Sorry, Alpha. This Pup Isn’t Yours

Chapter 2

I called Silvercrest Jewelry three minutes later.

"Send over every moonstone brooch we have in stock."

The manager asked, "How many do you need?"

"46. One for every female employee at Blackwood Headquarters."

That afternoon, all 46 female employees, from the executive office to logistics, received a moonstone brooch from the Luna.

The card inside each gift box bore a single line.

Every she-wolf who works hard deserves to be seen.

Within 30 minutes, the company intranet was filled with group photos of employees wearing their brooches.

Several coworkers gathered around Chloe, laughing.

"Chloe, you've really got some pull. The Alpha gave you one necklace, and the Luna turned around and gave every one of us something to match."

"Even the intern has one now. Guess it really was just an employee reward."

The "special treatment" worth 200,000 dollars that Chloe had enjoyed became an ordinary company perk just like that.

She deleted her post that same day.

I had won the first round, but after my office door closed, I still stared at the prenatal report for a long time.

I remembered Adrian saying at the auction, "After four years, I'd still choose you," and nausea suddenly rolled through me.

My wolf didn't calm down just because I'd won. It stayed curled deep in my mindscape, tense and protective as it guarded the pup inside me.

At 8 p.m., Adrian returned to the estate with Chloe.

The moment he stepped into the dining room, he stopped short. It was as though his black wolf had stirred from sleep. His nostrils flared twice, and his gaze landed on me.

"Your scent has changed."

It was still too early in the pregnancy for the pup's scent to be distinct, but the subtle change was enough for his instincts as my mate to tell that something was different.

I pressed a hand over the prenatal report inside my purse. "That's why I asked you to come home. I have something to tell you."

Chloe stood behind him holding the jewelry box, her eyes swollen red from crying.

"I was the one who brought her to the auction last night, and I should have explained it beforehand." Adrian handed his coat to the butler. "After you made her leave on her own, she cried all night. I gave her the necklace to make it up to her, nothing more."

"So because she cried all night, she gets the anniversary gift you promised me?"

"Serena, it's only a necklace. I can buy you another one."

"You could buy 100, but none of them would ever carry the words My choice, always."

At last, he fell silent.

Chloe set the jewelry box on the table. Right on cue, a tear slid down her cheek.

"Luna, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was your anniversary gift. I can resign if that's what you want. Just please don't keep fighting with the Alpha because of me."

"You didn't know?" I looked at her. "Then why did you wear the gift meant for his wife and announce publicly that he was protecting you? You call me Luna, yet you refer to him as 'your Alpha'."

The color drained from her face.

"Chloe, you understand the rules perfectly well. You just wanted to see whether he'd protect you after you crossed the line."

"Enough."

Adrian cut me off.

"She came here to apologize. You've already made her a laughingstock throughout the company. There's no need to humiliate her any further."

My mate mark flared with pain, and a faint cramp tightened low in my abdomen.

I slipped a hand into my purse. My fingertips had already touched the prenatal report.

"Adrian, there's something very important I need to tell you."

Chloe suddenly covered her mouth and ran out of the dining room.

A second later, Adrian's phone lit up. She had sent only one message.

Chloe: I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't even be alive if just being here bothers the Luna this much.

His face changed instantly, and he turned toward the door.

I stopped him. "If you walk out that door now, there'll be nothing left for us to talk about tonight."

Adrian paused for a second.

"She's not thinking clearly right now. I can't gamble with someone's life. We'll talk when I get back."

The door closed behind him.

Slowly, I pulled the report from my purse.

That night, all it would have taken for him to learn he was going to be a father was one glance back.