Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sera

I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Marcus's face, heard his words about taking my baby. My baby. The one I'd wanted for three years, and now that it was finally real, someone was trying to take it away.

The clock on the nightstand read three in the morning. I'd been lying here for five hours, the mate bond humming between me and Dante even though he was sleeping in another room. I could feel his steady breathing, the deep pull of sleep. At least one of us could rest.

I gave up trying and slipped out of bed. Maya had brought me actual pajamas earlier, soft cotton that didn't smell like Dante. I appreciated the gesture even if part of me missed his scent.

The hallway was dark and quiet. I made my way downstairs carefully, not wanting to wake anyone. The kitchen was my goal—maybe warm milk would help, or at least give me something to do besides replay tomorrow's evaluation in my head.

But when I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard voices. Low and urgent, coming from Dante's office. The door was cracked open, light spilling into the hallway.

I knew I shouldn't listen. But I moved closer anyway.

"—can't trust her." That was Adrian. "She shows up with a convenient story right when we need evidence? It's too perfect."

"The documents look legitimate." Dante's voice was tired. "The handwriting matches Marcus's. The timeline fits."

"Or she forged them. She's been sleeping with Marcus for weeks, Dante. She knows how he writes, how he thinks. This could all be fake."

"To what end? What does Lydia gain from helping us?"

"Redemption. A place in a stronger pack. Maybe she sees which way the wind is blowing and wants to be on the winning side."

There was a pause. Then Dante said, "You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"I trust you. I trust the pack. I don't trust some woman who shows up claiming her sister is in danger right after betraying that same sister." Adrian's voice hardened. "And I definitely don't trust Sera."

My stomach clenched.

"That's enough," Dante warned.

"Is it? Because from where I'm standing, we have a woman who appears at your rut, claims to be your true mate, gets pregnant immediately, and now suddenly there's all this drama with her ex-husband. Doesn't it seem convenient?"

"The healer confirmed the pregnancy is four weeks old. Sera and I only met four days ago."

"So the baby is Marcus's, which means legally he has claim to it. And if Sera stays here under your protection, we're harboring another Alpha's pregnant mate. That's grounds for war, Dante."

"She's not his mate anymore. The bond broke."

"According to her. According to you. But can you prove it to the Council? Can you prove the true mate bond is real and not just something you both convinced yourselves of during your rut?"

The silence that followed was heavy. I pressed my hand against the wall, feeling dizzy.

"You think I'd lie about a true mate bond?" Dante's voice was dangerously quiet.

"I think you've been alone for twenty-five years. I think you wanted a mate so badly that when a beautiful, desperate woman appeared during your most vulnerable time, you convinced yourself it was fate instead of opportunity."

"Get out."

"Dante—"

"I said get out. We'll discuss this tomorrow when you've remembered who you're talking to."

I heard footsteps approaching the door and barely managed to hide behind a pillar before Adrian emerged. He looked furious, his jaw tight. He didn't see me as he stalked toward the front entrance and disappeared outside.

I waited a few moments, then stepped into the doorway of Dante's office. He was sitting at his desk, head in his hands, looking more exhausted than I'd ever seen him.

"How much did you hear?" he asked without looking up.

"Enough." I moved into the room. "Is that what everyone thinks? That I'm manipulating you?"

"Adrian is protective. He doesn't represent everyone."

"But he's not completely wrong, is he?" I sat down in the chair across from him. "We don't know each other. Four days isn't enough time to build trust. And now I'm pregnant with another man's baby, bringing all this trouble to your door."

Dante finally looked up. "Do you regret the bond?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." I wrapped my arms around myself. "I regret that I can't give you something that's just ours. This baby should have been yours. Should have been proof that we're real. Instead it's just more proof that I belonged to Marcus first."

"You never belonged to Marcus. You were with him. There's a difference."

"Is there? Because it feels like everywhere I go, I'm just someone's mate or someone's ex-wife or someone's problem. I'm never just me."

Dante stood and moved around the desk, crouching in front of me like he had that first day. "You're Sera. You're strong and stubborn and scared but still fighting. You're the woman who ran into a forest alone rather than stay with someone who betrayed you. You're the person who's willing to face a Council evaluation even though you're terrified because you won't let Marcus win." He took my hands. "That's who you are. Not anyone's possession."

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to accept the comfort he was offering. But doubt had dug its claws in deep.

"What if the bond isn't real?" I whispered. "What if Adrian's right and we just convinced ourselves because we both wanted it so badly?"

"Do you feel it?" Dante pressed my hand against his chest, over his heart. "Right now, can you feel my heartbeat like it's your own?"

I could. The steady rhythm matched mine, synchronized perfectly. I could feel his exhaustion, his worry, his determination. Could feel the pull between us like a magnetic force.

