The Pup He Never Wanted Chapter 04
So, I was the one who almost died by a silver blade, whose wolf spirit was nearly shattered, and I was supposed to just forgive and forget?
I lowered my eyes, using my silence as a form of protest.
Caden’s aura shifted instantly. It was no longer the gentleness of a mate, but the warning of an Alpha to a challenger. The pheromones in the air spiked, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. My wolf instinctively recoiled.
“Moon.” His voice deepened, resonating with the authority of a pack leader. “You need to understand something. Chloe is their biological daughter. That’s a biological fact, not an emotional choice.”
He leaned forward, his pupils dilating slightly—a sign of his wolf surfacing. A shiver ran down my spine, the primal submission of a lower-ranking wolf to an Alpha’s dominance.
“We’re going to the border villa this weekend.” His words were not a question. “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
Vivian spoke up at the perfect moment, her fingers resting on my wrist. “Just this once, sweetie. Please, just so I can finally get a peaceful night’s sleep.”
I looked at Marcus. He avoided my gaze, staring into his glass of whiskey—his silent agreement was more oppressive than any words.
Three pairs of eyes were locked on me, like a pack cornering a member trying to break away. The glands on my neck tingled, a primal fear of being rejected by the pack.
“Okay,” I said.
The pressure vanished instantly. Caden’s aura returned to normal. He placed a kiss on my forehead, like a reward for an obedient pup. “That’s my rational girl.”
Vivian immediately leaned in to hug me. Hot tears fell on my neck, her trembling passing through her clothes to my skin. I couldn’t tell if it was her shaking, or me.
In that embrace, filled with fake warmth, the six-year-long conditioning became painfully clear:
The suppressants mixed into my tonics. The forced “rest for your own good” after every full moon. The late-night whispers by my bed from Marcus, Vivian, and Caden, all saying, “It wasn’t your fault, but Chloe, she…”
They had successfully made my wolf spirit believe that the silver dagger was a debt I owed Chloe. I had even started to feel grateful that she had only stabbed my uterus and hadn’t taken my life.
Fuck gratitude.
The baby swap was a system error at St. Mary’s Hospital—the investigation report was right there in the third drawer of the family archives. My biological parents, the wolves living in trailer parks by the interstate, were so poor they used old tires as teething toys for their pups, but they never stole someone else’s child.
If Chloe had just asked, I would have left the territory to become a lone wolf tomorrow. I never wanted her noble last name, her designer dresses, or her Alpha mate.
So why did they have to poison my blood with drugs to make me barren? Why did my marriage have to be her get-out-of-jail-free card?
My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a silver claw. I shoved Vivian away and ran to the bathroom, gagging.
Caden was already waiting at the door—he always knew when to appear. His hand rested on my back, the warmth burning through my clothes. The touch that once brought me comfort now just made me feel sick.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice low, his pheromones laced with the perfect amount of concern. “Didn’t you just see the doctor today? What did he say?”
His tone was as gentle as if he were soothing an injured pup. I once thought this was love. Now, I only heard a well-rehearsed performance.
A crazy idea flashed through my mind. I wanted to see the look on his face if I tore up their entire script.
I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck—a gesture that once meant trust, now just another act. I tilted my head back, letting the bathroom light hit my eyes directly, leaving no shadows.
“Caden,” I said, my voice sounding like it was laced with tears, my fingers digging into the hair on his neck. “I’m pregnant.”
I paused, waiting for his pupils to dilate in shock, before delivering the final, cruelest line.
“The doctor said it’s a gift from the Moon Goddess. Our baby… he can’t wait to get here.”
The smile on Caden’s face froze. It didn’t disappear, it froze—the muscles of his mouth held their curve, but his eyes were scanning my face like a machine, searching for any crack in the lie.
But my performance was more flawless than his truth.
“Moon.” My name was squeezed through his teeth, his voice strained with a control that was about to shatter. “A joke like that could kill me. The doctor was clear, the silver poison could relapse during pregnancy—you would bleed to death from the inside.”
Look at that. My “destined mate’s” first reaction: not joy, not shock, but pure, naked fear.
“What if I want to take that risk?” my voice was as soft as a sigh. “For our child.”
His reply was a reflex. “We can’t take that chance, babe.”
His fingers traced my cheek, a gentle touch, but with a grip that allowed no escape.
“A future without you… that’s not a future at all.”
That word, “babe,” was the final piece of the puzzle, clicking into place in the abyss of the truth.
I see now.
He wasn’t afraid of me dying.
He was afraid of me living to give birth to an heir, destroying the perfect path they had paved for Chloe and her pureblood baby.