Chapter 48 Chapter 48
Stetson had always prided himself on noticing things before they spiralled out of control. It was how he survived the pack, how he ruled it, how he kept enemies from ever getting close enough to strike. But lately, the danger wasn’t external.
It was Zarlia.
She had become quieter in ways that unsettled him. Not the comfortable silence they sometimes shared—those moments when she curled beside him, breathing in sync with his, the world held at bay—but a guarded quiet. A silence with locked doors behind it. She smiled too quickly, laughed too softly, and avoided his eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking.
And she was hiding things.
He noticed the way she flinched when he touched her stomach absentmindedly. The way she disappeared into rooms with her phone and came out seconds later like nothing happened. The way she started leaving the house without telling him where she was going.
He didn’t like it.
Not because he needed control—but because fear lived in secrets, and fear always led to running.
The first crack came from Mimi.
She was sitting up in bed for the first time in days, pillows propped behind her back, colour finally returning to her face. Stetson sat beside her; relief heavy in his chest just from seeing her conscious. Luke hovered nearby, arms crossed, pretending not to care while caring far too much.
Mimi’s eyes were sharp as she studied her brother.
“I had a dream,” she said suddenly.
Stetson stiffened. “You and your dreams again.”
“I’m serious.” Her voice lowered. “It didn’t feel like a dream.”
Luke’s jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.
Mimi swallowed. “Zarlia was standing in water. Red water. She was holding her stomach and crying, and you were calling her name but she couldn’t hear you.”
Stetson’s pulse spiked. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Mimi continued, eyes locked on his, “that you should get her checked. She’s pregnant.”
The word hit him like a physical blow.
Pregnant.
“That’s impossible,” he said immediately, more denial than logic. “She would have told me.”
Mimi shook her head. “Humans get scared. Especially when they’re carrying something they don’t understand.”
Luke finally spoke. “She’s been pale. Weak. She almost collapsed last week, plus I smelt blood on the floorboard.”
Stetson stood abruptly, claws itching beneath his skin. Fear—real, gnawing fear—settled in his chest.
Later that day, Caroline’s name appeared on Zarlia’s phone.She had stepped outside to take the call, thinking no one noticed. But Stetson noticed everything. He didn’t hear the entire conversation—just fragments drifting through the open door.
“Yes… Canada… next week… no, he doesn’t know.” When Zarlia came back inside, her expression was carefully neutral. Too careful. That was when Stetson made the decision, he hated himself for.
He called Luke aside. “Follow her,” he said quietly. “Don’t let her see you. Don’t intervene unless you have to.” Luke hesitated. “You don’t trust her?”
“I trust her,” Stetson replied, voice tight. “I don’t trust what she’s afraid of.”
The next morning, Zarlia left the house with a small bag and no explanation. Luke followed.
She went to the hospital. From a distance, Luke watched her sit in the waiting room, fingers trembling in her lap. He watched the doctor call her name. He watched the door close behind her.
And when Luke overheard enough—when the word pregnantfloated through the cracked door like a curse. He had a feeling she was—in fact he knew she was. It was obvious but this was just a confirmation.
Zarlia left the hospital to meet up with Caroline like usual while Luke was like a shadow behind her. Caroline could feel an unusual presence following them but she didn’t know who it was.
Luke eyes narrowed at the blonde woman. He could tell she felt his presence, yet she carried herself like nothing could harm her, most people would be afraid and consumed with paranoia. The way her long hair swung back and forth and her hips swaying like it was teasing him make him think she was mocking him.
Caroline and Zarlia caught up and a number kept calling her but when Zarlia asked who it was, she shook her head and said it was a wrong number.
“So, tell me what about the wedding dress you said you’d help me pick? And are you coming to my wedding in Canada?” Caroline said a little too loud and Zarlia frowned, no idea what she was talking about.
“O…kay? Well I have to use the restroom so wait here…in you wedding delusion or something”, Zarlia laughed before leaving with her phone.
Immediately Zarlia left, Caroline stood up and cat walked to the back of the café and sat down. She looked at the man sitting opposite her with a glare.
