Chapter 3

Beatrice’s POV

I called my family that night. It was the first time I had done so in years.

My fingers trembled so badly that I nearly dropped my phone twice before the call connected. For a moment, I simply stared at the screen, listening to the ringing on the other end.

I had no idea what I was going to say.

How was I supposed to explain everything? How was I supposed to tell them that the daughter who had once left the Grassland Pack because she had fallen hopelessly in love had finally reached the point where she wanted to come home?

When my father’s voice finally came through, my throat tightened. “Beatrice?”

I closed my eyes. “Dad.”

There was a pause. I could hear the faint rustling of papers on his end before his voice softened.

“Is everything all right?”

That question nearly broke me. I had spent years avoiding my family because I had chosen Logan over them.

Not because they had forbidden me from loving him. They had simply wanted me to think carefully before leaving. My father had been the Alpha of Grassland for years, and he had never hidden his concerns about my decision.

At the time, I had thought they were trying to control my life. I had been young. In love. Certain that I knew what my future looked like.

There had been another option back then. A neighboring Alpha. The Alpha of a powerful western territory. But he had been in a deep slumber. No one knew when he would wake.

Some said it could take years. Some believed he would never wake at all.

I had been given the choice of waiting for a sleeping Alpha whose fate was uncertain or choosing the man who stood in front of me, held my hand, and promised me a lifetime.

I chose Logan. Because I loved him. Because I believed love was worth more than a title. Because I believed that if I had to choose between an uncertain future and the man my heart already belonged to, there was no real choice at all.

I had been so sure. Now, sitting alone in the darkness of my bedroom, I realized how much that one decision had cost me.

“Dad,” I whispered.

“Yes?”

“I want to come home.”

Silence. My father didn’t ask why. He didn’t demand an explanation. He didn’t tell me that he had warned me. He simply asked, “When?”

My lips trembled. “As soon as possible.”

I couldn’t hold myself together anymore. I cried quietly, turning my face toward the window so no one outside my room could hear. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For leaving.” My father’s voice softened. “You were never gone from this family, Beatrice. You simply chose a different path.”

The call ended shortly afterward. I sat there staring at my phone.

A few minutes later, another message arrived. My flight had been arranged. I would be leaving in a few days.

I stared at the confirmation for a long time. I was really going home.

I placed my phone down. Then I heard the bedroom door open. I didn’t turn around. I knew who it was.

Alpha Logan’s scent filled the room before his arms wrapped around me from behind.

I stiffened. He seemed not to notice.

He pressed his lips against my forehead. “My Luna.”

His voice was softer than it had been earlier. I looked at the reflection of us in the mirror. He looked almost like the Logan I remembered.

The man who used to make me feel safe. The man who once crossed territories for a piece of honey cake. The man who had promised me a hundred lifetimes.

“You should rest,” he murmured.

I didn’t answer. He placed his hand over my stomach. “Our pup will be the next Alpha.”

My heart stopped.

His hand remained there. “We’ll get through this,” he continued. “Once everything settles down, the elders will accept our heir. You just need to be patient.”

I stared at his reflection.

“Cassandra needs me right now,” he whispered. “She’s been through a lot.”

I swallowed.

He kissed my forehead again. “Just be patient with me.”

I didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. Then Logan’s fingers pressed lightly against my stomach.

He froze. I felt his wolf stir. His expression changed. His brows slowly drew together.

“Why can’t I feel it?”

My heart sank. I remained silent.

Alpha Logan placed his palm more firmly against my stomach.

His eyes narrowed. “Beatrice.”

I looked at him through the mirror. “What?”

“I can’t feel my wolf’s connection to the baby.”

My blood ran cold.

He moved his hand again as if searching for something. Nothing.

Of course there was nothing. The connection was gone because the pup was gone.

Alpha Logan’s breathing became heavier. “Why?”

I said nothing.

His eyes met mine. “Why can’t I feel my connection to my own child?”

I looked away. “Maybe it’s too early.”

“Don’t lie to me.” His voice suddenly became sharp.

I flinched. He stepped away from me. Then his expression twisted with suspicion.

“Did you cheat on me?”

I slowly turned around. “What?”

“Did you sleep with another man?” The accusation hit harder than his hand ever could.

I stared at him. “You’re asking me that?”

“I would have felt the baby’s connection to me if it were mine!” His voice echoed through the room.

I could barely process what I was hearing. He looked at me as though I were a stranger.

“You think I cheated on you?”

His jaw tightened. “Then explain the pup.”

“There is nothing to explain.”

“Then why can’t I feel it?”

I couldn’t tell him. How could I explain that the pup he was accusing me of carrying had already been gone for hours? How could I explain that I had made that decision because of him?

His anger grew. “Tell me the truth.”

“I am.”

“You’re lying.” He stepped toward me. “Cassandra told me there were always other men around you.”

My eyes widened. “Cassandra said that?”

“She told me you weren’t as innocent as you pretended to be.”

I felt something inside me collapse. So this was what she had been telling him.

And he believed her. Of course he did.

“Alpha…”

“Were you with someone?”

“No.”

“Then explain it!”

“I can’t!”

My voice broke.

He slammed his hand against the wall beside me. I recoiled. Then he pushed me. Not hard enough to knock me down completely, but enough that my weakened body stumbled backward.

My shoulder hit the edge of the table. Pain shot through me. I caught myself before I fell. For a few seconds, we simply stared at each other.

“I thought there was an ounce of guilt in you, Alpha.”

His expression shifted. “Beatrice…”

“Did you really think I could do that?” My voice trembled. “I am not like you.”

His brows furrowed.

“All my life in your pack, my eyes were only on you.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. “When we were taken, no one touched me.” I pressed a hand against my chest. “No one.”

My voice cracked. “So how can you look at me and see a dirty woman?”

He said nothing. I laughed bitterly through my tears. “Is that really what you think of me?”

His wolf growled beneath his skin. “How can you explain your pup?” he demanded.

I stared at him.

“Why can’t I feel its connection to me?”

I lowered my eyes. There was nothing I could say.

His voice became harsher. “Don’t give me an appeal to fucking pity.”

My heart shattered.

“So everything Cassandra has been saying was true?”

I looked up.

“You have a thirst for other men behind my back.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I was giving you the benefit of the doubt.” His eyes were filled with anger. “But you proved me wrong.”

The words echoed in my head. I whispered,

“You really don’t know me at all.”

He stared at me. For one brief moment, I thought he might stop. I thought he might finally look at me and see the woman standing in front of him instead of the version Cassandra had created in his mind.

But he didn’t. He turned toward the door.

“I’m not staying here tonight.”

I didn’t move. He opened the door.

“Alpha.”

He stopped. I stared at his back. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many truths I wanted him to hear.

But my voice failed me.

He walked away. The door closed behind him.

And that night, Alpha Logan never came back.

I remained alone in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with my hands resting over an empty stomach.