didn't feel warm. She felt cold. Frozen, even. Sitting in the doctor's cramped

epeated, her voic

nkind, but his face was set in the kind of calm practiced by people who delivere

r head. "I wasn't trying to... I mean, I just c

doctor said gently. "You're pregnant,

e desk and stood, pacing the small room. Her hands trembled as she ran them through her hair.

ile I understand this is a shock, we'll take full responsibility. The clinic wi

frustration boiling over. "This isn't... I

f her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to cry in front of this stranger.

denly, her voice bar

frowned.

ooking at him with a mix of fear and

t information i

d someone else's sample on me without my knowle

investigating the mix-up, and we're working to determine how this

wanted to argue, to demand answers right now, but what was the point? Her

head. She'd left the clinic in a daze, barely able to put one foot in front o

ze. There was no sign of life yet, no changes to her bo

to do?" she whi

, demand they fix this somehow. But how? The damage was done. And

pa

ders, anyone in the pack discovered she was pregnant without a mate-especially after her rejections-they

oice dripping with bitterness. "Now

hild needed protection, a home, a future. Could she give that? Could

e. She sipped it slowly, staring at the wall and willing herself to

, taking the longest, most winding routes home to avoid bumping into familiar

ntances she had in the pack weren't close enough to share something t

cision any longer. The pregnancy was real. The life growing

ng, she stared at her reflection. She looked pale,

strong," she whi

herself, to hide away and hope the world forgot about her. But that

ight breaking through clouds. If the pack

rt pounding with every item she placed into her bag. She didn't own m

'd been born in this pack, grown up here. Even if mos

te scarf, tucking it into her bag. "This isn

er window, making her small apartment look strangely peaceful. For a moment, she hesitat

, the stares, and the judgment

cool night air hit her face, refreshing and almost calming. She too

eyes watched her from the shadows, whispers following her as she walked past. B

t know where she was going or what she'd do when she got there, but for the firs

o

ife. Hope that she could create a

that this wasn't the end of her story. It was only the beginning. And