Chapter 87 The Woman in the Photo
LISA'S POV
I stared at the photo until my eyes burned and the screen blurred in front of me. Ryan is with another woman. She was beautiful in a way that made my chest ache and the way her hand rested on his arm like she belonged there. He was smiling at her and it was a real smile. The kind I had not seen on his face in months. He looked lighter somehow. Like being away from me had lifted a weight off his shoulders.
I told myself I had no right to feel this way. I was the one who sent him away. I was the one who asked for space and told everyone to leave me alone. But seeing him with someone else made something ugly twist in my stomach. Jealousy mixed with grief mixed with anger at myself for caring when I should not.
The night stretched on forever and I could not sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that photo. Ryan laughing with her, Ryan touching her arm, Ryan moving on while I sat alone in a hospital bed carrying his baby. A baby that might not even be fully human or fully wolf but something else entirely. Something that was going to make our lives more complicated than they already were.
Morning light filtered through the hospital window and I felt exhausted despite not sleeping. My body ached and my wrists still burned where the silver cuffs had been. The door opened and Dr. Morrison came in with her clipboard and professional smile. She was the pack doctor and had known me since I was a child.
"How are we feeling this morning?" She checked my vitals and made notes without waiting for me to answer. "Blood pressure is still high but better than yesterday. Have you been resting like I told you?"
"I have been in bed all night." I did not mention that I spent it staring at my phone and spiraling into darker thoughts. "When can I leave?"
Dr. Morrison frowned at her clipboard. "Not for at least another week. Your body went through severe trauma and the pregnancy is still high risk. You need complete bed rest and monitoring." She paused and looked at me with something like sympathy. "Your ex-mate has been here every day you know. Ryan. He sits outside your door for hours. I told him you needed space but he will not leave the hospital. Says he is staying until you are safe."
My heart stuttered in my chest. "He was here last night?"
"All night." Dr. Morrison made another note. "He only left this morning because his therapist insisted on their session. Apparently, he is seeing someone to help him adjust to being human. It is not easy giving up your wolf like that."
I felt like the world's biggest fool. Ryan had not moved on. He had not replaced me with some beautiful woman. He was sitting outside my door all night while I convinced myself he had abandoned me. The photo was probably nothing. Maybe a friend or someone from his therapy group. Maybe I was seeing threats where there were none because I was scared and alone and did not know how to trust anymore.
"Can you tell him he can come in?" The words came out before I could stop them. "When he gets back from his appointment. Tell him I want to see him."
Dr. Morrison smiled and patted my hand. "I will let him know. Try to get some rest Lisa. Your baby needs you to be healthy." She left and I was alone again with my thoughts spinning.
The door opened twenty minutes later and I expected Ryan. Instead, Emma walked in carrying a breakfast tray with her face drawn and pale. She looked like she had not slept either and there were dark circles under her eyes that makeup could not hide.
"I brought you food." She set the tray on the bedside table without looking at me. "The hospital breakfast is terrible so I got you something from the cafe down the street. Your favorite. Blueberry pancakes."
"Thank you." I looked at the pancakes and felt my stomach turn. "Emma, are you okay? You look awful."
She laughed but it sounded broken. "I need to talk to you. About something I should have told you weeks ago. But I was scared and I did not know how you would react and everything was so chaotic with Viktor and the rescue." She sat heavily in the chair Ryan had been sleeping in. "I am pregnant."
The world tilted sideways and I grabbed the bed rail to steady myself. "What? When? Who?"
Emma would not meet my eyes. Her hands twisted in her lap and her voice came out barely above a whisper. "It happened during the chaos. After Viktor took you. I was so scared and I felt so alone and someone comforted me and it just happened. A mistake. A stupid, horrible mistake that I cannot take back."
My heart raced and suddenly I was thinking about that photo again. Ryan with the woman. Ryan who had been there when Emma needed comfort. Ryan who had always been kind to her even when I was not. "Emma. Who is the father?"
The silence stretched too long. Emma stared at her hands and her shoulders shook like she was trying not to cry. "It does not matter. He does not want anything to do with it. I am handling this alone."
"Tell me who it is." My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. "Emma, if you are pregnant with someone's baby I deserve to know who. Especially if it is someone in our circle."
Emma stood up and backed toward the door like she was preparing to run. "I cannot say. He is important to you Lisa. If you knew it would destroy something you are trying to rebuild. Please do not make me tell you."
Panic clawed at my throat. "Tell me it is not Ryan."
Emma's face crumpled and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "It is not. I swear on everything. Ryan has only ever wanted you. He would never touch me like that. Never."
Relief flooded through me so strongly that my knees went weak. "Then who?"
Emma shook her head and opened the door. "I have to go. I should not have come. I am sorry Lisa. For everything. I am so sorry." She left before I could stop her and the door swung shut behind her.
I sat frozen in the hospital bed with my mind racing through possibilities. Who could it be? Who was important to me that Emma would sleep with during a moment of weakness? Daniel was my brother so that was impossible. Marcus Krane was old enough to be our father. That left only one person who had been there during the chaos. Only one person whom Emma would have turned to for comfort.
Adrian.
The thought made my stomach drop. Adrian who had saved me. Adrian who had protected Emma when I could not. Adrian who had been so gentle and kind through everything. Had he and Emma found comfort in each other while I was being tortured by Viktor? Had something happened between them that Emma was now paying for?
The door opened again and I looked up expecting Emma to come back. Instead, Adrian walked in carrying flowers. White roses, my favorite. His smile was gentle and genuine and he looked relieved to see me awake.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" He set the flowers on the windowsill and pulled a chair closer to my bed. "Daniel said you wanted space but I had to check on you. Make sure you are really okay."
I studied his face looking for guilt or secrets or any sign that what I suspected was true. "Adrian, where were you the night after Viktor took me? Before the rescue?"
His smile faltered slightly and something shifted in his expression. "Why are you asking?"
"Just tell me." My voice was steady but my hands shook in my lap. "I need to know."
Adrian set the flowers down carefully and his jaw tightened. "I was with Emma. She was coordinating the backup teams and having a breakdown from the stress. I stayed with her until dawn to make sure she did not do something reckless. Why?"
I could not breathe. Emma and Adrian. The pieces fell into place and I felt sick. "Did anything happen between you two?"
Adrian's face darkened with understanding and his whole body went rigid. "She told you." It was not a denial. It was a confirmation.