Chapter 87

Nathan POV

The interview left me nearly shaking with rage.

I ended it quickly, denying the rumors that Sabrina’s child was mine.

If she was even pregnant at all.

And yet - did it matter?

If the reporter from The Star was already hearing these rumors, then chances were good many others in the pack would have heard them as well.

And if they hadn’t before that disaster of a live interview, then they certainly knew about it now.

I returned to my office, where Beta Evan was waiting for me. A TV stood in the corner of the room - he’d seen the entire interview.

“Sir - ”

I held up a hand as I shut the door, then loosened my tie. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I began to pace, trying to burn off some of the energy bubbling inside me.

Energy that had been building throughout the entire interview.

By the end it had taken everything I had not to shout at the reporter.

Or grab her and shake her.

“She was intentionally baiting you, sir,” Evan said.

“I know. I knew while it was happening that she was needling me, digging for dirt, trying to get me to react.”

I turned to face him. “Did you know about this pregnancy business?”

He shook his head. “No, sir. This is the first I’ve heard anything about it.”

I frowned. “Then where did the rumor come from? And how did Andrea Snow hear about it before we did?”

“I don’t know. Sir…” Evan trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

“What? Just say it.”

He looked back at me. “Sir, is it possible Sabrina truly is pregnant?”

I gave a half laugh. “Who knows?”

He cleared his throat. “Could it, um…Could it actually be yours, sir?”

“Absolutely not,” I said, knowing at least that much was true.

“My memories were pretty foggy for a while, but they’ve returned enough for me to know that nothing happened between us.

“If Sabrina really is pregnant, it certainly isn’t mine.”

“That’s a relief, at least. But - why didn’t you just say that during the interview?”

“And reveal just how thoroughly under Sabrina’s control I was?”

I took off my blazer and sat down on the couch in front of the TV, resting my elbows on my knees. The angry energy was finally calming down, leaving behind it a weariness that was quickly settling into my shoulders.

Evan sat in the chair beside the couch, an understanding look on his face.

“I get it, sir. To let everyone know how close we came to losing Silverfang to Sabrina - how close you came to possibly losing your life…

“People need to feel confident that the pack is secure, now more than ever.”

I sat back, relieved he understood. And grateful to have him as my Beta.

“Exactly. The sooner we can move on from all of this, the better.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir. The problem is, I doubt this rumor is just going to go away. Especially if Sabrina really is pregnant.”

It was true. And knowing Sabrina, she would make as much trouble for me as possible along the way.

“She needs to be found,” I said. “I won’t feel like this is truly over until she’s in prison.

“Find her, Evan. Find out where she’s disappeared to.”

“Yes, sir,” he said immediately.

Bringing Sabrina to justice was the only way to end all of this mess.

And if she really was pregnant, then a paternity test would easily reveal that the child wasn’t mind.

We just had to find her first.

Claire POV

A hand gently shaking my shoulder woke me, and I sat up stiffly, aching all over.

I’d fallen asleep sitting beside Dad again, resting my head on my arms as I leaned against the bed.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had anything like a normal night’s rest.

Even before the terrible attack that left Dad in this frustrating, mysterious coma, I’d spent weeks traveling from clinic to clinic out on the fighting front.

When I wasn’t sleeping in a small, rickety cot in a field tent, I was sleeping in the truck or out under the stars.

And constantly ready to have to jump up and run from another rogue attack.

So when the hand shook my shoulder, as stiff and sore as I was, my mind immediately awoke crystal clear.

Or so I thought.

“What is it?” I demanded. “How many wounded?”

But instead of some field hospital receiving a new flood of wounded, as my sleep-starved brain had told me, I looked up into Amelia’s worried face.

“Claire, there aren’t any wounded. It’s alright. But someone is here to see you.”

“Oh, alright.” I scrubbed my face with my hands, trying to wake myself up more, and ran my fingers through my hair to comb it a bit.

I could only imagine how I looked.

“Send them in.”

She left, and in a moment returned with my assistant, Megan.

Slightly younger than me, Megan had proved her ability to hold up under pressure during these last few weeks.

I’d handed her a lot of responsibilities while I was out in the field, by having her continue to monitor and update me about the main clinic’s needs. She’d also had to see that my orders in response were carried through to the letter.

And she hadn’t let me down once.

“Good morning, ma’am,” she said with a slight bow as she entered the room.

I glanced out the window in surprise. The dark was indeed just beginning to lighten with dawn.

Yes, it was morning. But what day it was, I couldn’t even begin to guess anymore.

“Hello, Megan. What’s brought you in here so early?”

She had been bringing me updates and paperwork for me to review and approve, acting as a go-between for me and the administrators back at Royal pack headquarters.

It wasn’t a perfect system, but we were managing to keep the pack together while still dealing with the continued attacks from the roving bands of rogues infecting the forests around our borders.

“Communications from the field, your Highness,” she answered, her soft voice pitched low. She looked at my father sadly as she handed me a slip of paper.

“Which field?” I asked as I took the message. The rogue attacks were territory-wide, hammering us from all sides.

“All of them, ma’am.”

I read the quick report with surprise.

All attacks have ceased as of midnight last night.

“All of them?? I don’t understand. Does anyone know what’s going on?”

“We’ve been trying to gather than information all night, your Highness. That’s why I didn’t come to see you sooner. But…”

She pulled an envelope out of the small briefcase she carried with her everywhere.

“This arrived at headquarters half an hour ago. It was carried by a rogue courier carrying a white flag. Princess, it’s for you.”

A message carried under a white flag?

Despite knowing better, my heart leapt.

Could this be the end of the brutal attacks on our territory?

Was someone finally going to end it?

Then I read the message, and the hope died in my chest.

Someone wanted to end it, alright. But at a terrible cost.

“Surrender your territory,” I read out loud. “Or we’ll take it by force. Surrender, or die.”

Stunned, I looked up to see both Megan and Amelia staring with similar looks on their faces.

I knew they could do it. Our forces were stretched so thin, and already so weakened - we couldn’t stand up under an all-out attack from every side.

This war against our pack needed to end.

But surrender??

It was unthinkable.

I looked down at my father, so distant and unreachable, wishing he was there.

Wishing he could tell me what to do.

But slowly the shock I felt was replaced by something else:

Determination.

Dad wasn’t here.

I was.

The future and safety of the entire pack now rested entirely on me.

And I knew just what to do.