Chapter 4

I pulled my arm free. "Doesn't the Alpha have a hundred other responsibilities? Since when do you care where I go?"

Soren went quiet. A few months back, when I'd asked why he hadn't come home for three nights, he'd thrown those exact words at me.

Finally, he said, "I should have told you about Montreal. I was wrong." He hesitated. "But tomorrow I have to be at Marnie's disciplinary hearing. She's accused of attacking a patrol member first. If her appeal fails, she'll be banned from pack gatherings for three months. I need to find out what really happened."

Even in an apology, Marnie came first.

"Move your surgery to the day after tomorrow," he said. "The second the hearing's over, I'll go with you."

"Don't bother. I don't need anyone there."

He talked right over me, like he hadn't heard a word. "I'll put the best surgeon on standby, and I'll stay until you wake up."

His phone rang before I could answer. Marnie's frightened voice came through the speaker. "Soren, someone's been pacing outside my hotel room. A minute ago, they tried the door handle. I'm scared."

His whole demeanor changed. He grabbed his keys.

"Wait."

Soren turned, impatience flashing across his face. "I don't need your permission to protect a member of my pack, Wren. She could really be in danger." Then, as if tossing me a consolation prize, he added, "I'll make it to your surgery. Right now, you need to understand what matters most."

He'd gotten it completely wrong.

I wasn't asking him to stay. I was trying to tell him that after tomorrow, he'd never have to rush back to me again.

But the door had already shut behind him.

The next morning, I got to the medical center and found out my surgery had been postponed.

Soren had called the director overnight and used his authority as Alpha, and as my legal spouse, to change the date. Nobody in Ashen Ridge territory was going to say no to him.

Dr. Prescott even took his side. "Don't be too hard on your husband. He told me you insisted on going alone because the two of you had a fight. He's willing to move council business around for you. A man doesn't do that unless he cares."

My original plan had been simple: surgery today, a flight to Dublin tomorrow, and my first day at work the morning after.

One phone call from Soren had blown up the whole schedule.

I called him. Marnie picked up.

"He just fell asleep," she whispered. "He was so worried about me that he stayed up all night. If you need anything, you can tell me." She paused, then added in a fake-innocent voice, "Oh, weren't you having surgery today? I'm so sorry. I don't think Soren can make it. Please don't get the wrong idea. Nothing happened between us—"

I hung up.

Seconds later, she posted another public update.

[The luckiest thing in the world is knowing that no matter when I turn around, my Alpha will come save me.]

The photo showed a luxury hotel suite. Soren was still in yesterday's shirt, sitting beside her bed. The shadows under his eyes made it obvious he'd kept watch all night.

I blocked them both and booked the procedure at a private werewolf clinic in Dublin.

It was a minor operation. The country didn't matter.

The following morning, I boarded a flight out of Chicago. With my palm resting over my still-flat stomach, I breathed easier than I had in years.

Nobody came to stop me.

Soren didn't even know that his Luna and his unborn child had already left Ashen Ridge airspace.

At eleven, Beta Graham called the Alpha's office. "Wren didn't show up at the medical center. They want to know if they should hold the operating room."

Soren checked the time. He'd stayed with Marnie until six, then gone straight to the hearing. He'd assumed Wren would do what she'd promised and take care of it herself.

"Did she reschedule?"

"There's something else," Graham said carefully. "Dr. Prescott thought you knew. Wren is about eight weeks pregnant. They had to change the anesthetic plan."

Soren went completely still.

A rare smile slowly reached his eyes. "We're having a baby?"

He repeated the words under his breath, as if saying them too loudly might scare them away. "That stubborn woman. She kept something this important from me?"

Graham's next words wiped the smile off his face. "I can't reach her, Alpha. Can you get hold of your Luna?"