Chapter 108 - Unreject Me

Natasha’s pov

I ended up staring at him like he had grown two heads. A DNA test? Was that why he travelled all the way from the Black Woods to Wood Stone? All this time, I wondered why they visited us in the hospital. Throughout the whole pregnancy, no one bothered to enquire about me or the health of the unborn child, so I was taken aback when the healer informed me that I had visitors. Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw these three enter the room. They were the last ones I imagined would check on me or the pup.

And wait. Theo’s relative? Was Asher related to him? My forehead creased. They looked so alike. The chances of them being related were high. No wonder I was drawn to that strange Alpha in the woods, despite having met him for the first time. Theodore and Asher shared the same charisma. However, there was one thing I didn’t understand. During my days at Black Woods, I didn’t come across another Alpha who looked similar to Theo. Asher definitely wasn’t part of the pack. It made me think that perhaps they were distant cousins. Maybe they lived in different parts of the territory. Then why was Asher a rogue? Why did his scent lead me towards a cave where I found basically nothing? He owned nothing—not even a home or clothes. Was he cast away from the pack? Why was he living like a primitive wolf in the wilderness?

“We can do the test here, Alpha. It is a simple procedure, but for the results to come, you would have to wait,” the healer said, breaking the silence in the room.

They must have taken my silence as consent on my part.

“Wait!” I quickly interrupted them before they took things any further. “Your… relative? You must be mistaken. I slept with a rogue.” I said, frowning.

“You heard me. I have my reasons to believe this, and I don’t have time to waste. Just give us the sample, and we will leave,” Theo said.

I thought about it. It was not safe to reveal the whole truth to them. They might finally link me to Asher's attack on Kaizen if they had evidence that I had slept with him that night. Yes, I wanted him to defeat Kaizen so that I would become his Luna and he would be my Alpha. That plan failed, and I did not want to be discovered after all the lies I had told them.

I lied, but could anyone really blame me? I wanted to make sure I had enough time to raise my puppy and help him develop into the Alpha that he is meant to be. Maybe then he would have what Asher and I did not have. Although his father was born into an Alpha family, destiny had driven him into the heart of the forest. Clearly, he did not receive what was due to him. Either way, Asher was no longer with us, so it was best if I pretended not to know anything about him.

“DNA? But he is just a pup,” I said, trying to think of an excuse. I kind of wished that they would just leave me alone.

“DNA testing wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, if he is family, I want to know,” Theodore insisted.

I shook my head. “I told you that his father is a rogue. Why would someone from your family be a rogue? This is the result of a one-night stand that shouldn’t have happened, but it’s not a big deal. It was my choice to keep the pregnancy. Just let me live my life.”

“Well. Let’s just get a DNA test.”

“No!” I quickly said, cutting Kaizen off. I just didn’t feel it was safe to give them that authority. If I did not want a DNA test to be done on my pup, they couldn't. Furthermore, I knew I would have access to Asher's finances because I was his only child's mother. It would therefore be easy to take care of him. We would be wealthy, and I could definitely live the opulent life I have always desired.

“I don’t want any of that. I told you, this pup is mine. I want nothing to do with his father’s side, and I don’t want to find out who his relatives are. My pup is my responsibility. I will look after him. I know I can. I will not bother anyone. I promise.”

Theodore narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t trust you.”

I almost rolled my eyes. Even though he did not like me, he did not need to constantly scrutinise me with that glare. What business did he have with what I did with my life? Whether or not he trusted me was irrelevant to me. At least not anymore.

“Well, I am his mom, and I think that’s enough for my pup. Now, please, leave.”

They left, but I knew they wouldn’t keep their eyes off my son. I glanced at him, thinking about what I would do next. If they continued to pry, they might realise that it was I who gave Asher the information about Kaizen’s departure that day. Asher was right not to want a phone. They truly would have linked us if he had, and even if I had deleted the conversations with him, they might find a way to retrieve those messages. Now that wasn’t possible.

They could not find anything on my devices even if they searched through them. Still, it was merely a question of time. The Alphas were skilled investigators. Perhaps I should move completely out of the wolf territory. Asher’s business was in the human world. Living in a human city would not be too hard for me to adapt to. Whenever my wolf needed a run, I could go for an early morning sprint or a late night jog. Up until the moment he would need to shift, my son would be almost entirely human. Yes, that’s what I should do. As soon as I got my phone back, I would leave the pack and never return.