"Yes," I admitted.

"That's not manipulation. That's not desperation. That's a true mate bond." He moved my hand to my own chest. "And you can feel yours too, can't you? The way your wolf recognizes mine?"

My wolf stirred, pressing against my consciousness. She was calm around Dante, content in a way she'd never been with Marcus. With Marcus, she'd always been dormant, hiding. With Dante, she was present and peaceful.

"I feel it," I said.

"Then trust that. Trust us." He kissed my forehead gently. "Everything else we'll figure out as we go."

A sound from the hallway made us both turn. Lydia stood there, clutching a folder to her chest, her eyes red from crying.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said quietly. "But you need to see this. I found something else in Marcus's office. Something worse than the affair planning."

Dante stood. "What is it?"

Lydia opened the folder with shaking hands and pulled out a medical report. "Sarah's notes from Sera's examination three weeks ago. The one where she discovered the pregnancy." She held it out to Dante. "Look at the date it was filed with the pack records."

Dante scanned the document, his expression darkening. "This says Sarah reported the pregnancy to Marcus the same day she examined Sera."

"That's standard protocol," I said. "The Alpha gets all medical reports."

"Keep reading," Lydia urged.

Dante's eyes moved down the page. When he reached the bottom, he went very still. "This can't be right."

"What?" I stood and moved to look over his shoulder.

There, in Sarah's handwriting, was a note at the bottom of the report: Alpha Marcus has requested immediate daily monitoring of pregnancy progression. Has also requested detailed genetic mapping to confirm paternity. Unusual request given current mate bond status, but Alpha's orders take precedence.

My blood ran cold. "He wanted genetic mapping three weeks ago? Why would he need to confirm paternity if he thought the baby was his?"

"Unless he didn't think it was his." Lydia's voice was hollow. "Sera, do you remember anyone else examining you around that time? Anyone besides Sarah?"

I tried to think back. Three weeks ago I'd been exhausted, nauseous, going through the motions of my failing marriage. "No. Just Sarah. Why?"

"Because there's another document here." Lydia pulled out a second paper. "Test results from a private lab. Genetic material submitted for analysis." She looked at me. "Marcus sent samples of your blood and his to a lab to test compatibility for offspring. The results came back two and a half weeks ago."

Dante took the paper from her. His jaw clenched as he read. "The results show low genetic compatibility between Marcus and Sera. The lab notes indicate natural conception between them would be highly unlikely, and any resulting pregnancy would likely result in early miscarriage or severe complications."

The room spun. "But I am pregnant. Sarah confirmed it."

"With a healthy, developing fetus." Dante's eyes met mine. "Which according to this lab report, shouldn't be possible if Marcus is the father."

The implication hung in the air between us.

"That's impossible," I said. "I was never with anyone else. The timeline doesn't work. Four weeks ago I was still with Marcus. I didn't even meet you until—"

I stopped. Looked at Dante. Saw the same confusion in his eyes that I felt.

"Could the healer have gotten the dates wrong?" Lydia asked quietly.

"Marie has been practicing for thirty years," Dante said. "She doesn't make mistakes about pregnancy timelines."

"Then how?" I pressed my hand to my stomach. "How can I be four weeks pregnant when I only conceived four days ago?"

No one had an answer.

The silence stretched until Lydia said, "There's one more thing. The genetic test Marcus ordered? It wasn't just compatibility screening. Look at the bottom."

Dante flipped to the last page. His expression shifted from confused to shocked. "He ordered a full genetic projection. What the offspring would look like, potential traits, dominant characteristics." He looked up at me. "Sera, according to this projection, any child born from you and Marcus would have severe health complications. The report recommends against conception entirely."

"But I'm pregnant and the baby is healthy," I said. "Marie said so."

"Yes." Dante set the papers down carefully. "Which means either the lab results are wrong, or the baby isn't Marcus's."

"But it has to be. There's no other option."

Unless there was.

I thought about the night I met Dante. How my wolf had awakened for the first time. How the bond had snapped into place with such force it shattered my connection to Marcus. How everything had felt right in a way nothing ever had before.

"True mates," I whispered. "You said true mate bonds are different. That they override everything else."

"They do."

"Could they override time?" The question sounded insane, but I asked it anyway. "Could a bond that strong change things? Make something that happened four days ago register as four weeks?"

Dante and Lydia both stared at me.

"That's not possible," Lydia said.

But Dante looked thoughtful. "There are stories. Old ones, from before packs were organized the way they are now. About true mate bonds being so powerful they could affect reality itself. But those are just legends."

"Are they?" I touched my stomach again. "Because how else do you explain this?"