chapter 5

Bella looked up at him.

Ryan must've rushed straight over from Lina's bed. He still had a hickey on his neck.

That kind of mark only showed up after intense intimacy. He'd come here wearing another Omega's marks on his skin and hadn't even bothered trying to hide it. Did he think she wouldn't notice? Or did he just not care anymore if she did?

She looked down. "How did you find out?"

"The whole Pack's talking about it." Ryan's voice carried a hint of panic he couldn't quite hide. "They're saying you sold all the gifts I gave you, even our bonding rings. Some of the poorer Packs on the outskirts even posted thank-you announcements."

"Bella, why would you sell the rings? Are you having second thoughts? Do you not want to bond with me anymore?"

Bonding rings were proof of a Mate relationship. In the Pack, they were basically like ID cards for couples. Selling them was the same as publicly denying the whole relationship.

Ryan's words came faster and faster, more frantic with each one. This Alpha who usually commanded respect from everyone in the Pack actually had tears welling up in his eyes. "If I did something wrong, just tell me. I'll fix it, I promise..."

By the end, Ryan looked like he was about to cry.

Bella couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped her.

If he cared about her so much, then why the hell was he cheating on her behind her back?

Or did he just think she was stupid enough that she'd never find out?

Well, if that was what he thought, Bella was curious. When the bonding ceremony came around and he found out she was "dead," when he learned the whole truth—what would his face look like then?

Bella kept her voice calm. "It's not what you think. I just felt bad for those Packs on the outskirts. They can barely feed themselves most days, and it reminded me of my own people. They have such a hard time getting through winter, always depending on Shadow Pack's charity to survive. I didn't really like those things anyway, and I needed the money, so I sold them on impulse. That's all."

"Besides, we're bonding next month. Why would I back out for no reason? Unless..." She lifted her head and looked straight at Ryan. "Did you do something behind my back?"

Her direct question made Ryan's heart skip a beat.

His face went pale, and he immediately started swearing up and down. "Absolutely not! Bella, you know I love you more than anything. Even if the Moon Goddess herself showed up, she couldn't tear us apart!"

Then he quickly changed the subject and pulled out a contract, shoving it into Bella's hands.

"How are you out of money? Here, take all of this. And you can use Shadow Pack's resources too from now on. I'll deal with Alan later. He should've never let you run short on cash!"

Alan was the assistant Ryan had hired for her.

Back when Ryan brought Bella away from her old life, she still had the inheritance her parents left her. It wasn't a fortune, but it was enough to live on.

If anyone knew whether she had money or not, it was Ryan.

The thought made Bella force a bitter smile. "Don't bother. This has nothing to do with Alan. If that's everything, I'm going to bed now. I've been up all night and I'm exhausted."

She turned and walked away without looking back.

Ryan watched her go, and panic suddenly gripped him.

But a moment later, he forced himself to calm down.

They were bonding next month. Bella's parents were dead, and she didn't have any close friends. Where else could she go besides staying with him and completing the bond?

Everything would be fine. He was just psyching himself out over nothing.

She was just throwing a little tantrum, that was all. Once they completed the bond, she'd get over it.

Ryan kept telling himself that, but Bella's strange behavior lately still made him uneasy.

He ended up canceling all his Pack business for the next day and spent the entire night sitting in their bedroom, just watching her.

The next morning, Bella woke up to the sound of Ryan's communicator ringing.

She squinted through half-open eyes and saw Ryan with his back to her, his voice quick but gentle. "I'll be right there."

It was Lina calling. Bella didn't need to guess to know that.

Before Ryan could turn around, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, even steadying her breathing to make it convincing.

She was too tired to bother calling out his lies anymore.

The second Ryan left, Bella's eyes snapped open.

Her own communicator lit up with a message. "Come to the top floor of the werewolf hospital."

When she got there, she walked in just in time to see Lina pulling Ryan's hand down and pressing it against her stomach.

Both of them looked overjoyed. Lina was beaming, and Ryan even rubbed her belly gently.

Bella felt like she'd been struck by lightning. Her feet wouldn't move.

Lina was pregnant? And Ryan was the father?

They'd actually made a baby together.

Before, Bella had thought maybe Ryan was just confused, that it was a temporary mistake. But now? Now there was a baby. Everything had been self-deception on her part.

That afternoon, Bella came back to Shadow Manor and sat alone in the empty house for hours.

Night fell, and her communicator buzzed with a pregnancy test result. It was Lina's test result, confirmed positive.

Below it was a video link.

She clicked on the video. Lina was surrounded by a bunch of Omegas, and their congratulations kept coming one after another. "Lina, come on, spill! Who's the father? You're being so secretive about this baby!"

Lina ducked her head, all shy, but her voice was dripping with pride. "You guys have to keep this between us, okay? We haven't told the whole Pack yet..."

The thing Bella had been dreading was actually happening. Ryan hadn't just betrayed her. He and Lina were planning to go public.

The cheerful voices in the video felt like needles stabbing into her ears. She could already picture it—Ryan holding their kid, doing all the things he'd promised her. Like taking the baby outside to look at the stars.

A few seconds later, a familiar car pulled up in front of the camera.

A pair of hands reached out from inside, but the face stayed hidden.

"Alright, time to go. I'm here to take you home."