The Test

Calla’s POV

My fingers gripped the small plastic stick so tight my knuckles turned white. Two bold, undeniable blue lines stared back at me. I was pregnant. I was pregnant with Corbin’s child. A breathless laugh escaped my lips. I didn't wait another second. I turned and sprinted down the long, carpeted hallway of the packhouse, heading straight for my fated mate's bedroom.

For months, Corbin and I had been a secret. He was the Alpha heir of the pack. He was tall, ruthless, charismatic, and commanded the respect of every wolf who walked these grounds. Every time I saw him, I wanted to be around him more. But I was just Calla. I was a wolfless orphan taken in after a brutal border war, raised in a special home for war orphans on the margins of the pack territory. At the age when most werewolves started hearing their inner wolf, my mind remained silent. I couldn't shift into a wolf form like my peers. I grew up hearing the word ‘wolfless’ whispered behind my back.

I knew we lived in totally different worlds. I never expected him to look my way. But the Moon Goddess tied our souls together. Corbin was my fated mate. No devoted wolf would ever reject their fated mate. He had claimed my virginity, whispered sweet promises into my ear late at night in bed, and swore that he would marry me. He told me that a public relationship wasn’t suitable for us yet. He said we just needed to endure a bit of a wait to avoid political backlash. I believed him. I looked forward to the day when we could truly be lovers and mates in front of the pack and everyone.

I had snuck out early this morning to a human clinic in the neighboring town. I wanted to be sure before I told the pack doctor. The blood test confirmed it. I was carrying his pup. I bought the plastic stick test on the way back just so I had something physical to show him. This baby was the perfect opportunity to let everyone know. This pup would prove we belonged together.

I reached his heavy oak door. I didn't knock. I turned the brass handle and shoved the door wide open.

"Corbin, I—"

The words died in my throat. My feet rooted to the hardwood floor. All the joy that had been bubbling up within me fell flat.

The room smelled heavy. It reeked of sweat, sex, and foreign arousal.

Corbin was on his bed. But he wasn't alone. He was tangling with another woman beneath him.

I froze, unable to blink. His broad, muscular back was rising and falling rapidly. The loud, wet slapping sounds of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the large room. He was driving his cock deep into her pussy, over and over again. The woman beneath him had her long, tanned legs wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling him deeper into her. Her nails dug into his shoulders.

The plastic pregnancy test slipped from my numb fingers. It hit the floor with a hollow clatter, skittering across the wood.

The pain of witnessing my fated mate's betrayal ripped through my body. My hands moved to my pregnant belly instinctively, trying to shield the life inside me.

"Corbin?" I gasped. I couldn't breathe. "What are you doing? We’re fated mates!"

Both Corbin and the woman turned their heads toward me.

My stomach heaved. The woman was Sloane. She was the Alpha daughter of a neighboring pack. She was beautiful, strong, and possessed a powerful wolf. Everything I was not.

There was no remorse or shame in their movements as they became aware of my presence. Sloane smirked at me. She brazenly ran her hands across his shoulders, gracefully stroking his chest. She arched her back, rubbing her pussy harder against his cock, claiming him right in front of me.

I felt my heart breaking. I watched my fated mate taking his pleasure from her body instead of mine. How could she claim him? He was my true mate.

He didn't pull out of her. He stayed buried inside Sloane.

"So you found out," Corbin said. His voice was flat. He turned his head toward me briefly, though his body didn’t stop moving. He continued to fuck Sloane, keeping his rhythm steady. "I’m breaking up with you anyways."

"But..." My voice broke. Tears spilled over my eyelashes. "But we are fated mates. You promised me."

Corbin let out a harsh groan. His hips snapped forward, driving his cock fast and hard into Sloane. "You didn’t really think that I’d make a wolfless girl like you my real Luna, right?"

The insult hit me like a physical blow. Wolfless. I had grown up hearing that word, but I never expected to hear it from Corbin’s mouth.

"A Luna should be a noble," Corbin grunted, his pace quickening. "And she needs to be strong. Like Sloane here."

Sloane let out a loud moan, tossing her hair back. Corbin let out a deep groan. He buried his head in Sloane’s shoulder. He increased the speed of his thrusts, pumping hard until he spent his seed deep into her pussy.

He finished inside another woman.

His words hurt worse than the sight. A stronger pain spread through my body. My knees buckled. I had to hold the wooden door frame to stop myself from falling to the ground.

Corbin finally pulled out. He rose from the bed, naked and proud. Semen dripped down Sloane’s inner thigh as she rose behind him. She wrapped herself around his shoulders, staring at me from behind him as she kept him from approaching me.

"Why did you lie to me?" I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "Why didn’t you just reject me directly?"

Corbin rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at me.

