Page 72 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
“Alpha,” Gianna’s voice called through the door, urgent and tense. “It’s Rielle. She’s speaking. She appears to have regained clarity, and she’s asking for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Raven
The Shadow Thorn pack house felt like a prison of stone and whispers, its walls closing in, trapping me in a cage of my own making. If I had stuck to the plan and never allowed myself to feel that what had been happening with Alpha Damien and me could ever be anything other than attraction, maybe I would not have felt so hurt and trapped.
I stood on the balcony overlooking the pack house, the lush gardens, and sprawling estate stretching out below me. It was beautiful, serene, and completely at odds with the storm in my head. My mind was a million miles away.
My hands clenched at my sides, nails biting into my palms, as the memory of last night burned through me: Damien’s arms around me, his breath warm against my hair, his murmur like he was making a promise to me: I’d do anything for you.
Then came the knock.
Gianna’s voice followed, delivering the summons that shattered whatever fragile moment we had just created. At the mere mention of Rielle’s name, Damien was on his feet in an instant, sharp and alert, asif something vital had just snapped back into place within him. And I watched.
I watched as he reached for the clothes he had peeled off only moments ago with aching urgency, with heat and hunger for me. And yet now, there was a shift. A different kind of urgency in him. One that had nothing to do with me.
Something in my chest twisted: jealousy, raw, unfiltered, ugly jealousy. And worse than the feeling itself was the shame that came with it. Who was I to feel jealous?
Rielle, his fated mate, had just regained her sanity. She was chosen for him by the Moon Goddess herself. Was I expecting him to stay wrapped up in bedsheets with me while the woman he once loved clawed her way back to herself?
I moved more slowly than he did. Maybe it was the weight I carried, my own and that of the child growing inside me. Or maybe it was the heaviness in my chest, thick and reluctant. I didn’t want to go out there. But I did, eventually. And when I saw them, the sight was beautiful in a way that devastated me.
Damien stood beside her, his every move measured and restrained, like he was deliberately keeping his distance from her. But even that space between them felt too narrow for me. The sight of him near her tugged at something deep in me.
And then Rielle looked up at him with wide, wonder-filled eyes and smiled.
“My love,” she breathed. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
My love.
That’s what she called him. The man who had just promised me he would do anything for me. The man who, only moments ago, had been inside me. The same man who leaped out of the bed we shared to answer her call without hesitation.
Damien turned just as I stepped forward, as if he’d sensed me before he saw me. Rielle followed his gaze, and then her eyes landed on me.
Something shifted in her expression. Her head tilted slightly, like she was trying to understand who this stranger was, standing here inher house. Then, she turned back to Damien and asked, coolly, “Who is this?”
There was a pause. I spoke before Damien could.
“Raven Nightbane. From the Ivory Moon Pack.”
Rielle smiled, the gesture smooth and sharp. “A pleasure, Raven. I’m sure you know who I am.”
“I do.”
Her gaze swept over me, slow and assessing. There was something behind her eyes, something edged and territorial. When her gaze dropped to my belly, it narrowed.
“You seem rather far along, Raven. Shouldn’t you be with your pack? Your family? I imagine your due date is close.”
Before I answered, Damien’s voice cut in, calm but firm.
“No. She stays here. Especially as she is going to be the mother of my child.”
He said it with a kind of quiet claim that sent a rush of heat through me. It was firm and possessive.
But I didn’t get a chance to bask in it as I caught the look on Rielle’s face. First, it was a look of surprise, fast and fleeting. Then her face twisted. Her gaze raked over me again, colder this time, lips tightening into a scowl.
“Oh,” she finally said, her eyes locking with mine. And in them, I saw raw hatred, immediate and visceral.
