Chapter 12: The First Morning Together-Part 1
1883 Words
The first thing Lena noticed was the smell.
Cedar. Winter. Darius.
The second thing was the weight of a blanket that cost more than her car.
She was in his bed.
Two beds in the room, he had said. Security.
But she had rolled into the big one in the middle of the night without thinking.
Sunlight was coming through the floor to ceiling windows. 80 floors down, the city was already moving.
She sat up too fast. Her head spun. Her hand went to her stomach on instinct.
The door opened.
Darius.
Gray sweatpants, black shirt. Hair still wet from a shower. Two mugs in his hands. He stopped when he saw her sitting up.
“You’re awake,” he said.
“You said two beds,” Lena said. Her voice came out rough.
“I did.” He set one mug on the nightstand. Tea. Not coffee. “You moved. I didn’t.”
She pulled the blanket up. “Did I snore?”
“No.” He sat in the chair across from the bed. Not on it. “You talked in your sleep.”
Lena went still. “About what.”
“Nothing. Just numbers. Hospital bills, I think.”
She exhaled. Right. That was safe.
Darius picked up his coffee. He looked like he had not slept either. Dark under his eyes. Jaw tight.
“Pack meeting went out 40 minutes ago,” he said. “The clip is everywhere.”
“What clip.”
“The part where I said you’re under my protection. Where I said the heir is mine.” He took a drink. “You’re trending.”
Lena closed her eyes. “Great.”
“Not great.” He set the mug down. “The Dren family posted a statement. They’re calling it a disgrace. The Vark family called for a challenge.”
Lena opened her eyes. “A challenge to what.”
“To me. To the heir. To the idea that a human carries Wolfe blood.” He said it flat. Like he was reading a report. “It won’t happen. Not legally. But they’ll make noise.”
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. Unknown number.
She did not pick it up.
Darius saw it. “Give it to me.”
“What.”
“Your phone. Give it to me.”
Lena hesitated, then handed it over.
Darius scrolled for ten seconds. His face did not change. That was worse.
He set it on the dresser, face down. “I’ll get you a new number. This one is burned.”
“They’ll just find the new one.”
“Let them try.”
Silence again. The city was loud below them.
“Darius,” Lena said.
“Yeah.”
“Thank you. For yesterday. In the meeting.”
He nodded once. “Eat something. Doctor said you need to eat every three hours.”
He stood and walked to the door. Stopped.
“Stay in here today. Please. I have meetings. Beta will be outside.”
“House arrest.”
“Protection.”
He left before she could argue.
---
The room felt bigger when he was gone.
Lena showered. The bathroom was bigger than her apartment. The water was hot. She stood under it until her fingers pruned.
When she came out, there was a bag on the chair. Clothes. Her size. New. Tags still on.
Jeans, soft sweater, flats. No labels she recognized.
A note was tucked in. One line in Darius’s handwriting.
Wear this. Meeting at 2.
She got dressed. The sweater was warm. The jeans fit.
She tried not to think about why he knew her size.
At 10, there was a knock. Beta. Young, maybe 25. Scar over his eyebrow. Polite.
“Mr. Wolfe asked me to check on you, Ms. Carter.”
“I’m fine.”
“Breakfast is on the terrace if you want it.”
She did not want it. She went anyway.
The terrace was empty. The same table as yesterday. Eggs were cold now. She ate toast.
Her phone was gone. But there was a tablet on the chair. New.
When she opened it, there was one app. News.
She should not have looked.
The first headline: ALPHA WOLFE CLAIMS HUMAN HEIR. PACK IN UPROAR.
The second: WHO IS LENA CARTER? MYSTERY WOMAN’S PAST EXPOSED.
The third had her photo from the hospital. Bad angle. She looked scared.
Comments were worse.
Mongrel. Gold digger. He’s throwing away 300 years of bloodline.
Lena closed the tablet. Her hands were shaking.
The door opened. Darius again. This time in a suit. No tie.
He saw the tablet. Saw her face.
“Don’t read it,” he said.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.” He came over, took the tablet, set it aside. “Come here.”
“What.”
“Come here.”
She stood. He did not touch her. He just looked at her.
“You’re pale,” he said. “Did you eat.”
“Toast.”
“Not enough.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You have to be.” He sighed. “Lena. Please.”
She hated that he said please. It made it harder to be angry.
She sat. He pushed a plate toward her. Fresh eggs. Fruit.
She ate three bites. He watched her do it.
“Meeting at 2 is with lawyers,” he said. “And PR. We need to control the story before they do.”
