"What is wrong with you? You act like a lunatic the second you walk in," he snapped. But when he saw the tears in my eyes, he hesitated, his grip loosening just a little. The cedar scent faltered, thinning at the edges.
"Are you really giving her this room?" I asked, my voice raw and broken.
Alaric frowned. "Ravenna said she likes it. It's not a big deal if she stays here for a while."
"Do you remember…"
"Enough, Selene!" He cut me off, irritated. His Alpha aura pressed outward, cold and dismissive, and my wolf flinched before I could stop her. "Everything you've done these past few days has been disappointing. If you keep acting like this, I'll have to reconsider whether this mating bond should even continue." He paused, eyes cold. "You don't want the pup inside you to be born without a father, do you?"
He was threatening me with bond rejection.
Looking at his face, the side he always turned away when he was done with an argument, I felt the memories unravel. The promises, the whispered sweet nothings, all turning to ash in a matter of moon cycles. He once said this room would always belong to our pup. He said he would treasure both of us for the rest of his life.
And yet here we were.
I didn't say anything else. I turned around and walked out, numb. My hand instinctively cradled my belly, feeling the faint flutter of life inside me. My wolf curled protectively around that small warmth, the only thing left that still felt real.
"Don't worry, little one. We don't need that room. I'll make you a better one."
Behind me, Alaric stood frozen, watching me walk away. That same flicker of guilt from the Moon-Healers' Hall flashed across his face again, sharp and quick, then buried.
But as Ravenna called out to him from the nursery, he turned and walked back to her.
Later, when I was back in the master chamber, my communicator buzzed. I got a string of voice messages from Ravenna.
I opened them one by one, and hearing Alaric's doting tone in the recordings, I realized all their past affection was just practice for Alaric. He was practicing on me and our pup, all for the sake of Ravenna's child.
Every nourishing bone broth I drank, every gift I received for the pup, every rearing tip Alaric shared with me. It was all just practice for Ravenna's pup.
Even the nursery itself was prepared by Alaric for the child in Ravenna's womb.