Surprise! My Alpha Mate’s Secret Pups Were Never HIS Chapter 02
I swallowed the ache in my chest. “Magnus. Can you even tell the difference between responsibility and love? Or do you just think I’m that dumb?”
He saw my face. For a second, something flickered—almost like guilt.
“I’m sorry, Sigrid. I never wanted you to go through the pain of carrying pups. I just thought the Pack needed an heir.”
“Freya and the pups won’t get in our way. If you want, they’ll grow up respecting you like a real mother.”
I laughed. Cold. Flat. “So my Alpha mate cheats on me. Has pups with someone else. And I should be grateful? Grateful he gave me pups to raise? Otherwise I’d just be some lonely old she-wolf?”
Magnus’s voice jumped. “Sigrid, why do you have to make it sound so ugly? Cheating? It was just to—”
He couldn’t even finish. Waved the wolf guards and servants out of the room.
“Sigrid, I know you’re angry. But think about it. Our Pack is growing. We need someone to carry it forward. Otherwise everything we built—it’s all for nothing.”
“If you really cared about me, you’d accept them. Freya’s doing a good job raising them. You wouldn’t have to lift a paw. Isn’t that better?”
I just stared at him. My wolf whimpered low in my chest. When I finally spoke, my voice was shot.
“What if I don’t accept them?”
Magnus sighed. Like you’d sigh at a stubborn pup.
“I know it’s hard right now. That’s fine. Take your time. But Freya and the pups—I’m not cutting them out.”
“Next week is my father’s birthday. Freya’s bringing them. You’ll meet them. You’ll like them. I promise.”
He left.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled the files my pack tracker had sent. Thousands of images. Recordings.
Freya’s pregnancy—Magnus at every pack healer visit, hand on her belly, grinning like an idiot.
The birth—him holding those tiny pups, eyes wet.
Every birthday after that. Every full moon. Their first hunt. Their first shift.
And the pack inheritance agreement.
Everytime he said he was patrolling borders. But he was with Freya. With them. The whole time. And I never questioned it.
In those pictures, Magnus looked happy. Loose. Arms around Freya. Arms around the pups. All four of them curled up in the den, grooming each other. A perfect little family.
My wolf just… gave up. All the fight bled out of me.
I closed the files and called an old packmate. “That poor Ironfang Pack you mentioned. The one nobody wants. I’ll take it.”
Pause. “…You sure? Place doesn’t even have a decent river.”
“I’m sure.”
—
Aldric’s birthday. Freya showed up.
She leaned in and whispered something to Elara. The two of them cracked up.
The pups wore matching crimson cloaks. Little bells stitched on the hems. They jingled when they moved.
Elara kept them close, one under each arm. She had servants running warm milk, dried meat strips—hovering like they were tending the Moon Goddess herself.
When she saw me, she barely looked up. Just a grunt. Tossed my gift onto the pile.
Freya glided over. Offered a moonstone bracelet. Elara grabbed it, slipped it on, turned it over and over. Grinning ear to ear.
“Freya always knows what I like,” she cooed. “Moonstone does wonders for my wolf spirit.”
Then she shot me a look. “Unlike some she-wolves. Always with that sour face. Everything they touch reeks.”
Magnus spotted the pups the second they walked in. His hand slipped off my arm. He crossed the room in three strides.
“Kael! Iris! Miss your father?”
He crouched down and swept them both up. Freya stood beside him, smiling like she was the Luna already. Leaned in and brushed her cheek against his.
Magnus turned, touched his nose to her ear. Voice low. “Long trip? These two give you any trouble?”
It took him a few seconds to remember I was there. He pulled one of the pups over.
“Sigrid. This is Kael. The oldest.”
Kael had Freya’s face—nine-tenths of it anyway. The rest was vaguely Magnus. Pale eyes. Thin lips.
The pup looked me up and down. Sniffed. Stepped back, nose wrinkling.
“You’re ugly. Not even half as pretty as my mother.”
Then he turned to Magnus. Chin up. “Father. You said you had a big gift for my tenth birthday. Where is it?”
Magnus flicked the pup’s ear. Awkward. “I’ve got it ready. But be polite. This is Sigrid. Call her… call her Luna.”
Kael bared his little fangs. “I know who you are. You’re the she-wolf who stole my father. This Pack is ours. Get out.”
Magnus raised a hand—maybe to swat the pup—but Freya was already there. Her hand landed on his arm.
“Come on, Magnus. He’s just a pup. Don’t scold him. The kids never see you. Of course they’re upset.”
The anger drained out of him. Just like that. Replaced by guilt.
He crouched back down, curled his tail around both pups, nuzzled the tops of their heads. “Good pups. Father’s going to be here every day from now on. Not going anywhere.”
I stood three steps back. Wolves streamed past. Laughter. Toasts. Chatter. It all blurred into noise.
My wolf let out a single whimper. Shaking. Then she closed her eyes.