"Oh, Calla," he sneered. His eyes lingered over my body. "Why do you think? The sex with a fated mate was too good. I honestly was surprised, with a person like you, but I was unable to resist fucking you. You were a good time. That doesn’t mean that I want to make our relationship public."

His words were like a knife, slicing right into me. Slowly, my grip on the door frame failed. I slid down to the ground. The worst thing was, I felt a sharp pain rising directly from my belly this time. The spiritual severing of our bond was starting to affect my physical body. I needed to protect my baby.

"Corbin, please!" I begged. I scrambled forward on my hands and knees. I grabbed the plastic pregnancy test off the floor and held it up to him. "I’m pregnant. Your betrayal is hurting the baby through our mate bond. You need to take us to the hospital!"

Corbin’s eyes widened. The arrogant sneer vanished from his face. His gaze darted to my stomach. He instinctively took a step forward.

But Sloane pulled him back to the bed. She stepped around him, her bare feet padding softly against the wood. She glanced down at the pregnancy test in my shaking hand. She lifted her foot and smashed it under her heel. The plastic shattered into jagged shards on the floor.

"If you were really pregnant with Corbin's child, he would be able to smell it, you stupid bitch," Sloane said. She kicked the broken pieces away and gave Corbin a pointed glance. "You don’t sense the pup, right? So she’s lying. Reject her now and get rid of her."

I looked up at Corbin. I saw uncertainty flicker across his face. He flared his nostrils, taking in a deep breath.

How could he not sense the pup? Was it because I was wolfless? Was it because the pregnancy was too early? The human blood test yesterday confirmed it. I wasn't lying.

"I don’t feel anything," Corbin said. His face reddened with anger. "I should be able to smell my pup. My wolf would know."

He clenched his fists at his sides. He took a menacing step toward me.

"You dare lie to me about this?!" he roared.

"She’s nothing but a grasping, deceitful human," Sloane said slyly from behind him. "Reject her now."

How could she say such things? She had seen the blue lines on the test. She knew I was telling the truth. She knew that rejecting the bond while I was pregnant would kill our child.

"Please! I'm really pregnant with your child!" I pleaded in terror. I knelt before him, reaching out to hold his hand in mine desperately. "We can go to the hospital together for an examination. Just let a doctor look. But if you reject me now, our child will die. The Moon Goddess will never forgive you. And I will never forgive you!"

I looked into his eyes. I saw Corbin hesitate.

Before he could speak, Sloane marched toward me. She raised her hand and slapped me hard in the face.

The force of the werewolf strike rocked my head to the side. The metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth. My ears rang.

"Are you threatening your own Alpha?" Sloane said coldly. She looked down at me, her hand raised for another blow. "Corbin, if you really took this liar to the hospital, people will know you had a thing with her. They will see you with this trash. That's her plan."

Sloane's words flipped a switch in his mind. The hesitation vanished.

"How dare you?!" Corbin yelled. He raised his chin at her words, looking down at me coldly. He crossed the room angrily, ripping his hand away from my grasp.

No. I couldn’t let him hurt the child. I forced myself to sit up. I lunged forward and grabbed for Corbin’s wrists again.

"Please, Corbin. Please! Trust me—"

"Shut up," Corbin snarled. His eyes flashed gold.

He raised his foot. I saw the muscles in his leg tense. I tried to cover my stomach, but I was too slow. He kicked me hard in the stomach.

The heavy impact slammed into my abdomen. The air exploded out of my lungs. I flew backward, sprawling and gasping across the hard floor.

"I don’t want you, or your lies!" Corbin shouted, standing over my curled body. "I reject you! And the punishment for lying to an Alpha is death or enslavement."

A sharp, searing pain ripped through my uterus. It was infinitely worse than the blunt force of the kick. It was a deep, internal tearing.

Then, I felt the gush of blood between my legs.

I reached down to my thighs. My fingers came back wet and red. Dark crimson blood soaked through my clothes, pooling onto the wooden floor beneath me. I could do nothing to stop this. I was powerless against him.

I sobbed on the floor as blood pooled around me. My baby was dying.

Above me, Corbin froze. He stared at the massive puddle of blood. I saw his cold eyes flicker with a hint of shock and remorse. His wolf realized what he had done. But the remorse quickly faded away, replaced by confusion, and then a hard, defensive mask.

"I... hate you forever for this," I choked out through my tears.

The aftershocks of his spoken rejection wracked my broken body. Every breath was torture. The metaphysical tether that connected my soul to his felt like it was catching fire. I had to utter the final words to sever the bond. The words would cause me unimaginable pain, but they couldn’t be worse than what Corbin had already done to me. I had to cut the tie to this monster.

I stared into his eyes, bleeding out on his floor.

"I... I accept your rejection!"

The final snap echoed in my soul, tearing my heart in two. Total darkness rushed in to claim me.