Hadeon's hand tightened around his cup. It nearly slipped from his grip, but he was always composed. Within a breath, his expression smoothed over.
"I won't let her carry it to term."
"That's your own flesh and blood."
"Her womb carried another wolf's seed once. I find that repulsive. Besides, she spent her whole life handling corpses. Any pup she bears could come out wrong."
Hadeon turned to the attendant standing nearby. "Tell Nyx Whithollow to mix the wolfsbane extract into the lady's meals. Be careful about it. Don't let her find out."
His friend let out a sigh. "Perenna really is pitiful..."
Hadeon went still for a moment. His gaze turned dark and unreadable as he stared into his cup. "I'll let her live out her days as my bonded mate, comfortable and provided for. Consider it compensation."
I clamped a hand over my mouth and crumpled to the ground. My wolf, who had been curled warm and quiet around the new life inside me, went absolutely still. Under the bewildered stares of the servants around me, I scrambled back to the den on my hands and knees.
In the darkness of my room, I wept alone.
So the wolf who had shared my bed that night was never Hadeon at all. And yet he had still bonded me, this tainted she-wolf, willingly, all for Cressida Thornwood.
He had even accepted a pup that had nothing to do with him.
I remembered the day the raiders slaughtered my pack. He had looked at my skirt, soaked through with blood, and wept until he could barely breathe.
He had sworn to me, voice shaking with conviction: "Perenna, I promise you, I won't let the pack die in vain. And I won't let our pup's sacrifice be for nothing."
He kept his word. Within three days, he tracked down the raiders' hideout and killed every last one of them.
For years, I had been overwhelmed with gratitude toward him. It never once crossed my mind that all of it, every single piece, had been his doing from the start.
Nyx's voice came from outside the door. "My lady, your meal is ready."
"Leave it. I'm not hungry."
The food laced with wolfsbane extract. I didn't dare touch it. My wolf pressed herself low against my ribs, guarding the tiny heartbeat beneath my own.
When the pack healer had last checked me, he told me my body was weak, my womb cold and depleted. I needed to rest and take care of myself. If I lost another pup, I would never be able to carry again.