Chapter 12

Esther’s POV

“Hand it over.”

Nicholas’s voice cut through the air, calm and unrelenting, laced with power I that made it hard to defy, even if I wanted to. And I did want to.

I wanted to keep the truth hidden.

I tightened my fingers around the test results, the ones that confirmed I was pregnant. My palms were slick with sweat, the paper wrinkling in my grip.

“It’s a standard medical record, nothing more,” I said quickly, hoping my voice didn’t betray the panic rising in my throat. “There’s nothing important in it. You don’t need to—”

“I said,” Nicholas interrupted, his voice deepening with command, “hand it over.”

The pressure, the kind only an Alpha King possesses, hit me like a wall. It wrapped around my chest, crushing and suffocating, making my knees weak and my heartbeat stutter. Resistance was more than foolish, it was impossible.

My hand shook as I slowly extended my arm, the paper fluttering.

Please don’t read it. Please, for once, just let it go. But Nicholas extended his hand expectantly, his expression stone-cold.

Before I could press the paper into his palm, a blur of movement swooped in from my left. The paper was snatched away before Nicholas could take it.

Kevin, the Alpha King of Blue Lake Pack, had stepped in in the nick of time.

His grip was firm as he tucked the paper out of sight into his jacket pocket, standing casually like he hadn’t pulled a lit match from a keg of gunpowder.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nicholas snarled, eyes darkening.

“Oops,” Kevin said lazily. “I came to find Esther. It appears that she was given the wrong file. This one,” he reached into his other pocket, “is hers. Sorry for the confusion.”

He handed over a different form. From where I stood, I saw it was one of the blank check-up reports I’d filled out when I first arrived.

Nicholas snatched it and looked it over, his jaw tight. “Why are you handling her medical files?”

Kevin shrugged. “The nurse happened to mention something to me, and I let her know that I could pass the correct file along. So she gave it to me. You know how understaffed things are lately.”

The air between them was buzzing with hostility. I felt Nicholas’s fury bleeding off him in waves. He didn’t believe Kevin, not really. The report looked legitimate, and for now, it cooled the fire enough.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My eyes flicked toward Kevin, and I gave him a grateful look. He winked back like it was nothing.

It wasn’t nothing. He had no idea how close I’d been to ruin.

Nicholas, however, wasn’t finished. His gaze turned back to me, sharp and burning.

“Why is he helping you?” he demanded. “Are the two of you close now? How long has this little affair been going on?”

My blood ran cold. “There’s nothing going on.”

Kevin’s jaw tensed, and I could tell he wanted to speak. I caught his eye, shaking my head subtly.

Don’t get involved. Please don’t make this worse.

Nicholas stepped closer, towering over both of us. “Is that how you’ve been getting special treatment? Trading favors behind my back? Do you give your body to any man who shows you any kind of attention?”

The slap of his words hit harder than any blow ever could. I bit my tongue, tasting blood, and looked away.

I could’ve defended myself. I could’ve screamed that he was the one who touched me first. I never asked for this fate. Everything had been twisted beyond my control, and it was him that was at the root of it all.

What would it change if I said any of that aloud?

Nothing.

Kevin didn’t hold his silence. His voice cut sharp across the corridor.

“You know, for a king, you’re awfully good at punching down. Is bullying a defenseless woman what makes you feel the most powerful?”

Nicholas’s head snapped toward him, and his eyes flickered with a dark shadow. His fingers twitched at his sides.

“Alpha King Kevin—” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

Kevin didn’t back down. “You’re so worried about her being with someone else, but you’re here with Amanda. Isn’t that interesting?”

I felt Nicholas’s aura rise, thick and choking. He was seconds from shifting. Kevin was tall, broad, and brave. He was an Alpha King himself, and his power was nothing to joke about.

As Nicholas took a step forward, the hallway door opened behind us, and a nurse stepped out.

“My Lord,” she said quickly. “The doctor is ready to see you and Miss Amanda now.”

Amanda strutted forward, lips curved in her signature smug smile.

“About time,” she said sweetly, linking her arm through Nicholas’s. “I’m sure you’ll want to know if I’m pregnant as soon as possible.”

Nicholas hesitated. His eyes stayed on me for one more heartbeat, his gaze burning and unreadable, before he turned and followed her inside.

The door shut behind them with a heavy click.

I stood there, frozen in silence. Amanda suspected pregnancy, and with Nicholas as well. That was why she was here.

Nicholas stayed by her side. The possibility of her carrying his child was enough to draw him in.

If he knew about my children, would he stay for them too?

That thought hit me square in the chest, stealing the breath from my lungs. I hated how much it mattered to me. I hated that I still hoped and wished somewhere deep inside that he would care if he knew the truth.

I hated that my heart broke so quietly.

Kevin turned back to me, pulling the crumpled paper from his jacket.

“You should probably hold onto this,” he said gently.

I took it from him, careful this time not to let it show. “Thank you for stepping in.”

“Any time,” he said. “But you really shouldn’t stay here, Esther. I can get you out. Today, even. You don’t owe him anything.”

I hesitated. I thought about the babies and about what the doctor had said. Most of all, I thought about what might happen if I ran.

Could I keep them safe alone? Could I keep them safe here?

“I can’t,” I whispered. “Not yet.”

Kevin didn’t argue. He nodded like he understood. “If that changes, say the word. I’ll be there for you anytime.”

He left me with that, disappearing down the corridor like a shadow.

I turned the other way, heart pounding again, and made my way toward the ward where Nicholas and Amanda had gone. I didn’t know what I planned to say, maybe nothing. Maybe everything.

As I lifted my hand to knock, I heard voices.

Amanda’s voice was light, almost teasing. “Why haven’t you rejected her yet? Don’t tell me you’re actually considering letting your little criminal mate carry your heir?”

My breath caught. Nicholas’s voice was flat and dismissive as he answered her.

“I would never let a criminal slave bear my heir.”

My hand dropped.

Just like that, the last ember of hope flickered and died. I had nothing left. No illusions. No fantasies. No dreams to cling to.

I turned and walked away, the report pressed tightly to my chest.

He would never accept my children as his children. He would never accept me.

I would protect my babies alone. No one, not even their father, would ever know they existed.