"What is it?" Elliot's voice came through the link, low and controlled, the tone of an Alpha who expected truth, not hesitation.
Hayley's breathing trembled on the other end, carefully timed like a wounded omega calling out to her mate's instincts. "Five years ago… we had a baby together."
The words hit like a territorial breach.
I stood in front of the French windows in my study, the city lights below flickering like distant pack beacons, and for a moment my instincts stalled. "What are you talking about?" I asked sharply, my grip tightening as something old and unfamiliar twisted in my chest.
"Our baby didn't survive," she said, her voice breaking in a way that was too precise, too practiced to ignore completely. "I found the sonogram… I kept it all this time. I lost it at three months… Elliot, I'm sorry."
A sob followed, soft and devastating.
