Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

- Marcus -

The smell of blood fills Doctor Mills' office as I step over her body. Sophie stands by the desk, quickly shoving papers into her pocket.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

She jumps, spinning around. "Marcus! I... I came to look for evidence. About Aria's crimes."

"I told you to wait at the pack house."

"I wanted to help." Her smile is too bright, too fake.

Something white sticks out from her pocket. "What's that?"

"Nothing important..."

I grab it before she can stop me. It's a medical report. Aria's name is at the top.

"Why do you have this?"

"I just found it..."

I read the paper, and my blood freezes. 'Pregnancy confirmed. Three weeks.'

The date is from before the trial. Before the execution. Aria was pregnant with my child.

"This can't be real." My hands shake.

Sophie snatches for it. "It's fake! The doctor made it up!"

But I remember the curse. The old witch's words echo in my mind: 'Only your true mate can give you an heir. No other woman will carry your child.'

I'd thought it was nonsense. But Sophie claims she's pregnant. Now this paper says Aria was pregnant too. They can't both be carrying my child. The curse makes that impossible.

"Sophie." My voice is deadly calm. "Show me your pregnancy test."

"What? Why would you..."

"Show me," I cut her short. "Now."

Her face pales. "I don't have it with me."

"Then we'll go to the pack doctor. Right now."

"Marcus, you're being ridiculous! You know I'm pregnant!"

"Do I?" I study her flat stomach. "I am no doctor. You've been saying you're pregnant for weeks, but you never let anyone except your personal healer examine you."

"Because I trust her! Besides, Doctor Mills examined me too."

"Now she is dead because you claimed she helped Aria excape," I reminded her. "So where is she? This healer of yours?"

Sophie's mouth opens and closes. "She... she went back to my old pack."

"How convenient."

I look at the paper again. If Aria was really pregnant, and the curse is real, then Sophie has been lying.

"Even if that paper is real," Sophie says quickly, "it doesn't matter. Aria is not here anymore."

I remember the empty coffin report. "If she excaped she must be out there somewhere."

"So what? Even if she escaped somehow, she's probably dead by now. The rogues in the forest would have killed her."

"Or someone helped her."

Sophie laughs, but it sounds forced. "Who would help a criminal?"

I think about Doctor Mills' last words. She'd smiled as she died. Like she'd won something.

"The doctor helped her escape," I say slowly. "That's why you wanted her dead. You knew."

"That's crazy! I wanted justice for our baby..."

"What baby?" I grab her arm. "If Aria was pregnant with my heir, you can't be. The curse..."

"The curse is a fairy tale!" She put in quickly.

"Is it? Then prove it. Take a pregnancy test. Right now."

She jerks away. "I don't have to prove anything to you!"

"You do if you want to stay Luna."

The threat hangs between us. Sophie's eyes fill with tears.

"Marcus, please. I love you. I've always loved you. Isn't that enough?"

"You lied to me."

"No I did not! Aria is the one lying. You have to believe me."

"You made me kill my mate!" The words explode from me. "If she was carrying my child, my real heir..."

I sink into the doctor's chair, my head in my hands. Aria could be out there. Alone. Pregnant. Scared.

"She betrayed you," Sophie says softly. "Remember? She tried to poison me."

But did she? Or was that another lie?

I think about Aria. Sweet, quiet Aria who never argued. Who brought me coffee every morning exactly how I liked it. Who smiled whenever I entered a room.

"I need to find her," I say.

"Marcus, no!" Sophie grabs my hands. "Even if she's alive, she hates you now. You tried to execute her!"

She's right. If Aria survived, she'll never forgive me.

"But my heir..."

"If there even is an heir! This could all be the doctor's trick. She and Aria were close, remember? They planned this together to hurt you. She planned Aria's escape. What makes you think the pregnancy thing was not planned too?"

She looked at me questioningly and her words did make sense.

Maybe. But maybe not.

I stand, pocketing the pregnancy report. "Call a pack meeting. We're organizing search parties."

"Are you serious right now? What are you looking for?"

"For answers." I look at Sophie coldly. "And you're going to take that pregnancy test. Tonight."

Fear flashes in her eyes. "Fine. But when you see I'm telling the truth..."

"Then I'll apologize."

But somehow I feel she's lying. The curse has never been wrong. And if Aria is carrying my child, my only child...

I leave the office, my mind clouded with heavy thoughts. I don't know what to believe anymore or what was true. But the curse. I cannot take chances. I need to know the truth. Finding this pregnancy test gnawed me the more and a feeling of regret washed over me. Outside, the moon is rising.

"Where are you, Aria?" I whisper to the night.

The wind carries the scent of rain and honeysuckle. Aria's scent. Or maybe I'm imagining it because I want it so badly.

Sophie follows me out. "She's gone, Marcus. Accept it."

But I can't. The paper in my pocket feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. Proof that I might have destroyed everything good in my life for a lie.

"James!" I call my Beta. "Gather the trackers. We're searching every inch of territory."

"What are we looking for, Alpha?"

I look at Sophie, who's gone very pale.

"We're looking for my mate. The real one."

The hunt begins tonight. And this time, I won't stop until I find the truth.

Even if it destroys everything I thought I knew.