Chapter 2
By the time I woke up, Orion was already gone.
Lately, he’d been disappearing early and coming home well past midnight. What made it worse was that his Beta assistant had called several times asking where the hell he was–apparently, he
hadn’t shown up at the office in days.
Didn’t take a genius to figure out where he was.
He was with her.
I booked an appointment and called a cab to the pack hospital.
It only took ten minutes to end it–to let go of the pup I’d once prayed for.
I changed back into my clothes slowly, still lightheaded and sore, then stepped out of the surgical
suite on my own, each step more of a shuffle than a stride.
And that’s when fate decided to throw one last cruel punch.
At the payment counter, I ran straight into Orion.
His arm was around Melody.
The second he saw me, his expression darkened.
–
“What are you following me now?”
I didn’t respond.
My gaze slid right past him and landed on Melody.
She stiffened, eyes darting away. Then she reached up and tugged playfully on Orion’s ear.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” she cooed, fake innocence dripping from every word. “Aurora wouldn’t follow us. We’ve got nothing to hide, right? She knows that.”
Such a sweet little performance-
And just like that, she tossed the burden right back on me.
I let out a humorless laugh and said flatly, “Right. You two are just siblings coming in for a prenatal checkup. Why would I care enough to follow you?”
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Orion’s eyes flared.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he snapped, shoving me hard. “Melody is my sister!”
I had just come out of surgery. My body was weak. The push sent me crashing to the ground, pain
ripping through my lower abdomen like a knife. I gasped, sharp and involuntary, curling into myself as my vision blurred.
Melody immediately crouched down beside me, clucking disapprovingly at Orion’s behavior as she
reached out a hand to help me up.
But the glint in her eyes? That smug little smile tugging at the corner of her lips?
Pure poison.
I slapped her hand away in disgust and tried to brace myself against the wall to stand.
Before I could get upright, she suddenly let out a dramatic yelp and collapsed to the floor, clutching
her stomach.
“Oh my god—it hurts! Orion, it hurts!”
He panicked instantly, scooping her into his arms like a knight rescuing a damsel in distress.
Then he turned on me, eyes blazing.
“If anything happens to Melody’s pup, I swear to god–you’ll pay for it!”
I was soaked in cold sweat, every nerve screaming.
And still, I watched in stunned silence as he walked away with her in his arms–never once looking
back at me.
Good, I thought bitterly. Let him go.
I’d made the right choice. Thank god I didn’t keep the pup.
Because a man who couldn’t even treat his own mate with basic decency?
He’d never be capable of loving a child.
On the ride home, I opened my phone and scrolled through my feed.
Right at the top: Melody’s newest post.
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It was a photo of Orion’s back as he stood beside her, his arm slung casually around her shoulder.
Caption: “With a protector like this, how could I not feel safe?”
The comments were already popping off:
“Umm… that doesn’t look like your Luna, bro.”
“Is this the Melody? Damn, you two made it official?”
“Wait–this is the donor? LMAO okay, now it makes sense.”
Then, Orion dropped his comment–dry and defensive:
“Chill. Just helping out a friend.”
Which, of course, only made it worse.
“Helping out, huh? That what we’re calling it now?”
“My man really said ‘just vibes and genetics.“”
“Say less, we know what that means.”
But the one that hit hardest?
Leo, his best friend since forever, the one who never bothered to hide how much he hated me,
chimed in:
“Bro, just cut ties with Aurora already. You’ve been into Melody for years. Why keep pretending?”
“You’re finally doing what you wanted all along. Stop fighting your instincts.”
Leo had never liked me. He thought I wasn’t good enough for Orion–said I wasn’t as beautiful, not as sweet, didn’t understand how to treat an Alpha the way Melody did. In his eyes, worthy to polish her damn shoes.
I used to bite my tongue for Orion’s sake.
Used to smile and let it slide.
But now?
I wasn’t even
Our mate bond was nothing but a technicality. I didn’t owe anyone silence anymore.
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So I tapped into the comment box and replied, “Didn’t realize you were so invested in my love life, Leo.”
Then I uploaded two pictures.
One was the pregnancy confirmation from two months ago.
The other? The post–op discharge slip from earlier this morning.
Caption: “Done playing nice.”
