Alpha Rejected Me While Pregnant

The crash of splintering wood yanked me from sleep.

I bolted upright, heart hammering, one hand instinctively flying to my stomach. The cottage was dark except for the dying embers in the fireplace. Marcus was already on his feet, blade in hand.

"Stay down," he hissed.

Then the window exploded.

Glass rained down as three massive wolves poured through, their eyes gleaming with predatory focus. Silverclaw wolves. I recognized the lead tracker's gray coat—Damien, one of Cyrus's most loyal enforcers.

Derek met them head-on, shifting mid-leap. The cottage erupted into chaos—snarling, snapping, the wet sound of teeth meeting flesh. Marcus threw himself between me and a rust-colored wolf that lunged for the bed.

"Run!" Marcus roared.

I scrambled backward, my pregnant body clumsy and slow. My wolf stirred weakly, trying to help, but she had nothing left to give. The back door—I just needed to reach the back door—

A hand locked around my ankle and yanked.

I hit the floor hard, the impact stealing my breath. Damien's human form loomed over me, his smile vicious.

"Alpha wants his property back," he growled, dragging me toward the shattered window.

I clawed at the floorboards, splinters driving under my nails. "I'm not—property—"

His grip tightened, bruising. The cold night air hit my face as he hauled me through the window frame. Snow bit into my skin, soaking through my nightgown in seconds.

"Marcus!" The scream tore from my throat.

Damien's hand clamped over my mouth. "Shut up, or I'll—"

The black wolf came out of nowhere.

One second Damien was dragging me across the snow. The next, two hundred pounds of pure rage slammed into him like a freight train. Caleb's jaws closed around Damien's throat and ripped.

Blood sprayed across the white snow in a crimson arc.

Damien's body hit the ground, twitching. Caleb stood over me, his massive form blocking out the moon, eyes completely black—no white, no iris, just endless void. His growl was a sound from nightmares, reverberating through my bones.

The other Silverclaw wolves froze.

Then they ran.

Caleb didn't chase them. He shifted, his human form appearing in a blur of motion, and dropped to his knees beside me. His hands hovered over my body, checking for injuries, his face carved from stone.

"Lyra. Talk to me."

"I'm—" The word died as pain exploded through my abdomen.

Not the dull ache I'd been living with. This was sharp, tearing, wrong. Liquid warmth flooded between my legs, and my wolf let out a sound I'd never heard before—pure, animal terror.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, it's too early—"

Caleb's eyes widened. Then he scooped me up like I weighed nothing and ran.

The world blurred into fragments. The Pack House doors slamming open. Elena's face, pale and focused. Bright lights. Hands stripping away my blood-soaked nightgown.

"She's in labor," Elena said, her voice tight. "But her wolf—Caleb, her wolf can't sustain this. She's too weak."

Another contraction ripped through me. I screamed, my back arching off the bed. My wolf was dying. I could feel her slipping away, taking my strength with her, and the pup—oh God, the pup—

"What do you need?" Caleb's voice cut through the chaos.

"An Alpha's anchor. A mate bond would be ideal, but—"

"Tell me what to do."

Elena's eyes met his. "Soul Share. It's dangerous. If her wolf is too far gone, it could pull yours down with her."

"I don't care. Tell me."

The bed dipped as Caleb climbed on behind me. His chest pressed against my back, solid and warm, his arms coming around to bracket my body. His scent—sandalwood and rain—wrapped around me like a living thing.

"Open your mind," he murmured against my ear. "Let me in."

I didn't know how. But my wolf did.

She reached for him with the last of her strength, and suddenly I was falling—

—into a forest of silver moonlight and shadow. My wolf stood in a clearing, her amber coat dull and patchy, legs trembling. She was so small. So broken.

Then the black wolf appeared.

He was enormous, easily twice her size, his coat gleaming like obsidian. He moved toward her slowly, deliberately, and I felt Caleb's presence wrapped around mine—protective, fierce, unyielding.

The black wolf lowered his massive head and breathed.

Light poured from his muzzle—golden and warm and alive. It flowed into my wolf like water into a desert, filling the cracks, mending the breaks. Her coat brightened. Her legs steadied. She lifted her head and howled.

In the physical world, power surged through my body. My wolf roared back to life, lending me her strength, and I bore down with everything I had.

"That's it," Elena coached. "Again. Push!"

Caleb's arms tightened around me, his aura flooding my system, and I pushed.

The baby's cry split the air.

I collapsed back against Caleb's chest, sobbing, shaking. Elena moved quickly, cleaning the baby, checking vitals. When she placed him in my arms, he was perfect—tiny and red-faced and screaming his lungs out.

"A boy," Elena said softly.

I stared down at him, this impossible miracle. His eyes opened—and flashed gold. Then black. Then gold again.

Caleb went very still behind me.

"Seven," I whispered, touching my son's cheek. "His name is Seven."

Caleb's voice was rough. "Why Seven?"

I looked up at him, this brutal Alpha who'd saved my life twice now, who'd risked his own wolf to anchor mine.

"For the seven of us who survived the winter," I said. "Me. The baby. Marcus. Derek. Silas. Elena."

I paused, my throat tight.

"And you."