chapter 5

Silas looked at the childhood photo, and some of the coldness left his face, replaced by a hint of a smile. "If you were already home, why didn't you bring back more pictures?"

Seeing that he'd stopped being suspicious, Daisy managed to force out a smile. "Next time."

The words "next time" seemed to hit something in Silas. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "Daisy, just be good."

Every time he did that, Daisy felt like he was petting a dog. She struggled to keep smiling under the weight of his alpha presence and didn't say anything else.

That evening, Silas watched her eat every bite of the disgusting food on her plate. It took everything she had not to throw it all back up.

When they got into bed, Daisy noticed Silas heading to the bathroom without his phone. After wrestling with herself for a minute, she worked up the courage to grab it.

She tried several passcodes that didn't work. On her last attempt, she remembered the birthday written in red ink on one of his documents—the woman he'd really loved. That one unlocked it.

A girl's profile picture was pinned at the top of his messages.

Daisy listened to the sound of running water from the bathroom as her fingers trembled, opening the chat.

"Silas, I'm feeling so insecure. I'm scared you're going to fall in love with her and not want me anymore."

Silas apparently hadn't seen that message. There was no reply.

"Silas, I want to meet her. Can I?"

This time, he'd responded right away.

"Sure. I'll bring her to see you tomorrow. Get some rest."

Daisy had zero interest in meeting the woman Silas actually cared about. The shower noise was getting quieter, so she quickly opened his conversation with Robert.

The timestamp showed it was from dinnertime tonight.

Silas asked, "Daisy's period started. Once it's over, will the injection drug affect her body?"

Robert replied, "It won't. Don't worry."

"Robert, I don't want Daisy getting hurt at all."

Daisy stared at the chat history on his phone, and all she could think was how fake he was being.

From the very beginning, he'd treated her like a walking incubator, a disposable tool he could throw away once he got what he wanted. And now he had the audacity to send messages like that? It made her skin crawl.

The shower shut off, and panic shot through her. She quickly put the phone back exactly where she'd found it and dove under the covers.

Silas flicked off the lights as he came out and climbed into bed behind her. His large hand settled on her stomach, his mood apparently excellent. "Daisy, our baby's gonna be beautiful."

Daisy kept her eyes squeezed shut, her lashes trembling slightly as she pretended to be asleep. She didn't respond.

Thankfully, Silas didn't push it. He just pulled her closer and his breathing gradually evened out.

She lay there with her eyes wide open now, every muscle in her body tense. All she wanted was to get as far away from him as possible.

But she forced herself to stay still.

She barely slept at all that night.

The next morning, Silas took her to a werewolf hospital.

When they reached the room, his tone left no room for argument. "When we go in, I expect you to keep quiet."

Daisy lowered her gaze and nodded obediently.

Silas let go of her hand and walked into the hospital room first. For one wild second, Daisy seriously considered just turning around and running.

But then she spotted the beta guards stationed down the hall, and the impulse died.

She took a deep breath and followed him inside, only to find the room empty except for them.

Silas was already deep in conversation with the doctor about treatment options. Daisy watched him, noting how focused and attentive he looked, and couldn't help thinking about his personality.

At his core, Silas was cold and impatient with most people. But when it came to his precious white moonlight? He became the most devoted, detail-oriented man in the world.

While Daisy stood there lost in thought, the door opened behind her.

A gaunt woman sat in a wheelchair, drowning in an oversized hospital gown. The curse had whittled her down to almost nothing but skin and bones, and even her werewolf healing couldn't fight it off. She looked almost skeletal, honestly kind of disturbing.

Daisy frowned without thinking, and that was when she saw tears well up in the other woman's eyes.

"Silas," Arvil said, her voice breaking. "Did I scare her?"