Rogue Life with Pup

The morning light filtered through the small window of the pack healer's cottage, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. I sat on the edge of a worn leather chair, my hands trembling slightly as I waited for Mara, our elderly healer, to return with her assessment. The scent of dried herbs and healing salves hung heavy in the air, doing little to calm my frayed nerves.

"Lily," Mara's weathered voice called from the back room. "Come here, child."

I followed her voice to a small examination room, where she gestured for me to lie down on a narrow cot. Her eyes, still sharp despite her advanced age, studied my face carefully.

"When was your last cycle?" she asked, her tone gentle but clinical.

I thought for a moment, counting back the weeks. "I... I'm not sure. Things have been so chaotic since..."

Since I found my mate with my sister. Since my world collapsed.

Mara nodded, understanding in her eyes as she placed her gnarled hands on my abdomen. Her healing energy flowed through me, warm and probing. After a moment, her expression shifted from professional detachment to something softer.

"Lily," she said quietly, "you're carrying a pup. About six weeks along."

The words hit me like a physical blow. A pup. Bennett's pup. The heir to the Moonstone Pack.

"Are you certain?" I whispered, my hand instinctively moving to my still-flat stomach.

Mara nodded. "The energy is strong. It's an Alpha pup."

An Alpha pup. The future leader of our pack. A child that should have been born to the Luna—to me.

My wolf stirred within me, protective and fierce. *Our pup*, she growled. *Ours*.

I left the healer's cottage in a daze, my mind racing with implications. By pack law, carrying the Alpha's heir should secure my position. It should make me untouchable.

But I knew better. Robin would find a way to twist this, too.

---

"Lily! *Lily, answer me!*"

My mother's voice crashed through my mind-link, sharp and insistent. I had barely made it back to my small room in the pack house when her presence invaded my thoughts.

"*You're being selfish,*" Elena continued, her mental voice dripping with disapproval. "*Do you have any idea what you're doing to this family? To the pack?*"

I pressed my palms against my temples, trying to block her out, but as a pack elder, her mental reach was too strong.

"*You must accept this situation,*" she pressed. "*For everyone's sake. Robin is Bennett's true mate. You were just... marked. There's a difference.*"

"And what about my pup?" I countered aloud, though I knew she could hear my thoughts just as clearly.

Silence, then: "*A pup changes nothing. You can still be part of the pack. Perhaps as a secondary mate.*"

The suggestion made my stomach turn. A secondary mate—a glorified mistress, expected to raise my child in the shadow of Robin's Luna status.

"*Think about what you're throwing away,*" my mother continued. "*Your family, your home, your pack—all because of your pride.*"

Her words pounded against my consciousness like a drumbeat. Shame. Family duty. Pack loyalty.

"*You're bringing shame to the Stephens name,*" she hissed.

I curled into myself, one hand protectively covering my abdomen. "Stop," I whispered. "Please stop."

But Elena wasn't finished. Her mental assault continued for what felt like hours, a relentless barrage of guilt and manipulation.

---

I was still reeling from my mother's attack when a knock came at my door. Bennett's familiar scent—pine and smoke—seeped through the cracks before he even entered.

"Lily," he said, closing the door behind him. His Alpha aura filled the small space, making it hard to breathe. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," I replied, keeping my distance.

He ran a hand through his dark hair—a gesture I once found endearing. Now it just seemed calculated.

"I know this is difficult," he began, his voice taking on that persuasive tone he used when addressing the pack. "But I think I've found a solution that works for everyone."

I raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"You're my marked mate," he said. "That bond is real, even if Robin is my true mate. We could make this work. You could stay as my marked mate, and Robin would be Luna."

The audacity of his proposal left me momentarily speechless.

"And my child?" I finally asked, my voice dangerously quiet.

Bennett's eyes widened slightly—news of my pregnancy had spread quickly, it seemed. "Your pup would be raised as heir, of course. Robin and I would ensure—"

"No," I cut him off, straightening my spine and meeting his gaze directly. "No, Bennett."

His expression hardened. "Lily, be reasonable. This is the best outcome for everyone."

"For everyone except me," I replied, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "I will not be your second choice. I will not raise my child in the shadow of your betrayal."

For the first time since I'd known him, Bennett Hart looked truly afraid.