Strong Alpha pup

CHAPTER SIX.

ALINA.

"It is a beautiful badge, isn't it?"

I stopped cold on the freezing balcony, my hand pulling my cloak tight against the night wind.

Behind me, Sabine Wycliff walked out into the moonlight.

She looked breathtaking in a gown of dark blue. Pinned over her heart was a polished silver brooch shaped like an eagle holding a branch—the official badge of House Wycliff, worn only during formal marriage talks.

"You are wearing the marriage crest," I said, my voice lacking it’s usual warmth.

"I am," Sabine said smoothly, touching the silver eagle with her fingers. "My father and Elder Victor put the proposal on paper this afternoon. It calls for a total merger of our packs."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because I do not lie, Alina," Sabine said, her light-blue eyes meeting mine. " and I have wanted Declan for a long time. He is strong, fair, and powerful. Your three-year political marriage is over. I see no reason to step aside just because you were once his wife."

She laid out her position directly. She was an open rival, claiming what she thought was open to her. But as she spoke, she left out the most important part: she did not say Declan had agreed.

She let the badge on her chest speak a lie for her.

"And what if he chooses to marry you?" I asked bluntly.

"I would accept without hesitation," Sabine replied with a small smile. "It would make our packs invincible. But tell me, Alina... why are you stepping back so easily? You love him. Why walk away?"

I pressed my hand over my stomach, keeping my secret hidden under my coat.

I would not use a baby to win a man.

"Because I refuse to compete against another woman to prove whether my husband wants me," I said, looking right at her. "If his heart must be won through a business deal, he was never mine."

For the first time, Sabine's cool mask cracked. Her eyes blinked, and she looked down at her shoes.

My words must have hurt her pride.

Yet she stayed silent. She wanted to keep her own hope alive.

"The banquet is starting," Sabine said softly, turning away. "We should go inside."

The banquet hall was loud and hot. Fiddles played, silver plates clinked, and drunk elders laughed across the long tables.

I sat near the back doors with Maeve. Across the room, Declan sat in the Alpha chair. To his left sat Elder Victor, and to his right sat Sabine, her silver eagle brooch shining under the candlelight.

"Look at them," Maeve whispered, her hand squeezing mine under the table. "Victor looks like a cat that caught a bird."

"I am trying not to look," I murmured, staring at my bowl of untouched soup.

"You shouldn't even be in this room," Maeve said, leaning close. "You need rest, Alina. The baby—"

"Quiet," I warned gently, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "Not here."

Suddenly, Elder Victor stood up at the high table. He reached into his coat, pulled out a thick paper scroll, and slid it across the wood directly toward Declan. He placed a feather quill right beside it.

My heart stopped beating.

From my seat at the back, I watched Declan pick up the scroll. He read the lines of dark ink slowly, his face totally calm. Then, he picked up the pen. He dipped it in ink and wrote several quick, lines across the bottom before pressing his iron ring into red wax.

"Alina, don't look," Maeve whispered, grabbing my trembling wrist. "Let's leave."

"He signed it," I whispered, my voice breaking. "He signed it right in front of everyone."

"You don't know what it says," Maeve pleaded. "Come on, stand up."

"I have seen enough," I said.

I stood up quietly and walked out the side doors into the cold corridor, my vision blurred with tears.

I did not see what happened two seconds after I left.

I walked quickly down the hallway, heading toward the doctor's wing. My chest felt empty and cold.

"Alina!"

I stopped. Heavy, fast steps echoed against the stone floor.

Declan was marching toward me, his tall frame cutting through the yellow torchlight. He looked tired and angry.

"Declan," I said, turning to face him. I kept my chin up, though my hands were shaking inside my sleeves.

"Why did you leave the hall early?" he asked, stopping two feet away from me. His grey-blue eyes searched my face. "You barely touched your food."

"I was tired," I said softly.

"Victor is being difficult tonight," Declan said, rubbing his eyes with his big hand. " and the whole Council is pushing my buttons."

I looked at his face, remembering how Sabine had sat beside him all night with her marriage badge on her chest. I needed one last clear answer. I needed to hear it from him.

"Do you think Sabine Wycliff would make a suitable Luna for Rivenhall?" I asked directly.

Declan frowned. Distracted and exhausted, he answered without thinking.

