MARIBEL
The smell of pregnancy clung to her like an illness that would not fade.
I could taste it in the air. It followed her. It soaked into everything. There was no mistaking it.
From the far end of the corridor, where the light barely reached, I watched the weak human return to her rooms. Beta Rafe stayed close at her side, his body angled to shield hers, his attention sharp. Even from this distance, the change was obvious. Her scent had shifted. It was thicker now. Too sweet. The smell of new life taking hold.
Rowan’s child.
The thought hit hard. My wolf surged up instantly, teeth bared, snarling with raw jealousy. That place was meant for me. The child growing inside that fragile body should have been mine.
Three years. That was how long patience had ruled my choices.
For thre
