Gone With Your Son, Alpha

Chapter 7

Ethan's POV

I stabbed a piece of broccoli with my fork, treating it as the person who had ruined my mood today.

"That little bastard by Olivia's side really needs to know his place."

I muttered as I stuffed the vegetable into my mouth.

"I was kind enough to go up and offer him a handshake, but he looked at me like I was a piece of filth stuck to the bottom of his shoe."

Kael continued cutting the steak on his plate with precise, clean movements.

From beginning to end, he did not even raise his head.

"He's nothing but a secretary."

I continued pouring red wine, my tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Yet he puts on the arrogant posture of a chief executive."

"There wasn't the slightest respect in the way he spoke to me. He even joined Olivia in telling me to get out."

I paused, then added, "And he looked very familiar with Olivia. But I've clearly never seen him before."

The dinner knife in Kael's hand suddenly stopped.

The metal blade scraped against the porcelain plate, making a faint, grating sound.

"Who?" He raised his eyes and asked in a low voice.

"A new wolf has appeared by Olivia's side."

I was a little surprised that he had actually responded.

"I think his name is Julian something. I'm telling you, Kael, we have to secure this cooperation. Olivia now has full control over all Starveil Pack affairs. Maybe you can make use of your past relationship? After all, she used to be your Luna. There should still be some special consideration. Go find her, negotiate with her properly, and persuade her to keep giving us the old friendship price..."

Only when Leonardo's roar entered my mind did I realize that the Alpha across from me had already grown angry.

Whenever Olivia was mentioned, his eyes filled with warning and anger.

"Okay, okay." I raised both hands in surrender. "My fault. You two have completely cut ties. She probably only wants to never have anything to do with you again for the rest of her life. That idea really was stupid."

For some reason, Kael's gaze became even more terrifying.

His pupils gradually turned into a storm, and his wolf form almost surfaced.

Look at that.

And some people actually say I have poor emotional control.

"I... uh..."

I awkwardly cleared my throat and hurriedly changed the topic, pointing at his plate.

"Are you not eating that steak?"

Kael quickly returned to his human state.

He blinked once, and Leonardo's pressure also faded from around him.

He picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and then stood up.

"Kael?"

He buttoned his suit jacket and left the dining room without looking back.

I sat frozen in place, stunned, looking at the half-eaten steak on the table and the expensive bottle of red wine that had barely been touched.

"Unbelievable." I complained, raising my hand to signal the server over, "A childish Alpha. Can't he act a little more normal? A little more emotionally stable? He has thoughts but refuses to say them out loud. Great. Now I have to pay the bill."

Olivia's POV

At dinner, Mom prepared my favorite chocolate soufflé for me.

She said I must have had a difficult day.

As a Luna, she could sense the emotions of her offspring.

Especially now that I had returned to Starveil Pack, the connection between us had become even stronger.

"Your father and I both think you are very strong." She looked at me lovingly.

And I was almost burying my face in the soufflé.

"But we can't protect you from every hurt. Some challenges must be faced by you personally."

"Mom, I can do it."

"Voss told me you rejected Sullivan's request." Mom stroked my head. "You treated business as business, not as a personal favor. That is a good start. I believe in you, Liv."

Maya and I both liked Mom's touch very much.

"Enjoy your cake." Mom said gently, "There's more in the kitchen if it's not enough."

After dinner, I sat on the sofa and slowly tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon that had just been opened.

The rich aroma of the wine gradually eased the irritation in my heart.

Mom thought I had had a difficult day because it was my first day officially managing Pack affairs.

But in truth, that was not the only reason.

I did not want Ethan's few words to continue disturbing my emotions.

I needed to know the truth.

"Mrs. Molly, are you there?"

I called out.

After I left the Foster family, Ivy had also applied to come with me to Starveil Pack.

She was now our head maid.

"I am here, Miss Astor."

Ivy walked over.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

I looked straight into her eyes.

"Mrs. Molly, I need you to answer me honestly. After I joined Auris Pack, did Alpha Kael ever have any accident because of me?"

Ivy looked very puzzled. "Accident?"

"Yes." I said, "I met Ethan today. He told me Kael was once in a car accident because of me and almost died. But I have no memory of this at all. It makes me feel as if I missed something important."

I leaned forward slightly. "I couldn't sense any pain from him at all. But that doesn't prove anything."

I paused for a moment, then added, "He never marked me. Our bond was incomplete from the very beginning. Ethan was just trying to manipulate me psychologically, wasn't he?"

Ivy thought for a moment, then firmly shook her head. "No, Miss Astor. I have never seen Alpha Kael suffer from any illness or serious injury."