"She is certainly a highly suitable ally," Declan said absently.

A dead weight filled my chest.

Suitable.

He did not say no. He did not say she could never take my place. He called her suitable.

He probably hadn’t meant it that way, but to my ears, it was the end of my life with him.

"I see," I whispered, taking a step back from his reach. "Thank you for your honesty, Alpha."

"Alina, wait," Declan said, reaching out to touch my arm. "What is that look on your face?"

"Nothing," I said, pulling away from his fingers. "Go back to your guests. They are waiting for you."

I turned and ran down the hallway before he could see the tears falling down my face.

An hour later, I was back in my room.

A single candle burned on the small table. My leather bag lay open, half-packed with my clothes and silver medicine knives.

Maeve walked in, closing the door softly behind her. "Alina? I heard you running in the hall. What happened?"

"Change my departure paper, Maeve," I said. My voice was completely steady now.

Maeve froze, her brown eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

"The northern transport leaves tomorrow night at midnight, right?" I asked, looking her in the eye. "Put my name on it. I am not waiting until Friday. I am leaving tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Maeve gasped, rushing to grab my hands. "Alina, no! The final blood test for the baby won't be ready until Friday morning!"

"It doesn't matter," I said, placing my hand over my flat stomach. "Baby or no baby, my choice is made. He thinks she is suitable. He has chosen his path, and I am choosing mine."

"He is an idiot, Alina!" Maeve cried out. "Let me go talk to him! Let me tell him about the child!"

"If you tell him, I will never speak to you again," I warned her, my voice cold. "I mean it, Maeve. I will not be a wife kept out of pity for an heir."

Maeve looked at me for a long time, her eyes filling with tears. Finally, she let out a long sigh and nodded. "Okay. I will change the papers. Tomorrow night at midnight."

Three floors above us, the door to the Alpha study slammed shut.

Declan stood behind his desk, looking exhausted. He handed the signed paper straight to Miles.

"Victor is ready to pop a vein," Miles said, looking at the paper with a wide grin. "You completely wiped out the marriage clause and Sabine's father is going to be furious."

"Let him be furious," Declan said, sinking into his chair. "We don't need their bloodline. We just need their border guards."

"You need to tell Alina right now," Miles said, setting the paper down. "She was at the banquet, Declan. She saw Victor hand you that paper and had seen you pick up the pen."

"She looked tired earlier," Declan said, closing his eyes. "I spoke to her in the hall, but she was so. distant. I don't want to fight with her tonight."

"Declan, don't wait," Miles urged, leaning over the desk. "The whole pack thinks you're marrying Sabine!"

"No," Declan said firmly, opening his eyes. "I am tired of shouting in front of the Council. Do not tell anyone about this paper tonight. Keep it locked in the drawer."

"Why?" Miles asked, frowning.

"I am going to bring her this paper with my own hands tomorrow night," Declan said, he was so sure. "I will show her that I rejected Wycliff, and then I will ask her to stay with me forever."

"Tomorrow night?" Miles sighed. "Fine. But you are playing a dangerous game, Alpha."

"It isn't a game," Declan said, looking out the window. "I just need to confirm something."

Two choices were made on the exact same night.

I packed my final medicine jars, getting ready to run away to the freezing North at midnight tomorrow.

And in his study above, Declan locked the signed rejection paper in his desk drawer, waiting for tomorrow night to finally tell me her he loved her .

The next day passed like a nightmare.

I spent the whole afternoon cleaning the healing ward, giving my medicine recipes to the younger nurses, and avoiding Declan. Every time I heard his boots in the hallway, I hid in the back supply room until he walked away.

By eleven o'clock at night, the whole castle was dark and silent.

"Alina," a whisper came from the doorway.

Maeve stepped inside, holding a small glass bottle. Her face was pale.

"Is it time?" I asked.

"The caravan is waiting behind the stables," Maeve whispered, her voice trembling. She held out the glass bottle with shaking hands. "I... I finished the blood test an hour early, Alina."

I stopped. I looked down at the dark blue liquid inside the small glass vial.

"What does it say?" I asked, my voice barely a breath.

Maeve looked up into my eyes, tears spilling over her freckled cheeks. "The magic in your blood reacted. It turned deep blue. It means... it means you are definitely carrying his baby, Alina. It's a strong Alpha pup."