Chapter 68 The Father Question
LISA'S POV
Ryan arrived looking confused and I could tell he had not slept. Dark circles were under his eyes and his hair stood in every direction like he had been running his hands through it all night. He saw my face and the test on the bathroom floor and he knew. He just knew without me saying a word.
"You took the test," he said quietly.
I confirmed it with a nod. The word felt too small for what it meant. Ryan closed his eyes and I watched his throat work as he swallowed hard. When he opened them again they were wet with unshed tears and I saw something break inside him.
"I need you to tell me exactly what happened," I said. My voice was steadier than I felt. "Every detail of that night. My memories are not put together and I need to know if this baby is yours or if something else happened that I do not remember."
Ryan sat down heavily on the edge of my bed. His hands were shaking and he could not look at me while he talked. The silence stretched between us thick with fear and guilt and all the things we had not said to each other in months.
"I gave you the prescribed pain medication," he finally said. "A double dose because you were hurting so badly after the challenge. Your ribs were bruised and your shoulder was dislocated and you could barely breathe without wincing. I sat with you until you fell asleep. Held your hand because you asked me to. Then I left because staying felt wrong. Like I was taking advantage of your vulnerability."
"And?" I pressed. There was more. I could hear it in his voice and see it in the way he would not meet my eyes.
Ryan admitted it like confessing a crime. "I got halfway to my quarters before the mate bond went insane. You were calling for me. I could feel it through the connection like a rope pulling me back to you. So I came back to check on you. To make sure you were okay. But when I got there you were half asleep and you pulled me into bed. Said you needed me. That you had been lying to yourself for months. That rejecting the bond was the worst mistake you ever made."
He finally looked at me and his eyes were full of guilt and longing and pain that matched my own. "I should have left. I should have told you that you were not thinking clearly. But the bond was so strong and you were there wanting me for the first time in months. So I stayed. We made love. You fell asleep in my arms and I left before dawn because I was a coward who could not face the morning after. I could not face the possibility that you would wake up and regret everything."
"So it happened," I whispered. The memory was there now. Hazy but real. His hands on my skin. His mouth on mine. The mate bond singing between us like it had never been broken. "It was real."
Ryan nodded slowly. "Which means the baby is mine. It has to be. You have not been with anyone else. The mate bond allowed conception despite the suppressants because biologically we are still connected. We are still meant to be together even when we tried to tear ourselves apart."
I sat with this information and tried to process what it meant. I was carrying Ryan's baby. The man who rejected me. The man who broke my heart and shattered my trust into a thousand pieces. But also the man I loved for years. The man who was my fated mate whether I wanted him to be or not. Did this change anything between us? Did it make my choice for me? Could I raise a child with someone I did not trust? Could I deny my child their father because I was too afraid to forgive?
Before I could process any of it Nathan burst in without knocking. His face was pale and panicked and I knew immediately something terrible had happened. "Lisa, Marcus Krane moved up the deadline. His son is issuing the challenge now. In one hour. He says the viral video proves you are unfit to lead and he is invoking his right to claim you immediately."
He looked at me and Ryan and the pregnancy test on the table. His eyes went wide with understanding and horror. "Oh. Oh shit. Does this mean you are actually pregnant? Because if you are you cannot fight. It is against pack law to challenge a pregnant alpha. The risk to the unborn child is too great and no council would sanction it."
He was cut off by commotion outside. Shouting and guards yelling and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. Then Adrian's voice bellowed loud enough to shake the windows and rattle the pictures on my walls. "LISA! GET OUT HERE NOW! THERE IS SOMEONE YOU NEED TO MEET!"
We all rushed outside. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing with possibilities. Another threat? Another betrayal? Another piece of this nightmare falling into place? I burst through the front door with Ryan and Nathan right behind me and froze at what I saw.
Standing at the pack house entrance was a tall sophisticated man in an expensive suit. Human. No wolf scent. He was holding flowers and looking around with obvious discomfort like he had walked into the wrong building or accidentally crashed a private event. Adrian stood beside him with a face that was completely unreadable. Not angry but not pleased. Just waiting to see what would happen next.
The man saw me and smiled warmly. It was the kind of smile that reached his eyes and made you want to trust him immediately. "Lisa Marcus? I am Dante Moretti. Adrian's friend from the human business world. He has told me so much about you. I hope I am not intruding but when he mentioned you might need a different perspective on things I offered to visit."
His eyes were kind and genuine. Completely unaware of the supernatural chaos around him. "I own a gallery in the city. Adrian thought you might enjoy seeing some art and getting away from pack business for an afternoon?"