"Are you sure?" I continued pressing. "Maybe he hid it very well, so no one discovered anything unusual about their Alpha."

"I am very sure." Ivy answered firmly, "Alpha Kael almost never stayed in the house. He often came back late at night, changed his clothes, and left again before dawn. He has always been physically strong and in very good health. Yes, he has a cold personality and is distant with people. But an accident? A serious illness? I have never heard of it."

A dry, cold laugh escaped my throat.

"I understand." I gently swirled the red wine in my glass.

I knew I shouldn't drink during pregnancy.

But at this moment, I had to drink something to calm myself down.

"Thank you, Mrs. Molly."

"Don't be easily shaken by other people's words, Miss Astor." After Ivy said that, she turned and left.

"I won't."

As she turned, I murmured softly to myself.

It seemed Ethan had fabricated an accident.

He wanted to portray me as the villain who had failed Kael, using that to awaken my guilt and make me feel unnecessary sympathy for Kael.

Maya paced back and forth in my mind. "I don't think Leonardo is that kind of wolf."

"But did you sense that he had been in an accident?"

"I don't think so." Maya was also somewhat hesitant. "He rarely talked to me. Sometimes it was because the distance was too great, and sometimes it was because Kael blocked our communication. Since he never spoke, then we'll treat it as if it never happened."

My phone vibrated on the table, interrupting our conversation.

I picked it up and looked.

It was a message from Julian.

Julian: Liv, you have to look at the news."

Before I could reply, three more messages popped up one after another.

Julian: Reminder: don't panic.

Julian: But you need to look carefully and confirm it.

Julian: That bastard Kael!!!

In the last message, he sent three exclamation marks in a row.

I was wondering what kind of news could make him react so strongly.

The next second, a news headline popped up on my phone.

"Alpha Kael of Auris Pack Caught in Romance Scandal. Mysterious Omega Girlfriend Six Weeks Pregnant."

I tapped the link.

A report circulating within the werewolf network popped up.

What entered my eyes was a high-resolution photo.

In the photo, Kael was wearing the charcoal gray coat I had bought for him, walking out of the Foster private hospital.

Meg Shaw, that Omega, was tightly holding his arm.

She looked up at him and smiled, as if he were her entire world.

The caption beneath the photo read: Alpha Kael Accompanies His New Girlfriend to a Prenatal Checkup.

Six weeks pregnant.

I placed the phone face down on the table.

The cold glass screen faced downward, and that photo was pressed into darkness.

I stared at the back of the phone for a long time.

But I could not see anything.

Maya fell completely silent in my consciousness.

It was not the silence of sadness.

Nor was it the silence of her crying or curling up.

It was a silence I had never felt before.

As if she had suddenly hidden somewhere I could not find her, completely concealing herself, even her breathing gone.

"Maya?"

There was no response.

Something began churning in my stomach.

I lowered my head, and my fingers quietly pressed against my belly.

Through the soft fabric of my sweater, my fingertips rested on my still-flat lower abdomen.

I could not feel anything there.

Nothing could be seen.

But I knew that a new life was already there.

Six weeks.

Meg was already six weeks pregnant.

I slowly placed that number beside another number.

Six weeks ago, I had still been in Auris Pack.

Six weeks ago, I had still been his Luna.

I had still lived in that house, counting the sound of his footsteps coming home late at night.

I had still thought there was something I had not done well enough.

I had still asked Maya over and over whether I was not good enough.

And at that time—

He had already placed their pup inside her body.

A faint buzzing began ringing in my ears.

The phone screen lit up automatically.

That photo came back again.

Kael holding an umbrella for her.

The angle at which he lowered his head to look at her.

The hand he used to shield her from the rain.

And the cuff of the charcoal gray coat he was wearing.

That coat was something I had bought for him.

I stared at the phone, and my stomach churned violently, almost making me want to vomit.

Maybe it was a pregnancy reaction.

But I felt even more that it was because these facts were too disgusting.

"Kael, you truly don't deserve to be an Alpha."

I murmured softly into the air.

"Why did the Goddess make me meet you? Why did she arrange for you to be my mate? You were never worthy. You only make me sick."

I stood up, wanting to take that glass of wine.

But my legs went weak.

My vision began to tilt, and everything before my eyes slowly turned black.

Maya.

She still did not answer me.

I could not remember when I sat back down on the sofa.

Nor could I remember when the sofa back became the only thing I could lean on.

The phone slipped from my fingers and fell onto the carpet with a dull thud.

I felt as if I was about to suffocate, able only to gasp for breath.

I closed my eyes, my fingertips tightening slightly.

"I will return the humiliation he brought me a thousandfold."

Then everything before my eyes went black.