Chapter 8: Joanna's POV

My heart lurched into my throat. I didn't go in—I pressed myself into the shadow behind the door, held my breath, and listened.

A short silence.

"Anna went through a bond severance, and her wolf abandoned her. After she ran, I learned that she was pregnant. I'll admit—I hurt her before, and for that, I'm sorry."

My fingernails bit into my palms, and the pain shot up my wrists.

Sorry? He said sorry? The word coming out of his mouth was as absurd as hearing a wolf announce it had gone vegetarian.

And he actually didn't know I was pregnant?

All this time I had believed he knew everything, that the milk had been his calculated move to kill the baby inside me. But the truth was, he hadn't found out until I was already gone.

What he said next stunned me—

"If this pregnancy fails, her body, in its current condition, will very likely never conceive again. And it's a boy. I will not gamble the Ashford bloodline on that risk."

A boy. Never conceive again. The two facts crashed into me at once, and for a second the hallway tilted sideways.

"Mr. Ashford, Lucian will never allow her to carry another man's pup. You know the Silver Moon pack's rules better than I do." Diana's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "She doesn't want to go back. I have no reason to force her."

"In our circle, family outweighs blood—a concept you wouldn't understand." My father's tone softened with a lecturing kind of patience. "Let me be frank with you. The Ashford name has not yet sunk so low that anyone can dictate terms to us. I didn't need to convince Lucian. I traded two of our arsenals to make Lucian's father accept this pup."

I leaned against the wall. I could not reconcile it—this was the same man who had locked me in a room for days, who had watched coldly from the courtroom, who had never once asked me, Are you all right?

And now he had put on the table the most valuable chips the Ashford family possessed, to buy my and Sebastian's pup a place inside the Silver Moon pack.

He wasn't doing it for me. I knew he wasn't doing it for me. He was doing it for the heir, for the Ashford surname to carry on.

"And what about Joanna? Have you considered how she feels?"

"When you have a family legacy of your own to protect, you can lecture me about feelings."

In that moment, I snuffed out the last surviving thread of maybe he still loves me in my heart.

"I won't let you take Joanna." Diana's voice was steady.

A brief silence.

My father sighed. "Diana, you're a good kid. When you were bullied at school, it was Anna who stood up for you. I remember that, and I understand why you want to help her." He paused.

"But you still have Tommy and Lily to think about. If this unlicensed clinic of yours were to be discovered..."

I stood behind the door, every muscle locked. Diana's parents had died years ago. This unlicensed little clinic was the only livelihood she had to support her younger siblings.

If it was reported, it wouldn't end at a shut door—Diana would go to prison. Tommy and Lily would be sent into the foster system. They'd be separated. They'd lose each other. My father had calculated everything with precision. He always did.

I was almost certain Diana would fold. Any rational person would bend under a threat like that—it wasn't a question of courage, it was a question of survival. I would not blame her. I would never, ever blame her.

"No, Mr. Ashford." Her voice was shaking. "If I let you take Joanna today, I will hate myself for the rest of my life."

The tears came then—soundless, scalding.

I knew that Diana could stand against my father, but she could not stand against the entire system. He hadn't torn the gloves off today, but that didn't mean he wouldn't tomorrow. One anonymous phone call was all it would take, and Diana's entire world would collapse.

She had protected me. But if I stayed, I was the one destroying her with my own hands.

At last my father sighed again. "Have it your way. But there's one thing you can pass along to her—her mother is awake."

My heartbeat tripped and stopped for a full count. My lips were trembling. My chin was trembling. My whole face was trembling.

"The reason I didn't go to find her myself is that her body, in its current state, can't withstand another forced removal. But she deserves to know. Her mother's condition is stable—and she has been asking many times where Anna is."

Mom was looking for me. She had woken up, and the first thing she thought of was where I was.

I sucked in a deep breath and dragged my sleeve across my face—tears, snot, everything smearing into a mess on my hand, but I didn't have time to care. I pushed the clinic door open.

