Chapter 2: The Choice I Still Had

Noah looked down at me for a long time.

Then he gave a cold, dismissive laugh.

Why else? You think it is because I love you?

He bent down and wiped the tears from my chin with his thumb. The trace of pity in the gesture hurt more than disgust ever could.

Scarlett is your sister. Her last mate contract was dissolved, and she is raising a pup alone. She has dealt with enough gossip.

If I cancel the ceremony with you and immediately claim her, everyone will know what has been going on for the last five years.

She will lose her credibility as the Mercer family's eldest daughter. She will not be able to represent the family at formal gatherings. I cannot let her go through that.

He put his hands on my shoulders, his voice so gentle it made my skin crawl.

Ruby, I cannot bear to let her suffer. So you will have to.

A chill started deep in my bones and spread through me.

You want me to be your public partner? To use our ceremony to cover for you and Scarlett?

Very smart. He tapped the tip of my nose. So you will cooperate, right?

I slapped his hand away.

What makes you think I will go along with this?

You will.

Noah took a test report from Northpass Healing Center out of his pocket and laid it on the floor in front of me.

Last week, you took a test at home. I saw the positive result in the trash.

Ruby, this is our first pup.

Werewolves did not reproduce easily. For two people without a mate bond, without a completed mark, to conceive a child was almost unheard of.

Noah knew exactly what this child meant for the Calder bloodline.

This child was conceived when you still believed we would be mates, he said. You are not going to let him be born without a father, are you?

You have loved me for ten years. From high school until now, you gave me your entire youth. Can you really let everything we have built just disappear?

Even if you cancel, who is going to claim a woman carrying another man's pup?

I picked up the test report, my hand shaking so hard I could barely hold it.

The words blurred behind my tears.

Then, I laughed.

Noah, you are a cruel man.

He smiled and ruffled my hair.

Be good, Ruby. You do not have another choice.

And do not tell Scarlett what you know. I do not want her carrying any emotional burden.

I looked at him, at the fierce way he protected her, and it felt like I was seeing him clearly for the very first time.

He stood up and stepped over me.

I scrambled to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet, again and again.

The mingled scents in the room, combined with the nausea of early pregnancy, made my stomach churn. My wolf instinctively shielded my womb, even as my body recoiled from the very thought of Noah.

I knelt on the icy tile, trembling.

After a long time, I took out my phone, stopped the recording, and backed up the entire conversation to an encrypted cloud drive.

Then I called Northpass Healing Center and booked the earliest available appointment to terminate the pregnancy.

A healer would monitor my shifting reflex and wolf healing during the procedure. Other than that, the decision was mine alone.

Protecting a pup was a wolf's instinct.

But letting this child become the chain Noah used to control me? That was my choice.

Noah was wrong.

I had a choice.

The next day, we were supposed to go to the Grayhaven Mate Registry Hall to sign our chosen-mate contract. The registry only handled cross-family records one Saturday a month, a date we had booked long ago.

Noah called again and again. I ignored every one.

Finally, Scarlett called.

Ruby. Her tone was gentle but laced with reproach. Today is registration day. How can you just skip it over a little fight?

Did Noah upset you? I will tell him off for you. Just come and finish the registration first, okay?

Listening to her voice, it was hard to believe it was the same one I had heard crying on the phone just last night.

How I wished it had all been a nightmare.

That when I woke up, Scarlett would still be the sister who loved me, and Noah would still be the man I had trusted for ten years.

But I was lying on a bed at the healing center.

My voice hoarse, I said, I am sick. I cannot make it.

Tell Noah we will register another day.

I hung up and opened the synced footage from Noah's dashcam.