Pregnant by the cold Alpha

Breaking point

Lily didn't sleep that night. How could she? Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that vial of wolfsbane in Victoria's hand. She kept touching her stomach, like she could somehow protect the baby through sheer willpower alone.

By 6 AM, she gave up trying to rest. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her head pounded from stress. She made herself chamomile tea with shaking hands, then stared at it suspiciously. What if Victoria wasn't bluffing about poisoning her water? What if the wolfsbane was already in there?

She poured the tea down the sink.

Her phone sat on the coffee table like a bomb waiting to explode. No new messages yet, but noon was coming. Six hours to decide whether to become a traitor or lose her baby.

Lily pulled her knees to her chest and tried to think logically. Maybe she could steal the files Victoria wanted, but give Damien fake information? No, Victoria seemed too smart for that. She'd probably verify everything before letting Lily off the hook.

What if Lily went to the pack council? They had authority even over the alpha. They could protect her, couldn't they? But Victoria said she had people inside the pack. What if someone on the council was working for her? What if telling anyone was exactly what Victoria wanted, just so she'd have an excuse to poison Lily?

God, she couldn't think straight anymore.

A knock on her door made her jump so hard she almost fell off the couch. Her heart hammered as she crept to the door and peered through the peephole.

Marcus stood in the hallway holding a bag from the diner downtown and two coffee cups.

Lily almost didn't answer, but Marcus knocked again. "Lily, I know you're in there. I brought breakfast. Damien's worried about you, and honestly, so am I. Can we talk?"

She opened the door a c***k. "I'm fine. You didn't need to come all the way here."

"You look terrible," Marcus said bluntly, then winced. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant you look exhausted. Have you eaten anything today?"

"It's six in the morning."

"Have you eaten anything since yesterday?"

Lily's silence was answer enough. Marcus pushed past her gently and set the food on her coffee table. "Scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, and orange juice. The coffee's decaf since you're pregnant. Damien made me promise to check on you."

Despite everything, Lily felt a rush of warmth. Damien had sent his best friend with breakfast. That was... actually really sweet.

"Thank you," she said quietly, sitting down. The smell of the eggs made her stomach growl. She hadn't realized how hungry she was.

Marcus settled into the chair across from her, his hazel eyes kind. "Listen, I know things are complicated between you and Damien right now. And I know my friend can be a grade-A i***t sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But he really cares about you, Lily. More than I've seen him care about anyone in years."

"He rejected me," Lily said, picking at her eggs. "He called sleeping with me a mistake."

"I know. I told him he was being a complete moron." Marcus leaned forward. "But between you and me? Damien was terrified that night. I've never seen him lose control like he did with you. It scared the hell out of him, feeling something real for the first time since his father died. So he did what he always does when he's scared—he pushed you away before you could hurt him first."

Lily looked up at Marcus. "Did he tell you that?"

"Didn't have to. I've known Damien since we were kids. I know how his mind works." Marcus smiled sadly. "He's spent ten years building walls around his heart because he thinks caring about people makes him weak. But those walls are crumbling now, and it's freaking him out."

"I can't deal with his emotional issues right now," Lily said, her voice cracking. "I have my own problems."

Something in her tone made Marcus's expression shift from friendly to concerned. "What's wrong? And don't say nothing, because I can tell you're scared. Is it about the baby? Are you having complications?"

Yes, Lily wanted to say. Tell him everything. Let him help. But Victoria's threat echoed in her mind: "We have eyes everywhere."

"I'm just overwhelmed," she lied. "Finding out I'm pregnant, Damien finding out, trying to figure out what comes next. It's a lot."

Marcus studied her face like he didn't quite believe her, but he didn't push. "Well, for what it's worth, you don't have to figure it all out today. Take things one step at a time. And whatever you decide, I've got your back. Damien might be my best friend, but I'm not blind to his faults. If you need an ally, I'm here."

The kindness in his voice almost broke her. Lily blinked back tears and focused on her breakfast, not trusting herself to speak.

After Marcus left, Lily showered and got dressed for her shift at the clinic. Maybe being at work would help distract her, give her mind a break from the impossible choice hanging over her head.

But when she arrived at the clinic, Dr. Martinez pulled her aside immediately.

"Lily, I need you to do me a favor. Alpha Cross requested copies of some old medical records from the filing room. Can you pull them and bring them to his office before lunch?"

Lily's stomach dropped. "What kind of records?"

"Treaty documentation from five years ago. Something about a territorial dispute with the Blackwood Pack." Dr. Martinez handed her a list. "It's all in the secure filing room. You have clearance."