“I don’t want a story.”
“I know. But you have one now.” He leaned back. “They’ll ask you questions. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to. I’ll be there.”
Lena looked at him. “Why are you doing this.”
“Doing what.”
“All of this. The protection. The clothes. The tea.”
Darius’s jaw worked. “Because you’re carrying my child.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have right now.”
---
At 1:45 Beta knocked again. “They’re ready, Mr. Wolfe.”
Conference room. Smaller than yesterday. Six people. Lawyers, two women in suits who looked like they ate people for breakfast, and one older man with kind eyes who was introduced as the pack doctor.
Lena sat next to Darius. He did not hold her hand. He did not need to. His presence was enough.
The PR woman spoke first. “We have two options. One, full statement. You and Mr. Wolfe together. We control the narrative. Two, silence. Let them speculate.”
“Speculation is already killing her,” one of the lawyers said. “We recommend option one.”
Darius looked at Lena. “Your choice.”
Lena’s stomach turned. “What would I have to say.”
“The truth,” the PR woman said. “That you and Mr. Wolfe entered an agreement. That you are pregnant. That you will be co-parenting. That you have his protection.”
“Co-parenting,” Lena repeated. “Not contract.”
“Contract sounds transactional,” the lawyer said. “We don’t want that.”
Lena laughed. It came out bitter. “It was transactional.”
The room went quiet.
Darius spoke. “Then we say it was an agreement that changed. That we are building something now.”
Lena stared at him. “Are we.”
Darius did not look away. “Yes.”
The PR woman jumped in. “Perfect. That’s the line. An agreement that became a family.”
Lena wanted to argue. She wanted to say this was not a family. It was nine months and a check.
But the doctor was watching her. And Darius was watching her. And somewhere out there 200k people were sharing her photo.
“Fine,” she said. “Statement.”
The lawyers nodded like she had just signed a treaty.
The doctor spoke next. “I need to do a check. Today. Here. Just to confirm everything is still healthy. For the record.”
Lena’s mouth went dry. “Now.”
“Ten minutes,” the doctor said gently. “I promise.”
Darius stood. “I’ll wait outside.”
“No,” Lena said before she could think. “Stay.”
Darius paused. Then sat back down.
The check was quick. Cold gel. Sound of a heartbeat. Fast. Strong.
The doctor smiled. “Perfect. Eight weeks. Right on track.”
Lena cried. She did not mean to.
Darius’s hand found hers under the table. He did not squeeze. He just held it.
When they left, the PR team had a draft ready.
Darius read it out loud in the elevator.
“We confirm that Lena Carter and Darius Wolfe are expecting a child. What began as a private agreement has grown into a commitment to raise our child together. Ms. Carter has our full protection and support.”
Lena listened. “Our child,” she said quietly.
Darius looked at her. “Is that okay.”
She nodded. She did not know why.
---
was already looking at her.
“Get some sleep, Carter,” he said.
“You too, Wolfe.”
He almost smiled.
They did not touch. But they slept.
---
Morning came fast.
Lena woke to sunlight and the smell of coffee. Darius was already up. In the kitchen. Making breakfast.
He looked over his shoulder when she came out. Hair messy. Sweater too big.
“You slept,” he said.
“A little.”
“Good.” He poured her tea. “We have a problem.”
“Of course we do.”
“The Dren family requested a meeting. Neutral ground. They say they want to discuss the future of the pack.”
Lena took the tea. “Translation.”
“They want to see if I’m weak.”
“And are you.”
Darius set his mug down. “No.”
He walked to her. Stopped close. Not touching.
“Lena. When I said ours last night. I meant it. Not just the baby. This. Us. Figuring it out.”
Lena’s chest hurt. “That’s a lot, Darius.”
“I know.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You don’t have to answer now. But I need you to know.”
She looked at him. Tired Alpha. Bad at feelings. Trying anyway.
“Okay,” she said. “I know.”
His shoulders dropped, like he had been holding his breath.
Beta knocked. “Car is ready, Mr. Wolfe.”
Darius nodded. Then he looked at Lena.
“Come with me. To the meeting. Not to talk. Just to be there.”
Lena hesitated. Then she stood.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he said again. Like it mattered.
They walked to the elevator together.
Before the doors closed, Darius pressed a button. The doors stopped.
He reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“You don’t have to be scared,” he said. “Not with me.”
The doors closed.
Down 80 floors, the city was waiting.
The pack was waiting.
The Dren family was waiting.
Lena put her hand on her stomach.
And for the first time, she did not feel like she was doing this alone.
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