Lurgard.

"My pup and I are leaving...Alphas of Ironclad Pack." Theresa’s voice rang across the room, steady and unyielding, cutting through everything like a final verdict.

I froze.

Completely.

For a second, it felt like the world had gone still around me, her words echoing over and over in my head.

She was... leaving?

Just like that?

After everything?

It had taken us six years...six whole years...to finally find her again, to stand in the same space with her, to even begin fixing what had been broken.

And now...she wanted to walk away and it is because of him. Just because she was still willing to protect something that belonged to Alex.

My jaw tightened.

How pathetic.

"Theresa, calm down," Lawrence said quickly, all the earlier tension in his voice gone as he rushed forward without hesitation.

He pulled her into his arms, holding her as if that alone could stop her from slipping away again.

"It doesn’t have to result in you leaving," he added, his tone softer now, almost pleading.

But she didn’t melt into it.

"No, Alpha Lawrence," she said firmly, her voice clear despite the tears still lingering. "I don’t want to have anything to do with you all anymore."

The words hit harder than they should have.

"Don’t say that, Theresa," Lawrence continued, tightening his hold slightly, as though refusing to accept what she was saying.

I couldn’t help it, and I rolled my eyes.

Of course.

He had to play the gentle one.

The reasonable one.

Always trying to smooth things over like he was the only one who knew how to handle her.

"Okay... fine," he finally said after a brief pause, his voice dropping in defeat. "You can keep the baby."

My fists clenched instantly.

What?

"No, Lawrence," I snapped, stepping forward, my voice sharp with disbelief. "There is no way we’re letting her do that."

I closed the distance between us, my gaze hard as it shifted between the both of them.

"That child growing inside her carries the blood of our enemy," I continued, each word deliberate, heavy with meaning. "And you expect us to just accept it? To let it grow under our roof?"

The thought alone was absurd and dangerous. You never can tell what twist could arrive!

"What if it turns against us someday?" I asked, my tone rising slightly as the logic burned clearer in my mind. "What if everything we’re trying to protect gets destroyed because of it?"

"Exactly my point!" Leonard added immediately, stepping in with no hesitation, his voice filled with the same fury that was building inside me. "There’s a reason people say..." he paused briefly, his eyes fixed on Theresa, unwavering, "...blood is thicker than water."

The silence that followed felt heavier than before, charged and tense because none of us were backing down.

And I was totally on Leonard’s side. I can’t believe Lawrence is willing to ignore all those facts because he is trying to okay the role of a good guy.

Theresa scoffed, the sound was low, but it carried enough weight to slice through the tension hanging thick in the room. Her eyes moved from one of us to the other, filled with something that looked dangerously close to disappointment.

"I really can see how you all think," she said, her voice steady despite everything.

She paused briefly, her hand instinctively resting over her stomach, protective...possessive.

"But don’t forget," she continued, her gaze hardening, "that this child is also mine."

Her words struck something in me, something that immediately turned into irritation.

"Come on, Theresa," I said, my tone sharper than before, unable to hold it back. "You can easily part with it. It’s not like it has even formed yet."

The moment the words left my mouth...I knew but it was already too late and before I could even process her reaction...She raised herself up from the bed, so fast and then...

*Smack.*

Her hand connected with my face in a sharp, resounding slap that echoed through the room.

For a moment...everything went still.

The sting spread across my cheek instantly, my head turning slightly from the force of it. I blinked, stunned, my mind struggling to catch up with what had just happened.

"You can insult or look down on me, Alpha Lurgard," she said, her voice trembling slightly, but still firm, still unyielding. "But don’t you ever talk down on my child."

She wiped at her nose roughly, sniffing slightly as she tried to hold herself together.

And I just stood there frozen.

Geez...

What was it with her?

Why did it always feel like she had something against me?

Like I was the one she directed all her anger toward.

"Theresa... why..." I started, my voice lower now, strained as I tried to make sense of it, tried to control the surge of anger rising inside me.

Because truthfully...I wanted to react, I wanted to grab her, shake her, make her understand, and hell... I even wanted to hit back, not because she hurt me...but because she wasn’t listening, because she kept pushing me away, because she looked at me like I was the enemy.

And I was even more tempted to kiss all those ideas out of her head.

"Lurgard!" Leonard’s voice cut through my thoughts sharply, filled with authority.

A warning.

And I knew better.

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to calm down, my jaw tightening as I stepped back.

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room completely.

The door shut behind me, but it didn’t silence the thoughts racing in my head.

Why couldn’t she just listen?

Why couldn’t she see things from my perspective, even for a second?

Why was it so hard for her to treat me with even the smallest bit of... affection?

Respect?

Or anything.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling beneath the surface.

Did she really hate me that much?

Enough to slap me...In front of my brothers?