He Chose Her While I Lost Our Baby

"Of course, Nora. I'll send you the onboarding paperwork tonight." Maeve didn't press me for answers. She only confirmed when I would report for work. The moment the call ended, I heard a key turn in the front door. I was sitting on the entryway bench, my phone resting on my knee. Adrian pulled off his gloves as he spoke into his phone. "Leave chocolate by her bed. Don't let her stay alone." He was the Alpha of the Black Fir Pack and the head of the Mountain Rescue Foundation. For 6 years, I had handled everything I could for him before he even had to ask. Tonight, I stayed where I was. He ended the call and draped his coat over one arm. After waiting a moment, he finally hung it on the coat rack himself. "Who were you talking to?" he asked. "Maeve. I'm moving to Grayhaven—" His phone rang again. He raised a hand, signaling me to be quiet, and I swallowed the rest of my sentence. When he hung up, he noticed the brace still strapped to my leg and frowned. "The medic said nothing was broken. It's snow season, so things are busy. Once you're better, finish the maps for the northern route." I folded the top of my pharmacy bag closed. All he knew was that I hadn't broken a bone. The county firefighters pulled me from the driver's seat 47 minutes after that rescue line disappeared. When I woke up in the hospital, a doctor sat by my bed and told me I had been 7 weeks pregnant. The baby was gone. I stared at the IV bag as her words slowly sank in. The doctor held my hand. "Nora, this wasn't your fault." That was how I learned I had been carrying a child. On the taxi ride home, the driver asked which building I lived in. I was still clutching my medical records and couldn't answer right away. Adrian was still standing there, waiting for my response. I set the pharmacy bag beside me and nodded once. "All right." He pressed a hand to his mark through his shirt. "It kept hurting this afternoon. I thought you'd injured your leg." Our marks let me sense that he was in pain or upset, but never why. I looked at him, waiting for him to ask me a single question. Instead, he lowered his gaze to his phone. "Lia was terrified today. This is her first time away from the pack she grew up in. Try to be understanding." I said nothing. He finally glanced at me, expecting me to ask why he had abandoned me again, the way I always did. I twisted open a bottle of water and swallowed the painkillers the doctor had prescribed. The water was cold. I took a sip, then set the bottle down. The mate mark beneath my collarbone still burned faintly. Once, sensing his presence had always calmed me. Tonight, all I wanted was to pull my collar higher. Adrian undid the top button of his shirt and walked into his study. I emailed my resignation to Human Resources, then found the form to leave the pack. A notification for a new photo from Lia lit up my phone. Sunset glowed beyond the helicopter window. She was wrapped in Adrian's coat, holding a hot drink. Her caption appeared beneath it: Being someone's favorite really can make even the coldest winter feel warm. In the photo, his hand shielded her forehead. I checked the time stamp. At that moment, I had still been trapped in the car, pressing my scarf against a bleeding wound. I closed the page and wrote personal choice under reason for leaving. Apparently, that was all it took to end a 6-year relationship.