The Alpha's hidden heirs-Chapter 11: The thinning

Dahlia’s POV

The air in the living room felt like it was about to catch fire. Nate’s shadow stretched across the floorboards, pinning me against the couch where Axel lay unconscious.

That word "son" was screaming in my head. It was a truth I couldn’t bury anymore with fake papers or stories about a dead human husband.

"Nate, please," I whispered. My voice was shaking. "His heart is weak. We can’t do this right now."

"We’re doing it right now," Nate snapped.

The windows rattled from the force of his voice. His eyes weren’t the calm blue I’d seen this morning; they were glowing gold, burning with a decade of being lied to.

"I felt the spark, Dahlia. When I held him, my wolf didn’t just see a sick child. He saw himself. You let me believe I was the last of my line while my blood was beating in three different hearts right under my nose!"

I tried to find a lie, but the words wouldn’t come. How could I explain the blue glow that had just faded from Axel’s eyes? How do I explain the claws that had just tried to rip through a six-year-old’s fingertips? I could say he has my werewolf genes, but I was just an omega, my abilities wasn’t that strong.

"I did it to keep them alive," I hissed, finally stepping toward him.

I refused to let his Alpha energy crush me. "Look at him, Nate. He took one step onto your land, touched one piece of wood from your ’sacred’ grove, and he almost died. Your world is poison. Your pack is a graveyard. Why would I ever bring my children here?"

Nate flinched like I’d hit him. The anger in his eyes flickered, replaced by a raw, bleeding kind of pain. "Because they are mine. I had a right to know. I had a right to protect them." He said, his voice breaking.

"You couldn’t even protect yourself from Gina," I shot back.

The tension was broken by the sound of a car pulling up outside. It was the heavy, armored SUV from the pack house. I recognized the scent before the door even opened. Lilies and something bitter. It had to be Gina.

"Stay here," Nate ordered, his voice dropping into a deadly command. "We aren’t finished."

He went out to intercept her, but I didn’t stay put. I moved to the window, watching through the blinds. Gina looked frantic, her expensive silk dress was wrinkled, and her hair was loose from its perfect pins.

"Nate!" she cried, grabbing his arms. "The Elder... he’s declining. I..I think he’s in shock.The medical wing is in a panic. You have to bring the Doctor. Now."

I saw Nate look back at the cottage, then at Gina. He was torn between the son he just discovered and the duty he had carried his whole life. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Go," I said, stepping out onto the porch. I had already gathered my kit. "Sinclair will come soon to be with the children. If the Elder is crashing, every second matters."

I took one last glance at Axel laying and recovering. Aidan gave me a nod of approval. I knew he would take care of his siblings until Sinclair arrived. He was too clever for his age.

"You have children?" Gina asked, as her brows furrowed.

"Yes." I said dismissively as I approached the car.

Nate didn’t say a word, but the look he gave me told me the "conversation" was merely delayed. He practically threw me into the back of the SUV, Gina climbing in beside him with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

The drive to the pack house was silent and suffocating. Gina kept glancing at me, her fingers twitching in her lap. "You spend a lot of time at that cottage, Doctor. You realize you came here to work, right? I’m sure your children are a huge distraction."

"My personal life is none of your concern, Luna," I replied, my voice cold.

When we reached the medical wing, Elder Thomas was stable, but the air in the wing was thick with the scent of decay. Gina dismissed the nurses, locking the door behind them. She turned to me, her face twisting into a mask of pure venom.

"What’s going on? Why did you bring me here? There’s nothing wrong with him." I said, confused and fuming with anger.

"I need my booster, Doctor," she demanded, baring her arm. "I can feel the Thinning."

"Thinning? What do you mean?" I asked.

"The pack’s strength is failing, and it’s because of you."

I paused, needle halfway to her vein. "Because of me? I’ve been treating you for only two weeks, Gina. I have no idea what you’re talking about." I defended.

"Don’t speak my name," she hissed.

"The Thinning is a spiritual rot. It happens when an Alpha’s focus is divided. Nate is obsessed with you, with that cottage, with those... brats. Your presence is poisoning our bond, and it’s making the pack sterile. My womb is empty because his heart is wandering."

"That’s one hell of an accusation!" I shot back. I lost grip of my usual calm, low tone.

She leaned in, her eyes narrowing until they were like slits. "You’re awfully familiar, ’Dr. Willow.’ The way you stand. The way you look at my husband with that defiant, filthy stare. It’s almost like that rankless bitch Dahlia has been reborn and crawled out of the dirt just to spite me."

My heart stopped for a moment.

My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my hands steady. "I am a specialist, Luna. Not a ghost."

"Then act like one," Gina snarled, her claws digging into the leather of the exam chair.

"I see the way you look at him. And I see the way he looks at you, like he’s trying to remember a dream. Stay away from him. Focus on your patients and your children, or I’ll make sure the Thinning claims them, too."

"Excuse me? Don’t speak of my children or threaten them." I snapped.

"Follow one simple rule; stay away from Nate, you whore." She warned.

She grabbed my wrist, pulling me close enough that I could smell the rot beneath her perfume.

"I know why the pack is dying, Doctor. It’s because the Alpha is being tempted by a fraud. If I don’t conceive soon, the elders will blame Nate’s leadership. And if they blame Nate, I’ll make sure the blame falls on the woman who distracted him."

I pulled my arm back, my mind racing. She was accusing me of causing the Thinning, but I had seen the black blood in the vial earlier. She wasn’t a victim of a spiritual rot. She seemed too relaxed about it. I had to find out exactly what was at play here.