ELENA'S POV
The pregnancy test burns in my pocket like a live coal.
I stand outside Chase's office door, my hand raised to knock, when I hear her laugh. Lydia Blackthorn's voice drips through the wood like poison honey.
"You work too hard, Chase. You need someone who understands the pressure of being Alpha."
My hand freezes. The test in my pocket suddenly feels heavy as a stone.
"Elena tries," Chase says, but his voice sounds tired. So tired. "She just doesn't get it."
The words punch into my chest. Three years. Three years of being the perfect Luna, and he thinks I don't understand?
I step back from the door. My wolf whimpers inside me, confused and hurt. The mate bond between us feels cold today. It's been cold for weeks now, but I kept telling myself everything was fine.
Tonight will fix everything. Tonight, when I tell him about the baby, he'll smile again. He'll hold me like he used to. He'll remember why he chose me.
I walk away before I hear more things that will break my heart.
The pack house kitchen is empty. Everyone's at training or working. I pull out eggs, bacon, pancakes—all of Chase's favorites. My hands shake as I crack the eggs.
Three years ago, I was nobody. An orphan from a small pack with nothing to offer. Then I met Chase at a gathering, and he chose me. Me. Out of all the beautiful, powerful she-wolves throwing themselves at him, he picked the quiet girl with the shy smile.
"You're different," he'd said. "Real. Everyone else wants the Alpha title. You just want me."
It was true. I fell in love with Chase, not his power. I became Luna not because I craved authority, but because I wanted to support my mate.
But lately, Lydia's been around more and more. His childhood friend. The one his parents always wanted him to marry. She's everything I'm not—confident, from a powerful family, always perfectly dressed.
And she makes him laugh in ways I haven't heard in months.
I flip the pancakes too hard. One tears in half.
"You're being paranoid," I whisper to myself. "Chase loves you. He chose you."
The pregnancy test crinkles in my pocket, reminding me why today is special.
I pull it out and stare at the two pink lines. A baby. Our baby. Maybe even twins—they run in werewolf families.
This changes everything. Chase has been stressed about pack security, about treaties, about his father's expectations. But a baby? An heir? This is what Alpha wolves dream about.
I imagine his face when I tell him. The shock, then the joy, then that gorgeous smile I haven't seen in too long. He'll spin me around like he did on our mating day. He'll kiss me and tell me I'm amazing.
Everything will be perfect again.
I set up his office for the surprise. Candles on the desk. His favorite whiskey in a glass. The ultrasound picture I got yesterday—just a tiny blob, but it's ours—placed in the center where he can't miss it.
The pack doctor had smiled when she handed it to me. "Congratulations, Luna. You're about six weeks along. Strong heartbeat."
I'd cried right there in her office. Happy tears.
Now I just need Chase to come home.
I wait.
And wait.
The candles burn lower. The whiskey sits untouched.
At midnight, I hear footsteps. Two sets. My heart jumps—then crashes when I hear Lydia's voice again.
"You can tell her tomorrow," Lydia says softly. "She'll understand. She always understands."
Tell me what?
The door opens. Chase walks in first, and his face—oh goddess, his face looks wrong. Distant. Cold. Like he's already made a decision that's breaking him.
Lydia follows, and she's not even trying to hide her smile.
"Elena." Chase's voice is flat. "We need to talk."
The pregnancy test feels like it's on fire in my pocket. This is wrong. This is all wrong.
"I made your favorite dinner," I say quickly, desperately. "It's probably cold now, but I can reheat it. And I have something important to tell you—"
"I need to tell you something first." Chase won't look at me. He's staring at the wall above my head like I'm not even here.
My wolf starts howling. She knows. Somehow, she knows what's coming before I do.
"Chase, please, just listen for one second—" I reach for the ultrasound picture.
"I, Alpha Chase Rex, reject you as my mate and Luna."
The words slam into me like a physical blow. The mate bond doesn't just break—it explodes. Pain tears through my chest, my stomach, my soul. I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't do anything but fall.
I hit the floor hard. The pregnancy test tumbles from my pocket and lands right in front of Chase's feet.
Two pink lines staring up at him.
Through the agony ripping me apart, I see his eyes flick down. He sees it. I know he sees it.
But he steps over it like it's trash.
"Lydia understands what it means to be mated to an Alpha," he says, his voice coming from somewhere far away. "You were a mistake, Elena. A beautiful mistake, but still a mistake."
Lydia's hand slips into his. She doesn't even glance at me bleeding on the floor.
They walk out together.
The door closes.
I'm alone with the candles burning down, the ultrasound picture on the desk, and the pregnancy test on the floor.
The test that Chase saw.
The test he stepped over.
Like our baby means nothing.
Like I mean nothing.
The pain of the broken mate bond is nothing compared to the truth crushing my lungs:
He knew. In that split second when his eyes touched the test, he knew I was pregnant.
And he rejected me anyway.
My hand moves to my stomach, protecting the tiny life inside. The life that just lost its father before it even had a chance to be born.
From somewhere in the pack house, I hear Lydia's laugh.
And I hear Chase laugh with her.