When I arrived at Lydia’s hotel, I was still thinking about Ella. We’d been doing well over the past two weeks, maintaining an affectionate relationship while resisting our desires as best we could. We’d avoided becoming more intimate than we were before the doctor ordered bed rest, but the sexual tension was palpable—the idea that Ella was anything less than irresistible was ridiculous.
Furthermore, the pregnancy was making her increasingly wolf-like, and I worried our restraint wouldn't last. Her scent-marking attempts that day made that abundantly clear. Soon, she’d be pushing me like any she-wolf denied her needs, either challenging my dominance or overtly seducing me. Resisting her would be difficult, going against every instinct.
We'd made the right decision to remain friends, especially since my attraction to Ella had already jeopardized the campaign more than once. My preoccupation with her had allowed rogues to infiltrate my borders, costing the pack dearly. I was drugged and, apparently, bred like a prize stud because I was too busy gushing about her to barflies instead of maintaining my guard.
Beyond that, I was harming Ella and our baby by keeping her involved in this fraudulent political game. I needed to confirm Lydia's pregnancy or find another Luna—and whomever I chose would never accept my relationship with Ella. We needed a way to be together without romance interfering, and so far, we were failing. I was failing her—again.
I knocked on Lydia’s door, trying to suppress memories of my last visit. I was ambivalent about this supposed pregnancy. On one hand, I wanted Lydia out of my life. On the other, her baby would solve some problems; the pack would more readily accept my return to my fated mate than my leaving Ella for another woman.
Still, I considered a better solution: finding a she-wolf to be my Luna after the campaign and keeping Rafe as my heir. This would avoid Lydia's unpleasantness while ensuring Ella's safety and comfort.
Before I could fully consider this, the door swung open, revealing Lydia in a hotel bathrobe. A knowing smirk played on her lips; her dark hair was still wet from the shower. “Dominic, I’ve been expecting you,” she purred, placing a hand on her belly. “Or should I call you Daddy?”
My wolf gagged in my head. I was amazed by how attractive I had once found her. The idiocy of youth, and the cruel tricks of fate.
I sniffed the air, pushing past the lingering scent of soap and shampoo. Her familiar aroma—a cloying mix of lemon and pine—was once fresh and natural; now it smelled like floor cleaner. I couldn't detect a pup, which didn’t mean she wasn’t pregnant, but it did mean the child wasn’t mine. I could smell Rafe from down the hall when Ella was only ten days pregnant, but two weeks after the alleged conception, I detected no trace of my own essence in Lydia.
“Nice try, Lydia, but if you’re pregnant, it’s not mine,” I announced, brimming with triumphant glee.
“What? How can you say that!?” she exclaimed. “I’m not a slut, Dominic; I don’t sleep with just anyone.”
I realized she didn't understand the rapid bonding between father and pup. She probably thought she had time to pass the child off as mine or conceive one legitimately.
“Darling, having never been pregnant, you couldn’t possibly know this,” I said coldly, watching her flinch and imagining Ella scolding me for my cruelty. “But if you were carrying my child, I would be able to smell it. Even now.”
Lydia’s mouth opened and closed. “Are you sure about that?” she finally challenged. “You wouldn’t want to risk being wrong about something so important.”
I stalked forward, rudely reaching for her waist and unfastening her robe. I pressed my palm to her stomach, justifying it by telling myself she deserved this and more. After all, this was nothing compared to drugging someone and sleeping with them without consent. Again, I felt nothing—no pulse of life, no tiny consciousness, no connection. “I’m sure,” I declared fiercely. “As soon as the egg implants, the bond to the father forms. If you are pregnant, it isn’t mine.”
Her fists clenched, and she bared her fangs. “Goddess damn it!” she exploded, wrenching away and yanking her robe closed. “If you had just cooperated from the beginning—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “What do you mean, if I had cooperated?”
She growled, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Do you have any idea the lengths I went to to drug you, Dominic? To get you back here? That was supposed to be the hard part, but of course, you never make anything easy! You were out of your head on GHB, and still all you could think about was that little whore of yours! You didn’t want anything to do with me; you kept oscillating between gushing over her and trying to leave to find her. I had to practically tie you down to keep you here, and nothing I tried aroused you—I should have shown you her photo; I’m sure you would have been instantly hard!”
“So we didn’t even have sex?” I clarified, relief flooding me.
“Are you kidding? Your cock was like a limp noodle!” she burst out, glaring. “I swear, that bitch must be a witch. I’m still your fated mate; I ought to be able to turn you on if nothing else.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged, feeling smug. “Now that my wolf has gotten a taste of Ella, he won’t settle for anything less—and you are absolutely, unequivocally less, Lydia.”
Her eyes blazed, reflecting anger and pain. “Of course I am. How many times did you even sleep with her before she got pregnant? Once? Some sluts just open their legs and magically conceive, while the rest of us struggle for years.”
“You don’t know Ella,” I growled. “It wasn’t like that, and it hasn’t been easy for her.” For a moment, I allowed myself to empathize with her, with this she-wolf I’d spent years trying to build a family with. Our shared disappointment and failure, at a time when our bodies felt like they were betraying us, both unable to procreate. I’d moved past it, but Lydia clearly hadn't. “It’s not your fault that we couldn’t get pregnant, and I would never—never blame you for that.”
Tears welled in Lydia’s eyes, and she interrupted. “You say it’s not my fault, but the truth is that it was. You knocked Ella up without even trying, didn’t you? That means that I was the problem all along.”
“I’m sorry, Lydia,” I said, surprised to mean it. “But that’s not why she’s better. Ella is good and kind, and she only ever wanted to be a mother because she has so much love to give—not because it was a way to secure power. I know that doesn’t make failing easier, but Ella is truly worthy of being a Luna because she will selflessly sacrifice herself for her people or her family, and you never would.”
“I don’t need to be pregnant to ruin you,” Lydia threatened, tears streaming down her cheeks. “If the pack finds out you spent the night with me, it won’t matter—they’ll turn on you all the same.” Bitterness entered her voice, revealing the depth of her hatred for Ella. “She won them over so easily. She just batted her lashes, and they fell at her feet, just like you. They’ll take her side if the story comes out, even though you’ve been Alpha for years.”
“So what? You’re going to hold a press conference?” I growled.
“I’ll leak the story to the papers,” she corrected fiercely. “And they’ll believe me, because I have the photographs. I have proof. I’ll end your campaign once and for all.”