Chapter 2
Midnight came and went, and Alpha Lucas still hadn’t returned.
I sat on the sofa, idly rubbing my swollen belly.
The puppy inside me gave a soft kick, as if to remind me they were there, waiting too.
“Guess it’s just you and me tonight, huh?” I whispered to my belly.
My wolf Aurora huffed in agreement, pacing- restlessly in the back of my mind. She didn’t like being ignored, and neither did I.
Since I became pregnant, Alpha Lucas had never stayed out this late.
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Chapter 2
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Even during the most chaotic Wolf Pack Gatherings, he always hurried home to massage the swelling in my calves caused by pregnancy.
I would curl up on the sofa, watching him carefully and attentively tend to me.
“You’re so good to me.”
“You’re my Mate, my Luna, the mother of my pup,” he massaging my sore calves, leaning in to kiss me, saying, “Who else should I treat well if not you?”
Alpha Lucas was a gentle man, and I always knew that.
Just as I was about to give up and head to bed, the front door creaked open.
Alpha Lucas stepped in, his shoulders
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Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
slumped and his face a mixture of exhaustion and surprise.
“Why are you still up?” he asked, closing the door quietly behind him.
I wanted to ask him, “And why are you home so late?”
But I only hung my head and looked at my swollen calves.
“My calves are sore, and I couldn’t sleep.”
“Hmm,” he responded absently, his eyes already wandering off, his mind clearly elsewhere.
I decided to bring up Omega Camille. “How is Omega Camille?”
Alpha Lucas frowned deeply, his face etched
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+ 5 Points
with persistent worry. “Emily, Camille really only has a month left.”
I could see the panic and the glimmer of tears in his eyes.
“She’s lost so much weight and is often vomiting blood.”
“She says no one is taking care of her, and she often feels cold.”
“She’s only 25. How could she have cancer?”
He spoke with such anguish, as though he had lost something precious.
And here I was, his mate, sitting on the sofa, listening to his concerns for his ex–mate.
I bit my lip, my wolf growling low in my mind. “He’s mourning her? What about us?”
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“Lucas,” I interrupted sharply, my tone colder than I intended. “It’s late. Time for bed.”
Omega Camille was indeed pitiable, but listening to Alpha Lucas’s worries about her made me feel like the one who was pitiful and tragic.
Alpha Lucas seemed to realize it was inappropriate to discuss this with me and fell silent awkwardly.
Before bed, Alpha Lucas massaged my legs as usual, but his touch was distracted.
A phone call came in–it was Omega Camille.I don’t know why she didn’t use telepathy, so at least I could pretend I didn’t know about it.
Alpha Lucas’s grip on me tightened painfully,
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Chapter 2
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and he quickly moved to answer, hurrying outside. His urgent steps betrayed his fear for missing something.
I stared at the door as it closed behind him, my wolf bristling with irritation. “That call could’ve been private,” she growled. “Doesn’t he know what this is doing to us?”
When he finally returned, we slept back to back.
He tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to sleep, and I couldn’t sleep either.
My calves ached, and the rustling of the sheets was too loud.
It drove me to distraction.
As I drifted off, I heard Alpha Lucas sigh heavily beside me.
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+ 5 Points:
The next morning, Alpha Lucas knelt before me, his hand resting on my knee, his eyes red with pleading.
“Emily,” he began, his voice hoarse with emotion, “please… give me one month.’
My stomach turned cold.
”
“Camille only has one month left,” he continued, his red–rimmed eyes pleading with me. “I want to spend her final days with her. She-”
“Stop.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. I took his hand from my knee and placed it firmly on my pregnant belly.
“What about our pup, Lucas?” I feel the little one stir beneath his palm.