“Name”, she said and Luke raised a brow. “Does my stalker have a name?”, she asked, pulling out her phone. Luke couldn’t help but chuckle at her arrogance, it reminded him of Mimi but Caroline felt a bit different. It seemed like he was surrounded with feisty women.
“Are you laughing at me?”, she frowned and he cleared his throat. “I would never” there was a hint of mockery in his tone. She shook her head and sighed.
“So, tell me what you like about me”, she wasted no time in ordering a drink. “I beg your pardon?”, he frowned, confused.
“Don’t act all innocent on me now, we’re too old for that—actually I’m too old for that you look younger.” The waiter came with her coffee and she winked at him, when he was gone Caroline turned to Luke with a teasing smile.
“You’ve been following me. You are obsessed with me and I can’t blame you, I’ve had a lot of stalkers but never a cute one”, Luke almost choked on his own saliva but froze when he felt her leg trailing up his until it was close to his centre.
He immediately held her foot under the table, his eyes blazing. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you”. There was something in his voice that made her lose her breath.
“Caroline what are you doing here?” Zarlia voice came behind her and she let go of the breath she never knew she was holding. “Oh, I was just talking to—” she turned to see Luke already gone.
Zarlia returned later that afternoon, her face composed but her eyes hollow. She went straight to Mimi’s room, like she always did lately.
Mimi smiled brightly when she saw her. “There you are.”Zarlia sat beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I cheated death,” Mimi said lightly, then tilted her head. “You know, the pack is already talking.”
Zarlia stiffened. “Talking about what?”
“About you.” Mimi grinned. “They’d be so excited to meet you especially mum.” The word mum made Zarlia’s chest tighten.
“I don’t think—” she started.
“You’ll love her,” Mimi interrupted. “I can’t till we can go home. My mum is loud. Protective. And she’ll be obsessed with—”
She paused, eyes narrowing slightly, as if something clicked.
Zarlia’s heart slammed. Mimi reached for the glass of alcohol beside her bed and took a long drink.
Luke immediately crossed the room. “That’s enough.” His sudden appearance surprising everyone but it was in his nature to just come and go.
“Relax,” Mimi snapped. “I almost died. Let me drink.” Luke took the glass anyway. “You’re healing.”
“God, you’re infuriating,” she slurred, glaring at him. “Always acting like you care.”
“I don’t act,” Luke replied flatly. They argued back and forth, voices rising, tension crackling between them. Mimi cursed him out in three different languages, while Luke remained frustratingly calm.
Across the room, Stetson watched Zarlia. She was too still.“Are you okay?” he asked gently. She turned to him and smiled—a brittle thing that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said, nodding quickly.
He didn’t believe her for a second.
Dinner was quiet. Too quiet.
Plates clinked softly, but no one really ate. Mimi poked at her food, Luke watched her like a hawk, and Zarlia barely touched her plate.
Afterward, they all retreated to their rooms.
That was when Luke finally told him. “She’s pregnant,” Luke said.
The world tilted. Stetson sat on the edge of the bed in the dark, the weight of the truth crushing his lungs. Of course, she was afraid. Of course, she wanted to run. Of course, she didn’t tell him.
He lay beside her carefully, as if she might shatter. Zarlia slept curled on her side, face drawn even in rest.
He reached out and caressed her cheek, thumb brushing softly beneath her eye. “I should have seen it,” he whispered.
In the kitchen, Luke scrubbed dishes in silence. Mimi stumbled in, leaning heavily against the doorframe. She blinked at him, surprised.
“Oh,” she said. “You’re still here.”
She talked—nonsense, half-formed thoughts spilling out of her mouth. She told him he pissed her off. That he was annoying. That he cared too much.
“You’re irritating,” she muttered, smiling faintly. “But… in a cute way.”
Luke said nothing. He was already used to her immature attitude—he had no choice either way because he promised Stetson that he’d protect her and he saw her nothing more than an annoying little sister.
When she nearly fell, he caught her effortlessly and carried her back to bed. As he set her down, she reached up, fingers curling into his shirt.
“You’re attractive,” she said seriously, barely able to carry herself.
Then she leaned forward and kissed the corner of his lips.
Luke froze.