Mira's POV
Just as I'm about to knock, my wolf catches Theo's voice from inside the study. My heart launches against my ribs.
"Brother, what I'm trying to say is that she shouldn't mistreat others just because they're under her! So what if the girl she hurt got so hurt that worse, she eve..."
"Okay, okay, I hear you." Alpha Eryx's voice cuts him off, most likely because Theo's voice is rising, threaded with an unsuppressable anger. "Maybe it was an accident. I don't see why she would try to hurt anyone."
"You don't get it. It wasn't an acc..."
I can't stand it anymore, he's losing it, he's giving it all out. My hand moves on its own, pushing the door open without knocking. Only after I'm already inside do I realize what I've done.
Alpha Eryx's sharp eyes burn into me immediately. I nearly walk right back out to knock, heart thundering in panic. But for some reason, Theo's presence soothes something within me. I cling to it silently.
I don't dare look at either of them.
Alpha Eryx… I don't know what to expect from him, not with those sharp, commanding eyes of his. As for Theo… if I look at him, I might get lost in those eyes and stare longer than I should.
"Alpha," I murmur, head bowed low, his silent dominance wrap around me. "You called for me."
But for a long, stretched moment, he doesn't speak. The silence unsettles me so deeply that I find myself lifting my eyes just slightly to see what's going on.
I expect to meet his glare, his fury, some thunderous expression demanding, How dare you burst in without knocking?
But that's not what I find.
Instead, I catch him still in his seat, his gaze locked on me, his expression unreadable. He isn't glaring. He's… studying me. As though trying to figure something out that doesn't make sense.
My body tenses under the weight of his stare, and my wolf stirs, pacing inside me restlessly, sending waves of unease I can't explain.
The base of my abdomen shifts with an unfamiliar discomfort, just a flicker, but enough to make me still.
Then it fades.
"Eryx?" Theo calls softly, and Alpha Eryx blinks, snapping out of whatever held him in place.
My mind spins. Why was he looking at me like that? What did he see? I mean it's not like it's the first time he is seeing me, even if it seemed like he never saw me.
"You are Luna's servant, right?" he asks, voice calm, deep. The sound of it stirs something low in my abdomen again.
Maybe it's just the shock of hearing him speak to me directly, he never has before, but what I feel isn't fear. So what is it?
"Yes, Alpha." The words leave my lips before I even register them. I can feel Theo's gaze still on me, burning and warm, making it harder and harder to keep my focus.
"My Luna is carrying a child," Alpha Eryx says next.
I stagger inside, almost collapsing.
Morgana?! Pregnant!? I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say. It feels unimaginable. I mean, of course she was meant to be at some point, but I just can't wrap my mind around it.
"Have you suddenly become mute? Aren't you going to answer my question?"
I jolt. My mind snaps back into place, my body flooded with terror. What question? I didn't even hear it.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that. Can't you see she's still terrified after what happened to her?" Theo jumps in fast, voice calm but protective.
Oh my goddess. Why is he being like this? Doesn't he realize what this sounds like?
Anyone would guess there's something going on with this kind of concern, but then again, maybe no one would.
Not when it's the great younger brother of the Alpha defending a mere servant. Surely, no one would dare make that assumption.
"She was the one burnt?" Alpha Eryx's voice asks next, low and direct.
"Yes," Theo replies firmly.
"It was… it was an accident, Alpha," I blurt quickly. The words tumble out in a rush. I just want to end this, to leave, to stop whatever this tension is that's thickening.
I can feel Theo's eyes on me, stronger now, like they're burning through my skin. I feel his emotion clearly, disbelief. He probably can't believe I just lied.
"I told you it was an accident," Alpha Eryx says to Theo flatly.
Theo doesn't respond. Silence falls again. I know he's angry. Disappointed.
"So," Alpha Eryx begins again, shifting the conversation, "I was saying, you'll be taken back to Clawingfang pack. That's where she is right now. You'll stay with her, close. Keep an eye on her health and anything she needs until she returns."
His words echo in my head. I'm going back to Clawingfang? Ugh! I hate that place. Why did she go back there for anyway?! To inform them that she's pregnant?!
"I've given you that responsibility personally," he continues, "that you make sure she has everything and anything she needs. So if anything goes wrong to my child or her, you'll be answerable."
For a moment, I hear Theo shift uncomfortably. Then, without a word, he storms out, like he can't take being in the room anymore.
He leaves us alone.
And panic grips me so tightly that I can't even stand straight.
Alpha Eryx doesn't say anything immediately. His silence stretches across the room, thick and confusing.
I feel his gaze again, roaming across me, like it had earlier. But this time there's more focus, more intensity.
Without waiting to be dismissed, I bow slightly. "Yes, Alpha. I'll make sure to do everything perfectly."
The words slip from my mouth as I start moving toward the door.
"Stop."
His voice freezes me in place.
I halt at the doorway, unable to breathe.
He stands slowly, I hear his footsteps behind me. I swear my soul leaves my body.
"Something about you is suddenly st..."
But footsteps echo just outside the room.
Within seconds, Morgana walks in, eyes sweeping over everything. Alpha Eryx turns immediately to her, reaching for her like he's been waiting.
He wraps his arms around her.
I don't wait a second longer. I slip out the door, closing it behind me, sighing heavily with relief as I rush down the hallway.
Only to be pulled aside by a strong familiar hand.