Forever Bonded: Back with my Ex mate

The pregnancy test trembled in my hand, those two pink lines blurring as tears filled my eyes. Pregnant. I pressed my free hand against my flat stomach, barely breathing. After five years of marriage, five years of hoping and praying, it was finally happening. "Adrian will be so happy," I whispered to my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My phone buzzed on the counter. A text from my best friend, Caroline. *Lunch today? Haven't seen you in forever!* I smiled, typing back quickly. *Can't. Making something special for Adrian tonight. Big news to share.* The moment I hit send, guilt twisted in my stomach. Caroline had been trying to reach me for weeks. So had my brother Marcus. And my parents... I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually visited them at the pack house. But Adrian needed me. His company was struggling, and he'd been working such long hours. He needed a wife who understood, who didn't add to his stress by dragging him to family dinners or making him socialize with people he found boring. That's what love was, right? Sacrifice. I've learned that lesson well over the past five years. I spent the afternoon cooking Adrian's favorite meal,garlic butter steak, roasted potatoes, and the chocolate lava cake that always made him smile. The dining room looked perfect with candles and the good china we only used for special occasions. At seven o'clock, I sat down to wait. By eight, the food was getting cold. By nine, I'd reheated everything twice. At ten-thirty, I heard his key in the lock. "Adrian!" I jumped up from the couch, smoothing down my dress. "I made dinner. I have something important to tell you," He walked past me without even looking, heading straight for the stairs. "Not now, Sera. I'm exhausted." "But I," "I said not now!" He stopped on the third step, finally turning to look at me. His handsome face was tight with irritation. "Why do you always have to be so needy? Can't you see I've had a long day?" The words hit like a slap. "I just wanted to," "Whatever it is can wait until morning." He continued up the stairs. "And clean up that mess in the dining room. The smell is giving me a headache." I stood there, frozen, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway. The bedroom door slammed shut. Slowly, I walked back to the dining room. The candles had burned down to nothing. The food looked sad and congealed on the fancy plates. I should wait until morning. He was just tired. Stressed. Things would be better after he got some sleep. But something,maybe hormones, maybe finally reaching my limit,made me climb those stairs anyway. The bedroom was dark except for the glow of his phone screen. He was lying on the bed, scrolling through something, still fully dressed. "Adrian, please. Just five minutes. I really need to tell you something." He didn't even look up. "Jesus Christ, Sera. What part of 'not now' don't you understand?" "I'm pregnant." The words came out flat, emotionless. Not at all how I'd imagined saying them. His scrolling stopped. For a moment, he just stared at his phone. Then he sat up, and the look on his face made my blood run cold. "You're what?" "Pregnant. I took three tests today. They were all," "How could you be so f*****g careless?" He stood up, his voice rising. "How could you let this happen?" I stepped back, confused. "I thought... I thought you'd be happy. We talked about having children," "That was before!" He ran his hands through his hair, pacing now. "Before the company started failing, before I had creditors breathing down my neck, before everything turned to s**t! And you think now is a good time to bring a baby into this mess?" "Adrian, we can make it work. We'll figure it out together," "Get rid of it." The room went silent except for my sharp intake of breath. "What?" He turned to face me, his expression cold. "You heard me. Get rid of it. Tomorrow." "You can't be serious." My voice came out as a whisper. "This is our baby," "It's a mistake." He moved closer, and I saw something in his eyes I'd never seen before. Something that made me want to run. "And you're going to fix it." "No." I shook my head, backing toward the door. "No, I won't do that." His hand shot out, gripping my arm hard enough to bruise. "You'll do exactly what I tell you to do, Sera. Like you always do." "Let go of me," The slap came out of nowhere. Pain exploded across my cheek, and I stumbled backward, catching myself on the dresser. I touched my face with shaking fingers, staring at him in shock. "You hit me." "And I'll do it again if you don't listen." He was breathing hard, his face flushed. "You're getting an abortion, Sera. End of discussion." Before I could respond, I heard footsteps on the stairs. The bedroom door burst open, and a woman I'd never seen before stepped inside like she owned the place. She was beautiful in a way that made my stomach sink,tall, blonde, curves in all the right places. Her designer dress probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. "Adrian, baby, are you coming back to," She stopped when she saw me, her perfectly painted lips curving into a smile. "Oh. You're still here." I looked between them, my brain struggling to process what was happening. "Who is this?" "This is Victoria." Adrian moved to the woman's side, putting his arm around her waist. "My girlfriend." The words didn't make sense. They couldn't make sense. "Your... what?" Victoria laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Did you really not know? Oh honey, that's just sad." "How long?" I heard myself ask. "How long has this been going on?" "Does it matter?" Adrian shrugged. "Victoria understands what it takes to be with someone like me. She comes from the right family, has the right connections. She's," "Pregnant," Victoria finished, placing a hand on her still-flat stomach. Her smile was pure venom. "Three months along. We wanted to wait to tell you, but since you're being so difficult..." The room started spinning. Three months. While I'd been cooking his meals and waiting up for him and making myself smaller so he could feel bigger, he'd been building a whole other life with someone else. "Get out." Adrian's expression hardened. "Excuse me?" "I said get out!" Something inside me snapped. "Both of you! This is my house too, and I want you out!" His hand cracked across my face again, harder this time. I tasted blood. "This is my house," he growled. "Everything here is mine. Including you." He grabbed me by the hair, dragging me toward the door. I screamed, clawing at his hands, but he was stronger. An Alpha, while I was just... He threw me into the hallway. I hit the wall hard enough to see stars. "You have until morning to get your s**t and leave," he said coldly. "And if you're not at that clinic by noon tomorrow, don't bother coming back." The door slammed in my face. I sat there on the floor, tasting blood, my cheek throbbing, and felt something wet between my legs. No. Please no. I pressed my hand to my stomach and felt the cramps starting. Sharp and wrong and, My phone. I needed my phone. I needed help. I crawled back to the bedroom door, but it was locked. Down the stairs then, each step agony. The dining room. My phone was in my purse in the dining room. I made it halfway across the living room before my legs gave out. The last thing I remembered was the cold hardwood against my cheek and the spreading warmth of blood, before everything went dark.