Logan’s POV
I couldn’t sleep all night. My mind was spinning, a fire burning in my chest that refused to die down.
How had I let that breeder get away with such a thing? That letter-how long had she been planning this? And how stupid had I been to miss it?
I paced back and forth in my room, the darkness doing little to soothe my fury. Aria. That treacherous woman. I should have seen it coming, should have put two and two together when she showed up out of nowhere. A stranger in my house, and I treated her like she was truly carrying my child. How could I have been so blind?
I slammed my fist against the wall, the impact sending a shock of pain up my arm, but it was nothing compared to the anger surging through me. She had played me for a fool, and now she was going to pay for it. No one disrespects Alpha Logan and walks away unscathed.
She was going to regret this. I was going to make sure she regretted it for the rest of her miserable life.
Determined, I stormed out of my room and headed straight for Aria’s quarters. The guards stationed outside her door barely had time to react before I shoved one of them aside and burst into the room. The door slammed against the wall as I charged in, but the moment I stepped inside, I felt the world around me tilt.
The room was empty.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. My eyes scanned the room wildly, searching for any sign of her. But there was nothing. Just an empty bed, and-
My gaze locked onto the window. It was wide open, and the glass shattered. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt the heat of my anger rising, threatening to consume me whole.
She had escaped, and taken my chance at securing my throne with her.
“Where is she?” I roared, spinning around to face the guard who had managed to steady himself at the doorway. His face was pale, eyes wide with fear. “How did you let her escape?”
The guard stammered, his words tripping over themselves as he tried to find a suitable explanation. “I-I don’t know, Alpha. I swear, I didn’t hear anything-”
“Didn’t hear anything?” I snapped, advancing on him. “She was right under your nose, and you didn’t hear anything? You let her slip out like a common thief!”
The guard recoiled, his back hitting the wall as he trembled under my glare. I could smell the fear rolling off him in waves, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me.
“Alpha, please, I-”
“Silence!” I bellowed, cutting him off. “You’ve failed me, all of you! She’s out there, right now, laughing at us. At me!”
The guard cowered, his eyes downcast. I could feel the tension in the air, the suffocating pressure of my fury as if it would crush us both. I wanted to tear the room apart, to destroy everything in sight until the rage inside me had nowhere left to go.
But instead, I took a deep breath, forcing the fire within me to simmer down, just enough for me to think straight. She had escaped. She had outwitted me. But she wouldn’t get far. No one escaped me, not for long.
“Send out the scouts,” I ordered. “I want every inch of this territory searched. Bring her back to me. And if she resists… make her regret it. And if you fail to find her, don’t bother to come back!”
The guard nodded frantically and rushed out of the room, leaving me alone in the silence. I stared at the shattered window, my fists clenched at my sides. Aria thought she could outsmart me, but she was wrong. She had nowhere to go. No one to protect her.
She needed me!
And when I found her, she would wish she had never crossed Alpha Logan.
After sending the guards on their search for Aria, I stormed back to the throne room. I couldn’t let her get away. Not after everything. She thought she could outsmart me, deceive me-but she had no idea who she was dealing with.
Once inside the throne room, I paced back and forth. My mind raced, piecing together the events of the past months. The pregnancy, the birth… something didn’t add up. And if there was one person who knew more than he let on, it had to be the doctor who saw to her pregnancy.
I sent for him immediately and then sat on my throne. I had to remain calm and focused. The truth would come out soon enough.
An hour passed before the doors creaked open, and Doctor Farkas shuffled in. He looked as if he had been dragged from his bed-his hair was unkempt, and his eyes still held the grogginess of interrupted sleep.
“Alpha Logan,” he greeted, bowing deeply. “I came as soon as I was summoned. Is there an issue? It’s rather early. It’s barely even sunrise….”
I stared at him, my hands gripping the arms of the throne so tightly I could feel the wood creak beneath my fingers. I forced myself to remain composed, though every muscle in my body screamed for action.
“Doctor,” I began, my voice dangerously calm, “do you have something you need to tell me? Something you’ve kept hidden?”
Doctor Farkas looked taken aback. “I’m not sure what you mean, Alpha.”
“Aria,” I specified. “I’m talking about my breeder, Aria. Did you help her keep anything from me?”
His confusion deepened, and for a moment, I almost believed his act. But I wasn’t a fool. “Alpha, I assure you, I don’t know what-”
“That’s enough.” I interrupted. “You’ve served this pack well for many years, Doctor. But I know you don’t make much as a physician. How would you like to triple your yearly earnings?”
At this, Doctor Farkas’s eyes widened with greed. He hesitated, glancing around the throne room as if expecting someone else to witness this exchange. But it was just the two of us, and I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind.
“Triple my earnings, Alpha?” he repeated.
I nodded. “Only if you tell me the truth about Aria.”
I could see that the temptation was too much for him. He swallowed hard, then leaned in, lowering his voice as he began to spill everything. “Well, since you insist-”
“I do insist.”
“Alpha Logan, Aria… She was already pregnant by the time she arrived in this pack.”
I felt my blood run cold, but I remained silent, allowing him to continue.
“She was already two months along when she came here. I… I helped her keep it hidden. I altered the records and made sure no one suspected anything. When she delivered Edward, it was a full-term birth, but I… I convinced everyone it was only seven months. No one questioned it. No one knew but me.”
He stopped talking, his eyes now full of a slight fear as he waited for my reaction. “That’s the truth, Alpha. Now… about that payment-”
The room seemed to close in around me as his words sunk in. The anger I had managed to keep at bay finally exploded. I shot to my feet, my vision narrowing to the man standing before me.
“You deceived me,” I snarled. “You betrayed your Alpha.”
“Alpha, I-” he began, but I didn’t give him a chance to finish.
“Guards!” I bellowed. The doors burst open, and two guards rushed in. “Take him to the dungeons. Lock him up. He will pay for his betrayal.”
“No, please! Alpha, I told you the truth!” Doctor Farkas pleaded as the guards seized him by the arms and dragged him from the room. “You promised to pay me-”
But his protests fell on deaf ears. I watched as they hauled him away. Then the doors slammed shut, leaving me alone once again.