Five years ago. The same time Victoria's brother died. This wasn't a coincidence.

Lily took the list with numb fingers. This was it. This was Victoria's plan. She'd somehow arranged for Lily to have legitimate access to exactly the files she needed to steal. All Lily had to do was make copies for Victoria before delivering the originals to Damien.

No one would ever know.

She could save her baby and no one would get hurt. Damien would never find out she'd betrayed him. It was perfect.

Except it wasn't.

Lily stood in the secure filing room twenty minutes later, staring at the thick folder marked "Blackwood Territorial Dispute - CONFIDENTIAL." Her hands hovered over it, trembling.

If she did this, she'd be betraying not just Damien but the entire Silverstone Pack. Whatever information was in this file, Victoria planned to use it as a weapon. People could get hurt. People could die.

But if she didn't do it, her baby would die.

Her phone buzzed. Victoria's number.

"The files are right in front of you. I'm watching. Make copies and leave them in the women's bathroom trash can, third stall, wrapped in paper towels. You have thirty minutes."

Lily's blood turned to ice. Victoria was watching her right now? How? Was there a camera in the filing room? Was someone standing outside the door, reporting her every move?

She looked around frantically but saw nothing suspicious. Just metal filing cabinets and fluorescent lights.

Twenty-nine minutes now.

Lily pulled out the file with shaking hands and walked to the copy machine in the corner. She could do this. She had to do this. For her baby.

She placed the first document on the glass.

Her finger hovered over the copy button.

She thought about Damien's face last night, the genuine remorse in his voice. The way he'd asked to be part of the baby's life. The breakfast Marcus brought this morning because Damien was worried about her.

She thought about her coworkers at the clinic, the young wolves who'd been injured in training, the families living peacefully in Silverstone territory. All of them could be put in danger by whatever Victoria planned to do with this information.

She thought about her baby, growing inside her, innocent and helpless.

Lily's finger trembled on the button.

She couldn't do it.

She couldn't betray everyone she knew, couldn't put the entire pack at risk, even to save her baby. It went against everything she believed in, everything she'd become as a nurse. First, do no harm.

But how could she choose the pack over her own child?

Her phone buzzed again.

"Twenty minutes. Don't test me, Lily."

Tears streamed down Lily's face as she removed the document from the copy machine and put the file back in the cabinet. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely lock it.

She'd made her choice.

She couldn't live with herself if she betrayed Damien and the pack. Which meant she had to tell him everything and pray he could protect her and the baby from Victoria's retaliation.

Even if it meant risking everything.

Lily left the filing room and walked straight to Damien's office. Her legs felt like jelly and her heart pounded so hard she thought it might explode. She knocked on his door before she could lose her nerve.

"Come in."

Damien sat behind his massive desk, looking over paperwork. He glanced up when she entered, and his expression immediately shifted to concern.

"Lily? What's wrong? You're crying."

"I need to tell you something," she said, her voice breaking. "And you're probably going to hate me, but I don't have a choice anymore. I need help."

Damien was around the desk in seconds, guiding her to the couch. "Tell me what happened. Whatever it is, we'll fix it."

So Lily told him everything. The threatening messages. Meeting Victoria at the training grounds. The wolfsbane. The deadline. The impossible choice she'd been facing all morning.

Damien's expression grew darker with every word. By the time she finished, his silver eyes were blazing with fury and his hands were clenched into fists.

"She threatened our baby," he said, his voice deadly quiet. "She threatened you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Lily whispered. "I was so scared. She said she had people watching me, that if I told anyone—"

"You have nothing to apologize for," Damien interrupted, pulling her into his arms. "Victoria Blackwood just signed her own death warrant. No one threatens my mate and child and lives."

Lily froze. "Your mate?"

Damien pulled back to look at her, his silver eyes intense. "Did you really think I didn't know? That night we spent together, I felt it. The bond. You're my fated mate, Lily. I've known since the moment I touched you. That's why I panicked. That's why I pushed you away. But I'm not running anymore."

Before Lily could process that revelation, Damien's office door burst open. Marcus ran in, his face pale.

"Damien, we have a problem. Someone just tried to poison the water supply to the medical wing. We caught them before they could finish, but—" He stopped, seeing Lily's tear-stained face. "What happened?"

"Get the pack warriors," Damien ordered, his alpha command ringing through the room. "Full lockdown. No one enters or leaves the territory. And find Victoria Blackwood. She's about to learn what happens when you threaten an alpha's family."

Lily's phone buzzed one last time.

"You told him. Bad choice, Lily. Now everyone you love will pay the price."