyes scanning the words, widening in horror. His lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out.

       Finally, he rasped, “Ione…”

       I cut him off, my voice sharp as a blade. “You drugged me with suppressants for three years. And now—now you dare say you want a pup?”