My Alpha Sacrificed Our Pup to Save His Ex

I stared at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test, my hands trembling so violently I nearly dropped it into the marble sink. The bathroom of our Alpha suite suddenly felt too small, the air too thick, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath with me.

Pregnant.

I was carrying Reid's pup. Our heir.

A laugh bubbled up from my chest, half-sob, half-euphoria. My free hand pressed against my still-flat stomach, and I swore I could feel something there—a warmth, a promise, a future. Five years. Five years of standing beside Reid as he built the Ironclaw Pack from nothing, of enduring whispered doubts about whether the prestigious Alpha's daughter had made a terrible mistake mating a former rogue. Five years of watching shadows cross his face whenever Karina's name was mentioned, of pretending I didn't notice how his jaw tightened at the memory of his "chosen mate."

But this—this changed everything.

I caught my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes bright with unshed tears of joy. Even my scent had shifted; I could detect it now, that sweet, milky undertone that marked a carrying Luna. It was subtle still, but Reid would recognize it immediately. His wolf would know.

I had to tell him. Now.

I practically flew down the corridor toward his office, my bare feet silent on the polished hardwood. The afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows, painting everything in gold, and I took it as a sign. This was our moment. Our new beginning.

But as I approached Reid's office door, voices stopped me cold.

"—only hours, Alpha." Dr. Webb's gravelly tone carried through the heavy oak. "The Fading Syndrome has progressed too rapidly. Without an Essence Transfusion, her wolf will die by moonrise, and she'll follow shortly after."

"There has to be another way." Reid's voice was strained in a way I'd never heard before. Desperate. Broken.

"There isn't." The Healer's words fell like stones. "She needs Alpha blood. Pure Alpha blood. And there's only one compatible donor in our territory."

My stomach dropped.

No.

"Nora." Reid said my name like a prayer and a curse all at once.

Then came Karina's voice, weak and thready, punctuated by delicate coughs. "I don't want to ask this of her, Reid. I know how much you love her. But I'm so scared. I don't want to die."

"The ritual is dangerous," Dr. Webb continued, his professional tone cracking slightly. "It will drain the Luna's aura significantly. And if she's carrying—" He paused. "If she's pregnant, the fetus won't survive the energy depletion. The donor herself risks permanent damage to her wolf."

Silence stretched like a chasm.

"Nora is strong." Reid's voice had changed, hardened into something I didn't recognize. "She can bear another pup. Karina is dying now."

The pregnancy test slipped from my fingers, clattering against the floor.

I didn't remember turning. Didn't remember running. But suddenly I was racing back down the corridor, my wolf screaming inside my mind to flee, to protect, to survive. The golden sunlight that had seemed so promising moments ago now felt like a spotlight, exposing me, hunting me.

I made it to the main staircase before Reid's hand clamped around my wrist.

"Nora." His Alpha aura pressed against me, heavy and commanding. "We need to talk."

"Let go of me." I tried to yank free, but his grip was iron. "Reid, please—"

"The Healer says Karina needs—"

"I'm pregnant!" The words exploded from me, raw and desperate. "Reid, I'm pregnant. I was coming to tell you. I'm carrying your pup. Our heir."

His hand loosened slightly. For one heartbeat, two, I saw conflict war across his face. His free hand lifted, hovering over my stomach, and I thought—I prayed—that the bond between us would win. That our future would matter more than his past.

Then a crash echoed from his office, followed by Karina's anguished cry.

We both turned to see her collapsed in the doorway, Dr. Webb crouched beside her. Blood—vivid and red—stained her lips, trickling down her chin. Her eyes, glassy with pain, found Reid's.

"Reid," she gasped. "Please. I don't want to die."

Something in my mate's expression shuttered closed. His jaw set. His grip on my wrist tightened again, and when he looked at me, I saw a stranger wearing my mate's face.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Then he began dragging me toward the ritual room, and my screams echoed through the Pack House like a death knell.