Chapter 12: A Desperate Decision
Chapter 12: A Desperate Decision
(Freya’s POV)
Emily’s face went pale. She set her coffee cup down so hard that it rattled against the saucer. The shock in her expression almost made me look away.
“Caroline?” she whispered harshly, eyes wide. “You mean the Caroline? The one who saved Aaron’s life? She’s
back?”
I nodded, unable to meet her gaze. My hands gripped the edge of my teacup, keeping my focus on the small chipped rim rather than the reality of her disbelief.
Emily’s lip curled slightly. “Of course. That explains so much. She’s the reason, isn’t she? That’s why you’re even thinking about terminating your cub?”
I flinched. The word “terminating” hit like a slap, sharp and unforgiving.
“Emily, keep your voice down,” I muttered, stealing a glance around the café. The last thing I needed was curious wolves overhearing this conversation.
Emily leaned closer across the table, her voice lower but filled with simmering anger. “I don’t care if the next table hears me. Freya, you’re carrying Aaron’s cub! His heir! Do you realize how insane this sounds? How could you-”
“Because I have no choice,” I snapped, more sharply than I intended. My voice cracked at the end, exposing
my raw emotions. My
stomach twisted as I saw her confused and pained expression. “I don’t want to talk
about this here.”
Emily sat back in her chair, narrowing her eyes at me. “You don’t want to talk, but you’re making the mistake of your life. Were you even going to tell Aaron? Or are you just planning to-”
jest
“Stop,” I cut her off, closing my eyes. My shoulders sagged as the weight of everything pressed harder on me. “I already know what he’ll say, Emily.”
“You don’t know that,” Emily argued, her voice softening slightly. There was still anger there, but it was tempered now by concern. “You’re assuming he’d want you to- To get rid of it. But have you really asked
him?”
I shook my head. The memory of Aaron’s reaction during our earlier conversation was still fresh in my mind. I asked him… hypothetically. He didn’t exactly say the words, but trust me, Emily, he wouldn’t be happy.”
Emily pressed her hands against the table, leaning in again. “He wouldn’t be happy with something hypothetical. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t feel differently if he knew. Freya, I’ve known you for years, and I’ve seen the way Aaron looks at you sometimes. Maybe he doesn’t realize it, but you mean more to him than
you think.”
My chest tightened painfully. “You didn’t see his face,” I said quietly. “He looked… relieved that it wasn’t real.” Emily stared at me for a long time, disbelief mixed with frustration. She shook her head, her short curls bouncing slightly. “That doesn’t sound like the Aaron I know. And it definitely doesn’t sound like his wolf. Doesn’t Logan adore you?”
”
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< Chapter 12 A Desperate
+8 Points >
I hesitated but nodded briefly. Aaron’s wolf, Logan, was possessive and protective of me, something I couldn’t deny even when Aaron’s human side seemed distant or cold. But wolves weren’t human. Logan’s instincts didn’t erase Aaron’s loyalty to Caroline.
“Logan doesn’t decide everything,” I said finally, my voice brittle. “Aaron’s human side still has a say. And his heart has always been with Caroline.”
Emily groaned softly, rubbing her temples as if she was the one dealing with the impossible. “So, that’s it? You’re just going to give up? Freya, that’s not the wolf I grew up with.”
I bit my lip, trying and failing to hold back the overwhelming emotions swirling inside me.
“Do you know what the pack will say about this? About Aaron?” Emily continued, her voice rising slightly
again. “If you don’t tell him now, and he finds out later… Freya, you’re not just risking your mate bond. You’re
risking everything.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away fiercely. “If I tell him, he’ll hate me. At least if I stay quiet, we
can… We’ll be able to end the mate bond quietly. We’ll still have our friendship.”
Emily’s eyebrows shot up. She looked at me like I’d just said something completely insane.
“Friendship?” she said, her voice dripping with disbelief. “Freya, this man is your mate. And now you’re
carrying his cub- You think you can just stay friends? How do you think that’s going to work when the cub
arrives and looks just like him?”
Her words struck at every fear I’d buried deep inside me. But I couldn’t bring myself to respond, to tell her that
I wasn’t even sure I’d carry the cub to term. That decision wasn’t entirely mine to make.
Emily leaned back slightly, her frustration heavy in her sigh. “You’ve always been strong, Freya,” she said
more softly now. “You’ve stood up to harder things than this. Why won’t you fight for what matters?”
I looked at her, trying to understand her certainty, her belief in something I’d nearly given up on. “Aaron
doesn’t love me, Emily. He’s told me as much. My place in his life… It’s nothing compared to Caroline
“Then make him see you,” Emily said simply, her tone unwavering. “Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about you or him. It’s about the cub.”
I glanced down at my hands, my thumb brushing against the table’s wooden grain. My chest ached as Bella
whimpered inside me, urging me to listen to Emily’s words. To her, this wasn’t a choice. It was a responsibility
we both shared.
“Eventually, everyone will know,” Emily added after a pause. “The pack, the elders- Even Caroline. The longer you wait, the worse this’ll get.”
The café fell silent between us as I absorbed the weight of her words. My head felt heavy, my thoughts colliding painfully with one another. Emily was right. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right.
“Even wolves must fight for their happiness,” Emily said finally, breaking the lingering pause. She placed a hand on mine, squeezing firmly. “You might not think you can win, but you won’t know if you don’t try. Aaron
deserves to know. And so does your cub.”
When we said our goodbyes outside the café, the air felt colder. My steps were heavy as I made my way back to the pack house. Emily’s words rang in my head with every step.
Even wolves must fight for their happiness.
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<Chapter 12. A Desperate
Her conviction made me feel even smaller. Somewhere deep down, some part of me wanted to believe her Bella did too, her internal presence buzzing with guarded hope.
But Aaron’s earlier words about severing our mate bond echoed just as loudly. His avoidance, his coldness, his longing for Caroline… Those memories didn’t fade–not even in the face of Emily’s certainty.
I reached the pack house, the hollow silence of the grand halls pressing in on me. Upstairs, our shared bedroom was quiet, as always. Aaron wasn’t here.
I stood in the center of the room for a moment, my movements weighed down as I tugged off my coat. My eyes drifted to his Alpha coat hanging by the door. It reminded me of him, of the man I’d loved since I was too
young to understand what that even meant.
Could Emily be right? Could there still be a chance for us?
I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands trembling as I looked down at my stomach. Bella’s energy surged
protectively, her instincts as a mother awakening now more than ever.
Maybe Emily was right. Maybe Aaron could accept this cub–our cub. But the fear of rejection paralyzed me.
I glanced at the bed’s empty side, as empty as the space between us. Reaching for my phone on the
nightstand, I hesitated. My fingers hovered over it, shaking slightly.
Aaron hated when I used the mate bond without permission. But I couldn’t face him directly–not yet.
I breathed deeply, opening the text message screen. My thumb fumbled slightly as I typed the words.
“I’m pregnant.”
Two small, simple words. But to me, they held the weight of an entire world.
Bella growled softly, urging me to be strong. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to hit send before I could change my mind.
Delivered.
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