_Ivy’s POV_

The scrub sink was cold, I rinsed my hands and watched the water run clear, my mind still stuck somewhere in the operating room I had just left. A 14 years old boy had a ruptured spleen from a training accident. I’d been on my feet for four hours, and my back was starting to remind me of that.

I dried my hands and checked my phone.

There was one voice message from Ophelia.

I stepped into the hallway and pressed play, bringing the phone to my ear.

“Mama.” Her voice was soft and a little shy, the way it got when she was working up to something. “Teacher said we’re having a Father-Daughter breakfast next week. All the daddies are coming.” She went quiet for a second. “Mama… do I have a daddy? Does he know I exist? Will he come?”

Then the message ended.

I stood there in the empty corridor, still holding the phone to my ear as a sigh left my lips.

It had been 7 years. I had been married to Alpha Theodore Woodrow for 7 years, and I still hadn’t told him he had a daughter. Although I had tried once, I had stood outside his study with the words ready, my hand raised to knock. Then I heard Alexandra’s voice inside. Instantly, I put my hand down and walked away, swearing to never try again.

I was scared, and It wasn’t just fear. Early in our marriage, Theodore had told me plainly that he didn’t want children with me. No anger in it, just a fact. He liked kids, but not with me. Our marriage wasn’t borne out of love.

My wolf essence was damaged from before I was even born, my scent was barely there, and the pack saw me as a weak Omega who had no place being Luna, let alone carrying an Alpha’s child. He had never said those words exactly. But I understood what he meant.

So when I found out I was pregnant from a one night incident with him, I stayed quiet. My doctor told me termination was too risky, and I knew it. My body couldn’t handle it, and I might never conceive again. So, I carried Ophelia alone, gave birth with only Beryl holding my hand, and handed my daughter to my best friend to keep safe. I told myself it was just temporary.

5 years later, I was still telling myself that.

Just then, my pager went off. There was a double buzz, a sign of an emergency.

I put my phone away and ran towards the bay.

The bay was already busy when I got there. The nurses moving fast and someone calling out vitals. I grabbed a pair of gloves and reached for the chart.

But I heard a voice and paused.

“Full abdominal panel. And get her a blanket, it’s cold in here!”

I slowly looked up to see who it was.

Theodore was standing by the gurney in his dark coat, one hand on the rail, watching the patient like she would disappear if he didn’t.

He stood tall, his dark styled neatly as usual. His face was calm, with his pale silver-grey eyes that I had spent 7 years trying not to think too much about. They reminded me of Ophelia’s.

Those same eyes passed over me like I was part of the wall, that was when I saw who was on the gurney.

Alexandra Cyrus.

I knew her face well enough. Theodore’s ex-girlfriend. The woman he had believed for a long time was his fated mate. She was lying with one hand on her stomach, her expression soft and pained, visibly pregnant.

The chart I was holding said she was eight weeks gone. She had mild cramping but no bleeding.

“Be gentle with her,” Theodore said, still not quite looking at me. “She doesn’t handle pain well.”

I held back my anger and pulled on my gloves. “I know how to do my job, Alpha.”

I turned to Alexandra and started the examination.

The consultation room was small and quiet, Alexandra sat on the edge of the table and watched me set up the ultrasound equipment with a small smile that hadn’t left her face since we walked in.

“You look tired,” she suddenly blurted out when Theo excused himself. “Having a rough shift?”

I didn’t answer her question and just kept on doing my job.

“Do you know Theo drove me here himself.” She said it casually, like she was making small talk. “I actually told him I could drive myself or get the driver to do it but he wouldn’t let me come alone.” She paused. “He worries. He doesn’t say it but you can feel it, you know? The way he stays close.”

I pressed the transducer to her abdomen. The heartbeat showed up on the screen right away. It was steady and clear.

“Everything looks normal,” I said after a while.

“He’s been so attentive since we found out.” She tilted her head, watching my face and still not keeping her mouth shut. “I imagine it must be strange for you. Seeing this.”

I set down the transducer and handed her a cloth. “Are you married, Ms. Cyrus?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Marital status, it’s a standard question for expectant mothers.”

Her smile slipped for just a second. “We’re practically — it’s only a matter of time—”

“Practically and legally aren’t the same thing.” I signed the bottom of the report. “Especially with pack inheritance involved. The full results will be ready shortly.”

I walked out before she could say anything else.

Theodore was waiting in the hallway.

I handed him the report without stopping. “She’s stable. The baby too. There are no concerns.”

He took it and looked it over quickly, then nodded. “Good.”

“I’m done for the night.” I lifted my coat off the hook by the station. “I can drive us home if you’re ready. I need to talk to you about something.”

The nurses nearby got very quiet at my words.

Theodore looked at me. He actually looked at me, for the first time since he’d arrived. I could see the slight discomfort cross his face, the look of a man who had just been reminded, in front of people, that he had a wife.

He clearly didn’t want people knowing about our bond. Too late, I already made it known.

“I’ll go home after I’ve checked on Alexandra,” he said instead.

I looked at him for a moment, there were so many things sitting at the back of my throat I wanted to spit out.

7 years worth.

Instead, I swallowed them all back down, the way I always did, nodded once, and walked to the exit.

I didn’t look back. Looking back at Theodore had never done me any good.

The parking lot was cold when I got there, I just sat in my car without starting it and stared at the steering wheel.

My phone buzzed immediately and I looked to see an incoming message from Beryl.

“Don’t cry before you look, okay? She was perfectly fine. She told her teacher her mama was her whole world.” Was the caption of the photo that followed.

I opened it.

There looked to have been a party at Ophelia’s school. I could see kids with their parents in the background, but at the end of the second table, Ophelia sat by herself.

She was wearing a yellow dress I didn’t recognize, Beryl must have bought it. Her dark hair was braided. Her hands were folded neatly on the table in front of her. And her eyes were looking somewhere far away, like a child who had already made peace with being alone in a room full of pairs.

Beryl wasn’t enough. At the end of the day, my 5 year old needed her both parents.

And the reason she wasn’t with them was my fault. That was entirely my fault.

I pressed my hand over my mouth and sat there, letting my tears fall uncontrollably.