Rebecca's sobs broke through the room, raw and unstoppable. She clung to Ashton as if letting go would leave her completely unanchored, her whole body shaking in his arms. I could feel the air shift the moment he held her closer, his presence steady but heavy, shaped by Alpha blood and control that never fully relaxed.
"Rebecca," he said quietly, brushing a hand over her back. "You're not alone. You won't be alone. Calm down."
But she only shook harder, her voice breaking as she looked up at him with swollen eyes. "Don't let her give birth to the baby, please… Ash, don't let her give birth to it. Do you want me to die?"
The room tightened, tension pulling through every breath between us. Bonds were never simple in our world—loyalty, claim, attachment always came with a price.
Ashton's expression changed.
"Rebecca, stop it," he warned, his voice low and sharp enough to still her for a second.
But that second didn't last.
