Chapter 131: A DANGEROUS ALLIANCE
AUTHOR’S POV
Nadia had not moved from her bed since Callum left that morning.
She remained curled beneath the blanket with her knees drawn to her chest, staring blankly at the wall while the tray of breakfast Becca had left outside her room slowly grew cold.
Hunger clawed relentlessly at her stomach, making it twist and ache every few minutes, yet she refused to give in. Stepping outside meant facing people, answering questions she wasn’t ready for, and pretending she was fine when she felt as though her life was over.
The room had become her hiding place since yesterday had broke something inside her.
No matter how many times she replayed the conversation in her head, she always reached the same conclusion before desperately trying to reject it again. She wanted to believe she had misunderstood. She wanted to believe Keisha had been telling Lyra some unbelievable story just to make her laugh. But the expressions on their faces... the tears in Keisha’s eyes and the silence that followed after she’d asked them to tell her it was all a prank... None of that looked like a joke.
It looked real.
She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes until they hurt.
How could this happen?
Keisha had been more than a friend. She had been family. They had spent years sharing everything with each other, from childish dreams to secrets. Whenever they argued, one of them always caved first. Most of the time, it was Keisha. She would come knocking with snacks stolen from the kitchen or some ridiculous excuse just to make Nadia laugh again.
Nadia had expected that knock today. She had waited for it. She had convinced herself that once Keisha arrived, everything would somehow make sense. But the hours kept passing and the knock never came.
Did Keisha think she would simply accept something like this? Did she think silence would somehow make the truth disappear?
Another thought slipped into Nadia’s mind, making her chest ache.
If the estate found out.... The Alpha’s best-kept secret would become the pack’s favorite scandal.
Her father would be dragged into endless political battles and Keisha would become the target of every cruel tongue in Ashveil.
And she.... She would become the daughter caught between them.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.. "Nadia?"
The familiar voice immediately made her sit upright. "Aunt Vera?"
"It’s me. May I come in?"
After a brief pause, Nadia climbed out of bed and unlocked the door.
Vera entered carrying a small tray with warm soup, fresh bread, and sliced fruit. One glance at Nadia’s pale face and swollen eyes was enough to tell her that the young woman had spent most of the night crying.
"I had a feeling you wouldn’t touch breakfast," Vera said quietly as she placed the tray on a nearby table. "You don’t have to eat everything. Just enough to keep yourself standing."
Nadia managed a weak nod but made no move toward the food.
Vera remained silent for several moments, giving her space instead of forcing conversation.
Feeling helpless, Nadia muttered, "I don’t know what to do anymore." She confessed.
Vera turned fully toward her.. "What happened?"
Nadia hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t tell anyone. Keisha had trusted Lyra with that secret, not her. But keeping it inside felt impossible, and if there was one person she believed she could trust, it was the woman who had always treated her like a daughter.
Slowly, painfully, she recounted everything she had overheard outside the annex. Every word made her throat tighten a little more with a sob until she finally reached the part she had dreaded saying aloud.
"...Keisha is pregnant," she finished weakly. "And... the babies don’t belong to just one person."
For the first time since entering the room, Vera’s expression changed enough for surprise to flicker across her face before disappearing again. "So..." Vera said carefully, "you believe the father is your own father?"
Nadia lowered her head. "I heard Keisha say it herself."
Silence followed for a long second.
Vera folded her hands in her lap, her expression thoughtful. When she finally spoke again, her tone had become calmer.
"If that’s true, then this situation is far more dangerous than you realize."
Nadia looked up. "Dangerous?"
"Think about it," Vera said gently. "Your father is the Alpha. Every decision he makes is watched. Every mistake he makes becomes political. If the elders discover that another woman is carrying his child before he has officially chosen a Luna, they won’t simply gossip about it." Her voice lowered. "They’ll use it."
Nadia felt her stomach sink.
"They could challenge his judgment. They could pressure him into decisions he isn’t ready to make. Worse still, they could turn Keisha into a weapon against him."
The realization slowly dawned across Nadia’s face. "I don’t want that."
"I know." Vera reached over and squeezed her hand.. "Which is why I think we should protect him before anyone else finds out."
Nadia blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean we keep this between us."
Vera’s gaze remained steady. "Don’t let anyone know I’m aware. Not Callum, not Keisha. Not anyone."
Confusion crossed Nadia’s face. "But... shouldn’t Dad know you...?"
"If he needs to, he’ll find out in time," Vera replied smoothly. "Right now, emotions are clouding everyone’s judgment. We need clear heads. We need to understand exactly what’s happening before this turns into something that could destroy your father’s reputation."
Nadia stared down at her trembling hands because everything inside her felt confused.
She didn’t know whether this was right. She didn’t know what the right thing even was anymore.
But one thought remained painfully clear. Whatever happened... She couldn’t allow anyone to hurt her father.
After several long moments, she gave a slow nod. "...I’ll help."
A faint smile appeared on Vera’s lips.
"Good." She squeezed Nadia’s hand once more. "And remember..." Her voice softened. "This conversation never happened."
****************
Keisha stared at the man standing a few feet away from her, her fingers tightening around the lunch basket Lyra had packed for Nadia until they ached.
"...Orin?"
His smile widened at the sound of his name, as though he’d been waiting to hear it from her lips again. He looked almost the same as the day he had been driven out of the estate, yet there was something different about him now. His hair had grown longer, his clothes were neater, almost casual, and there was an unsettling glint in his eyes that made every instinct in Keisha’s body scream for her to turn around and run.
"I knew you’d come," he said warmly, as though they were old friends meeting after a long separation. "For a moment, I thought you’d ignore my letter."
Keisha couldn’t find her voice immediately. Her mind was still trying to understand what she was seeing. "You..." she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you." The answer came so naturally that it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. "I’ve missed you, Keisha."
Her grip on the basket tightened further.. "You shouldn’t even be inside the estate."
"I know." He chuckled softly, completely unbothered. "It wasn’t exactly easy getting in, but I figured some things are worth the risk."
He took another slow step toward her. "I’ve been thinking about you every single day since they threw me out. You have no idea how unfair that was. They treated me like some criminal just because I cared about you."
A cold shiver ran through Keisha.
Nothing about the way he spoke sounded normal. There wasn’t anger in his voice like she expected, there wasn’t even resentment. There was only a strange fondness, and that made her skin crawl because it didn’t belong there.
"I don’t know why everyone kept trying to keep us apart," he continued, smiling to himself. "You were always kind to me. Kinder than anyone else in this pack. I kept thinking that if I could just talk to you one more time, you’d understand."
"I don’t understand anything," Keisha said, finally finding her voice. "You need to leave before someone sees you."
"But I came to see you."
"I didn’t know it was you who sent that letter."
"I know." The smile on his face somehow became even wider. "That’s why I couldn’t write my name."
Keisha’s heart dropped. "So you tricked me."
"I invited you."
"You lied to me."
"I did what I had to do to see you, and it worked." He spoke so casually that it frightened her even more.
Keisha instinctively took a step backward. "I have nothing to say to you."
"Oh, I think you do." He took another step and he matched it with one of her own. "I care about you."
Fear nestled deeply in her chest.
They were alone here. No one would come to this side of the pack.
Oh fuck.
He began walking toward her again, this time faster than before.
How could she have been so stupid? The letter was a trap. And she had fallen right into it.