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ELLA’S POV
The door clicked shut.
For a few seconds, silence pressed against my ears — thick and suffocating — until even the sound of my own heartbeat became too loud to ignore.
I opened my eyes slowly. The world came back in pieces. The pale curtains swayed with the evening breeze. The scent of herbs lingered — Mara’s work, no doubt — and Jake’s warmth still clung to the sheets beside me.
I’d pretended to sleep when they talked. It wasn’t hard. I was too tired to speak, too hurt to breathe. But I wasn’t too tired to listen.
And now… I wished I hadn’t.
Mara’s voice still echoed in my mind — calm, clinical, but heavy with something she was trying to hide.
“She’s not just stressed, Alpha. The baby’s energy… it’s not normal. It’s pulling from her, like it's unnatural."
And Ja