It would be best for my pup and me that we move, at least for the first fifteen years of his life.

***

Theo’s pov

“I will talk to her and make her understand. She should accept all the help she can get. Taking care of a pup that small while working is hard, especially since she is a new mother,” the healer said as we walked out of the room.

“Thank you for your help,” Nikita said. The healer excused herself and went to attend to her duties.

“Can’t we just take the sample without her knowledge? I just want to know if the pup is truly Asher’s,” I said.

A mischievous smirk curled on Nikita’s lips. From her demeanour, I knew that she must have done something. I couldn’t help the grin curling on my lips.

“Why do you have that look on your face?” I asked her.

Kaizen looked at her. “Don’t tell me you already gave the orders to the lab.”

“Umm. I may have mind linked them,” she winked at her mate. “They have already taken blood samples from the baby to do a normal health check. So…” Her gaze drifted towards me. “Let’s get you to the lab. She doesn’t have to know anything.”

Kaizen snickered. “You’re one sneaky little she-wolf, mate.”

She shrugged. “Eh. You got to do what you got to do. I don’t believe it when she says she doesn’t know who the father is. She has met with Asher’s business partners in the human city. This can’t be a coincidence.”

My muscles tensed. So I wasn’t the only one who didn’t trust her words.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go to the lab,” I said.

***

After giving the sample to the laboratory, I returned to the Black Woods. I trusted Nikita and Kaizen enough that they would closely look into the matter, and besides, my mate needed me with her. The DNA test results weren’t expected for at least another five to seven days, so Kaya and I simply kept checking on any news from Wood Stone.

Since there were no complications, Natasha was allowed to return home with her pup. Some healers raised their concerns about how she was going to do it all by herself, but she assured them that she would manage it all.

Everything was going well. Or so I thought. On the eve of the third day, I received a call from Kaizen.

“Hey. Any news?” I asked as soon as I answered the call. I was kind of hoping to hear something positive, but from the way he sighed into the phone, I knew something was up.

“I have some not-so-good news, Theo,” he said. “We went to Natasha’s place when we received a call from a very concerned healer. She is the one who delivered the baby and went to check on them since she lived nearby and hadn’t seen anyone going in or out of the house. She expected Natasha to need help somehow, but when she went there, no one was in the house. The house was empty.”

A deep frown creased my forehead. “What? Where are she and the pup?”

“That’s it. She isn’t in the pack, and today I felt some breakage in the pack link. I think someone has relinquished all connections to Wood Stone.”

My eyes widened. I knew where it was going. From the sounds of it, it seemed that Natasha had left Wood Stone with her pup. And to make it harder for Kaizen to find her, she cut ties with the pack.

“She left the pack,” I stated.

“I am afraid so. Her car is also gone. We think she left last night. The soldiers returned her belongings yesterday before noon. She was at home then,” Kaizen said. “We didn’t find anything on her phone or computer.”

“And she cut ties only after she was certain she was unreachable,” I mumbled under my breath. She may have been a whore, but she surely wasn’t stupid. “Do you know where she may have gone?” I asked.

“Nikita thinks she may have settled in the human city. She did some research before telling me anything. Apparently, my mate has been watching her ever since she came here. Natasha met with Asher’s human partners, remember?” he said.

“Of course, that is where Asher’s money is. Where else would she go?” I pursed my lips. She cared about money and a lavish lifestyle, but another thing she desired was power. She targeted Alphas, and I doubted she would stay in the human world forever. My assumption was that she would return once the pup reached adolescence. “When are the test results coming?” I asked.

“Within this week,” he said, sighing deeply. “I am sorry. I didn’t see this coming. She gave birth recently, and her pup is just a few days old. I didn’t think she would travel like that.”

“That’s fine. We can still find her. I doubt she would go too far away from Asher’s money. You dated her. You should know how she is. Anyway, if the pup isn’t Asher’s, I don’t really want to find them, but from her reaction, I am almost certain that he is Asher’s son and she has something to hide. Why else would she leave like that?”