My fingers tighten around the phone 159

Aria’s POV
“Pregnant?!” I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth as I stared at Zoe with wide eyes. “Wait—you’re pregnant? No, hold
on—you and David slept together?!”
The words tumbled out of me in a shocked rush, echoing in the small confines of Zoe’s car. I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing. When had this happened? How had I missed the signs that my best friend and Ethan’s head of security had
progressed to… well, that level?
“Shh!” Zoe frantically waved her hands at me, her eyes darting around as if expecting werewolf spies to be lurking in the
trees alongside the road. “Keep it down, for goddess’ sake! The entire pack doesn’t need to hear about my sex life!”
Her face had turned a shade of crimson I’d never seen before. I reached over and grabbed her arm, giving it a gentle
squeeze as my initial shock settled into concerned curiosity.
“Okay, okay,” I whispered, though we were alone in the car. “But you can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not
to react. Tell me everything—and I mean everything.”
Zoe groaned, sinking lower in her seat as she pulled into the training camp parking lot, but kept the engine running. She
turned to face me, her usually confident demeanor replaced by an uncharacteristic vulnerability that made my heart
soften.
“It’s actually kind of your fault,” she muttered, twisting her fingers together nervously.
“My fault?” I blinked, one hand automatically moving to rest on my swollen belly as one of the twins delivered a
particularly enthusiastic kick. “How is this possibly my fault?”
“Well, yours and Lucas’s,” she clarified, a hint of a smile finally breaking through her anxiety. “Remember when you were
in the hospital? Lucas stayed with me most nights, and David would come over to ‘help’ with him.”
My eyebrows shot up as understanding dawned. “So you two were playing house with my son as your excuse?”
“Nothing happened then!” she insisted, her cheeks flushing again. “We just… talked. A lot. He’d stay for dinner, help Lucas
with homework, and then we’d sit up after Lucas went to bed, just talking about everything.” Her voice softened with the memory. “It was nice, you know? I’ve never connected with someone like that before.”
“And then?” I prompted, unable to hide my growing smile.
“Then you got better, went home, and suddenly our excuse for spending time together was gone.” She sighed, running a
hand through her short, spiky hair. “We barely saw each other for weeks. Until last night.”
“What happened last night?” I leaned forward as far as my pregnant belly would allow, completely invested in this
unexpected love story.
“I went to that pub near my place—you know, The Howling Moon—just to unwind after training. And there he was,
sitting alone at the bar.” She bit her lip, her eyes taking on a dreamy quality that I’d never seen before. “He said he’d been
going there every Friday, hoping to ‘accidentally’ run into me.”
“Oh my god, that’s actually adorable,” I cooed, imagining the serious, stern-faced David lurking at a bar week after week,
too proud to just call.
“We had a few drinks, started talking, and…” she trailed off, looking simultaneously mortified and pleased with herself.
“One thing led to another, and we ended up at my place. But this morning I completely panicked and snuck out while he
was still asleep. I came straight to you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. “So you literally fled from your own apartment? Where exactly are you
planning to live now?”
“I know, I know! It’s ridiculous!” She groaned, dropping her forehead against the steering wheel. “I’ve faced down rogue wolves, but the thought of facing David after seeing him naked? Absolute terror.”
“And the pregnancy worry?” I asked more gently, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder.
“We were careful, but… there was this moment when…” she mumbled something inaudible, then cleared her throat. “I’m
just being paranoid. It’s probably nothing. But what if it’s not nothing? What if I really am pregnant? I don’t know the first
thing about being a mother!”
The vulnerability in her voice touched something deep within me. I remembered my own panic when I’d discovered I was
pregnant with Lucas—alone, banished, terrified of what the future might hold.
1/2
“First things first,” I said calmly, channeling the practical nature I’d developed during those challenging years. “It’s way
too early to know if you’re pregnant. And if you are, you won’t be facing it alone.” I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“But right now, your more immediate problem is that you abandoned David in your bed without so much as a goodbye
note.”
She cringed. “He’s going to hate me.”
“He’s not going to hate you,” I assured her. “But you can’t avoid him forever, especially since he works directly for Ethan.”
A mischievous smile spread across my face. “Just imagine those awkward pack meetings.”
“You’re enjoying this too much,” she grumbled, finally turning off the car engine. “Can we please change the subject? I
need time to process before I can figure out what to do.”
“Fine,” I agreed, my smile softening. “But you know I’m here for you, whatever you decide, right?”
She nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Thanks. That actually means a lot.”
As we stepped out of the car, the familiar sounds and scents of the training camp washed over me. The rhythmic thud of
combat practice, the occasional grunts and shouts of instruction, the earthy smell of dirt mixed with sweat and
determination. We walked slowly toward the main building, my pace necessarily measured due to my condition. As we
rounded the corner, a commotion near the administrative offices caught my attention. A group of security personnel—all wearing the distinctive black uniforms of Ethan’s elite guard—were escorting someone out of the building.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to get a better look. The person being escorted—no, restrained—was a woman with long
blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Her hands were secured behind her back, and she struggled against her
captors’ grip.
“Is that… Sarah?” I asked, recognizing the assistant trainer who had been so friendly when I first arrived at the camp.
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Zoe’s expression hardened immediately. “Yes, it’s her. David’s team picked her up.”
“What? Why?” I watched in confusion as Sarah continued to resist, her face contorted with anger and fear.
“While investigating Emma’s disappearance, David discovered that Sarah had been in regular contact with her for
months,” Zoe explained, her voice low and tight. “She was feeding Emma information about you—your schedule, your
routes home, even details about your medical appointments.”
A cold chill ran down my spine despite the warm spring day. The thought that someone I’d considered friendly had been watching me, reporting on my movements to the woman who had tried to kill me and my unborn children… it made me
feel violated in a way I hadn’t expected.
Suddenly, Sarah looked up and spotted me standing there. Her expression changed instantly from defiance to desperate
pleading.
“Aria!” she called out, her voice cracking with emotion. “Please help me! I’m innocent! Don’t you remember how kind I was to you when you first arrived? I was your friend! You have to believe me!”
The guards tightened their grip on her arms, but she continued to call out to me, her voice growing more frantic. “It’s all
a misunderstanding! Emma threatened me, I had no choice! Please, Aria!”
I stood frozen, one hand automatically moving to protect my belly as the twins shifted restlessly inside me, perhaps
sensing my distress. Part of me wanted to believe her—to think that perhaps she had been coerced or threatened. But
another part, the part that had learned harsh lessons about trust and betrayal, held me back.
Zoe placed a protective hand on my shoulder, gently guiding me away from the scene. “Don’t listen to her,” she murmured. “David has evidence—text messages, phone records, even surveillance footage of them meeting in secret.”
Sarah’s cries continued to follow us as we walked away. “Aria, please! You can’t let them do this to me!”
“What will happen to her?” I asked quietly once we were out of earshot.
“She’ll be questioned thoroughly,” Zoe replied, her voice became hard. “David wants to know if she