Chapter 11
1397words
"I'm pregnant. And it's yours."
Sienna's words hit me like a physical blow, sending a surge of primal satisfaction through my veins. My wolf howls in triumph inside me, and I struggle to maintain control as my eyes flash—a momentary slip I hope she doesn't notice.
An heir. After five long years of failure, of watching my position as Alpha weaken with each passing moon without a successor, fate has delivered what I need most.
"You're certain?" I keep my voice carefully neutral, though my heart pounds against my ribcage.
"Yes. I took three tests." She hesitates, vulnerability clear in her eyes.
I inhale deeply, letting my enhanced senses confirm what she's telling me. There it is—the subtle change in her scent, the faint but unmistakable presence of my pup growing within her. My wolf recognizes our offspring immediately, even in this earliest stage.
A miracle. Or perhaps the Moon Goddess's blessing.
As Sienna continues speaking, explaining about her ex-boyfriend's betrayal, my wolf snarls with rage.
"His name?" I ask, already planning how I'll deal with him.
"Lucas Grant. Why?"
"No reason." I offer a cold smile, knowing she wouldn't understand the depth of my fury. Lucas Grant has just earned himself a place at the top of my enemies list.
As Sienna speaks about keeping the baby regardless of my involvement, I study her—this human woman who has somehow become central to my existence. When I first saw her at The Obsidian two weeks ago, the recognition was instantaneous and overwhelming. A fated mate. My second chance.
After losing Clara five years ago during childbirth—our pups dying with her—I never expected to feel the mate bond again. It's rare enough to find one true mate in a lifetime; two is almost unheard of. Yet there Sienna was, her scent calling to me across the crowded club, her soul recognizing mine even if her human consciousness didn't understand what was happening.
After our night together, I've asked my beta Marcus to investigate this woman, my fated mate, Sienna Rivera.
"I want my baby to have a better family than I did," she's saying now, tears glistening in her eyes. "I want to keep my coffee shop. I want to not be terrified of the future."
I move to the window, needing a moment to collect my thoughts. How much should I tell her? How much can she handle?
"I should tell you who I am," I finally say. "My name is Damon Sinclair."
I watch her face for recognition, but see none. Of course—she's human, disconnected from our world. She wouldn't know that Damon Sinclair is Alpha of the Silver Moon pack, one of the four most powerful werewolf packs in the state. She wouldn't know that my territory encompasses most of the city, that my wealth comes from centuries of accumulated power and strategic investments.
"Sinclair Enterprises," I explain instead. "Real estate, technology, pharmaceuticals."
Understanding dawns in her eyes as she realizes I'm wealthy. If only she knew the full truth—that my "enterprises" are merely the human face of a supernatural empire.
When she blushes, remembering how she tried to pay me for our night together, I can't help but smile. Her innocence is refreshing. Most humans who encounter our kind sense something dangerous, something predatory. They either fear us or try to use us. Sienna did neither.
"Because I have a proposition for you," I tell her, moving closer. "Marry me, Sienna."
Her shock is evident, but I press on. I need her—not just for the pup she carries, but because our mate bond has already started to form, and I must protect her from my enemies. My wolf recognizes her as ours, even if her dormant werewolf genes haven't awakened yet.
Yes, dormant werewolf genes. That was Marcus's most surprising discovery.
"Alpha," he'd said just days ago, standing in my office with the final report. "We've completed the background check on Sienna Rivera."
"And?" I'd prompted, impatient for information about the woman who'd haunted my thoughts since our night together.
"Her mother, Elena Rivera, was a werewolf—an Omega from the Northern Crescent pack."
I'd stared at him in disbelief. "That's impossible. I would have sensed it."
"Her genes appear dormant, Alpha. According to our sources, her father is human—Richard Rivera. He discovered his wife's nature and couldn't accept it. They separated when Sienna was young, and her mother died when Sienna was twelve. It appears Sienna was never told about her heritage."
"The children of a human father and werewolf mother can present as either human or werewolf," I'd mused. "Unlike werewolf fathers with human mothers, where the offspring almost always manifest werewolf traits."
"Exactly, Alpha. It's genetic. The werewolf gene is dominant from the paternal line but can be recessive from the maternal line. Ms. Rivera's wolf may be dormant, but it's there—which explains the mate bond you experienced."
Now, looking at Sienna's confused face as she processes my marriage proposal, I wonder how she'll react when she learns the truth. Will she reject me, reject her own nature, as her father rejected her mother?
"And what about love? Compatibility? All the things that actually matter in a marriage?" she asks.
I think of Clara, my first mate, taken from me too soon. "My first wife died five years ago," I say, allowing a glimpse of my pain to show. "I've learned that practical partnerships are more reliable than emotional entanglements."
What I don't say is that Clara died trying to birth twins—a son and daughter who would have secured my position as Alpha against the growing faction that questions my leadership. Without an heir, the challenges to my authority have grown more frequent, more dangerous. The Silver Moon pack needs stability, and I need a successor. With the Alpha King selection approaching next year, my position as a contender depends entirely on producing an heir to continue my bloodline.
When Sienna sways on her feet, I'm at her side instantly, my enhanced reflexes allowing me to catch her before she falls. The contact sends electricity through me—the mate bond strengthening with each touch. Her scent envelops me, now mixed with the subtle notes of pregnancy and something else—the first stirrings of her dormant wolf.
Later, as we lie tangled in her sheets, her head resting on my chest, I marvel at how quickly she's become essential to me. My wolf is content for the first time in years, having found our mate and knowing she carries our pup.
"If we marry," she says into the darkness, "I have one condition."
"Name it." I would give her anything—the moon itself if she asked.
"I want our wedding to be on the fifth of next month."
I shift to look down at her, amused by her petty revenge against her ex. "The same day as your ex?"
"Yes. And I want to book every decent venue in the city so they have nowhere to hold their wedding."
A laugh escapes me—genuine and unguarded. My little mate has claws. "Vengeful. I like it. Consider it done."
As she drifts toward sleep in my arms, I sense her restlessness. She jolts awake suddenly.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Nothing," she murmurs, "Just a strange dream."
I tighten my arms around her. "Sleep," I whisper. "I've got you."
But as her breathing deepens into slumber, I remain awake, troubled by the challenges ahead. Her wolf is awakening—triggered by pregnancy and our mate bond. Soon, she'll begin experiencing changes she can't explain. The heightened senses. The mood swings. The pull of the moon.
And I will have to tell her everything—that I'm not human, that she's not entirely human either. That our child will be a werewolf, heir to one of the most powerful packs in the state.
Will she run from me when she learns the truth? Will she reject her own nature, as her father rejected her mother's?
I stare out the window at the waxing moon, its pull already stronger as the full moon approaches. I have three weeks until our wedding, three weeks to figure out how to introduce Sienna to a world she never knew existed—a world that is her birthright as much as it is mine.
And I pray that history doesn't repeat itself, that I don't lose another mate to the dangers of bringing a werewolf heir into the world.
