"This just came up by your pack courier. Marked urgent, Alpha to Alpha."
The official Duskpaw message arrived while I was reviewing quarterly projections. I didn’t get to see the messenger they sent personally, which is probably just as well. I’m not sure I could control myself around one of them looking for her.
Claire placed it on my desk with an unusual amount of hesitation. With a more serious, professional expression this time in her eyes... than the cheek holding, smug look and occasional thumbs up she kept giving me the first hour after we started work today.
She wouldn’t tell me why she was in that
good
of a mood this morning. So much that she was being more like her
off-work self
than her ’robotic’ assistant mask.
But she did ask me a single time if I
liked girls
that are ’really into rock’.
"Seems like this is important."
Her tone made me set aside the finance report immediately. I broke the wax seal and caught Claire
lingering
there. It always made her nervous when she couldn’t spy on something
digitally
.
But I’d rather not let her see me
react
to whatever they are trying this time.
"That will be all for now. I’ll let you know immediately if there is more."
She nodded and slipped out. Rarely would my assistant
fight back
if the matter had to do with
werewolves
. I’d earned that sort of trust, apparently.
The message itself was brief. Yet somehow dripping with more
archaic
entitlement
than I’d seen in years. A demand,
using that word
, for the [immediate return of the female werewolf Helene Duskpaw and the Duskpaw offspring she currently carries].
My fingers tightened on the thick paper. Creasing it as
my vision tunnels
and I let out a heavy, slow breath.
Pregnant
. Citra...
was pregnant
.
Just
thinking
those words hit me with unexpected force. I hadn’t considered that,
even with all her wariness
.
I set the paper down carefully, suddenly aware of how close my
claws
were to ripping it on their own. My jaw
cracks
as I open it slightly, pulling back all the little partial shifts in my form... to a ’normal’ human.
I
lost control
. She is going to have a
child
. And the Duskpaw pack are
claiming ownership
of both mother and baby. At least, that is the excuse they are using this time.
I pressed the intercom, needing to possibly...
prove
it. And I could only think of so many ways to
accomplish
that
beyond just calling her
... but she might not even tell me if I asked.
"Claire, pull up the New Beginnings program records for the past month."
"Right away."
While waiting, I reread the
demand
. The wording was precise enough, citing their pack laws regarding offspring conceived during a mate bond and wielding it like it was
inviolable
.
Traditionally, even with the interpack laws of the council, a child
conceived during a bond
belonged to the father’s pack. A
patriarchal
rule that had always disgusted me.
From the moment I’d become Alpha, I’d worked to
modernize
many of these outdated traditions within my own territory. The
push for fertility technologies
and a more robust understanding of our own medical science was my doing.
And for that I’ve earned the resentment of more
traditional packs,
like the Duskpaw, in the process. They viewed my leadership - my very existence so deep and highly integrated into human society - as a
threat
to their way of life.
Now they wanted to invoke those same antiquated laws to
claim ownership
over a woman and her unborn child. A woman that had been
rejected
and likely driven from their territory.
Demanding a person’s return as if she were nothing more than a vessel for
their precious bloodline
. Even if she was not
my
potential mate, I would bristle at the thought.
When Claire sent the files to my tablet, I opened it and checked the
recent
transaction statement for the account. Something I told myself I would
never
do when I created it.
A charge was there from Silverton Women’s Health Clinic, dated
two days
after Citra checked into the Starlight Suites. With Dr. Lang’s electronic signature on the
approval
.
The day of our
first dinner
at that food truck park. After she was
hounded
by rogues. Rogues probably sent by someone from her pack...
someone like her former mate
.
I closed my eyes briefly while releasing the device before my wolf
surged
with so much protective
rage
. So much
explosive anger
that I couldn’t even think straight to count to ten.
This
feeling
... wasn’t
just
about Citra anymore. It was about her child as well. And what others
wanted
from it.
My mate’s child
.
As good as my own
. Protect it like her.
To steady myself, I had to place both palms flat on my white slab desk. The densified polymer composite and reinforced floor underneath
resisting
the amount of pushing strength I used. An
expensive
but
nearly indestructible
surface.
Eventually, I tapped the intercom again.
"Claire, tell Luca to come to my office immediately. And hold all my calls."
"Yes, boss."
Ten minutes later,
which felt far too long
, Luca entered without knocking. He could immediately sense my tension. The
scent
that I’ve released is not being cleared quickly by the active ventilation system.
"What’s happened?"
I handed him the Duskpaw message
without a word
. His eyes widened as he read it.
"Is this true? That rogue is pregnant?"
"Her name is Citra."
I
corrected
him almost automatically. Trying not to be upset that his focus
was on that
and not their
entitlement
.
"I expect this is a yes, she is. But I also know that they have no evidence."
I
think I know
. Where she is right now, or who she might have told when she
learned
- I don’t know. Maybe it is what she is out there ’dealing with’.
My Beta set the message down,
studying
me
carefully. Gauging how
upset
I am before speaking.
"This complicates things."
"Does it?"
He sighed and
eased his stance
further. Trying not to look like he was
challenging
me... too much.
"Kyrie, you know it does. If she conceived during-"
"No. They have no claim. They lost it when she made it here, past our borders. And my city has facilities that make no sense to deny her if she needs them."
"...The council might disagree."
"Let them. I’ll draft a response and make it clear where we stand."
"And where exactly do we stand, Kyrie? You’ve been evasive about this woman since she arrived. The pack... is noticing."
I looked at his face and turned around. Stepping to the window, looking out at the city and the
graying clouds
. The territory I protected and the people and
pack
I lead.
For a moment, I considered continuing to
keep my cards close
. But my Beta deserved better.
Luca
does - and I needed him on my side for this.
I needed to know he would understand. That I had
backup
. Or... I needed to make
a larger decision
.
"She’s my fated mate."
I could see his
shock
in the small reflection in the window. And I wondered if that was
anything like how I looked
when I first learned, myself.