Diana and my father both turned to look at me at the same time.

"I agree to go home with you," I said.

Diana's voice shot up. "Anna—"

I shook my head and looked at her. "Thank you, Diana. This isn't your fault. I'm sorry."

My father's gaze dropped to my abdomen. "That's an Ashford daughter."

I clenched my teeth, the soreness spreading from the roots all the way up to my temples, and said nothing.

"The Silver Moon pack has already been brought on board. Lucian won't dare try anything—his father will keep him in line. Once the first trimester is safely behind you, you'll have the wedding. His father will make him claim the pup as his own."

A wedding. To a man who did not love me. A double-standard playboy. He would stand in front of everyone and claim another man's pup as his own. Sebastian's pup.

Did Lucian know that all of this was a transaction? An Alpha forced to swallow that kind of humiliation—how would he claw back his pride?

I looked at my father's profile and suddenly felt that this was simply replacing this small clinic with a bigger cage.

But my mother was there. She needed me. And Diana's younger siblings needed her too.

I walked to Diana, close enough to see the wet shimmer in her eyes. "Take care of Tommy and Lily."

Then I turned and followed my father out.

---

Back at the Ashford estate, my mother was waiting for me in the upstairs bedroom. She had lost a lot of weight, propped against the headboard. She looked very frail, but the moment she saw me, her eyes lit up.

"Anna... my Anna..." I threw myself at her, nuzzled my face against hers, and buried it in the hollow of her thin shoulder, breathing in the faint scent of chamomile soap that still clung to her skin.

We stayed like that for a long time.

When I finally lifted my head, she smoothed my messy hair back for me. "Your father told me everything. The baby—it's Sebastian's?"

"Yes, mom." I didn't hesitate. "I love Sebastian, and I will never be able to love anyone else."

She was quiet for a few seconds. "Oh, Joanna... marrying a man you don't love is one of the most painful things a woman can endure." She looked so worried that my chest ached.

"I know, mom. But I have to bring this pup into the world, no matter what it costs me," I said softly, my hand resting on my belly.

The silence stretched for a long time. Outside the window, the setting sun stained the entire room a warm orange.

"Joanna..." My mother began hesitantly.

She looked into my eyes and tightened her grip on my hand. "Have you ever thought about... going to live with another pack?"

My heartbeat quickened.

Of course I had thought about it—I had thought about it countless times. But every time, I had hesitated. Because leaving meant giving up my mother, my friends, everything.

"You don't have to stay here. You could take the baby and leave—go somewhere no one has ever heard the name Ashford. Find Sebastian. Start over." Her voice grew firmer with each sentence.

I looked at her. Her thin face, her pale lips, and those eyes full of love and worry. She was making the decision I was too afraid to make for myself.

"There's still a month before the marriage contract," she said. "We can think it through carefully."

"I know, mom." I nodded, and something slowly filled my heart—not quite hope, but close enough.

"Anna, what more can a mother do? I will arrange everything for you." The corners of her eyes crinkled softly as she smiled at me with warmth.

I glanced down at my belly, then looked back at my mother. This was really going to happen.

"Oh my God! mom, I'm going to take the pup and find Sebastian—I'll tell him that everything that day was Father forcing my hand, that it wasn't my choice—tell him it wasn't my choice! Even if our bond is broken, I'll beg the Moon Goddess to let us be together again!" I said, unable to suppress my smile, excitement surging through me.

My choice would always be him! Mine and the pup's choice would always be him!

Sebastian—the Goddess created him for me. He was my destined mate.

Wait for me. I will find you. Please be my mate again!

"mom, will Sebastian forgive me?" I asked.

Before she could answer, a knock came at the door. Startled, I clamped my mouth shut at once.

The door was pushed open. It was my mother's maid.

She stepped in and said: "Luna, word has just come from the exile grounds—Sebastian Blackwood has escaped. The guards found signs of a struggle and bloodstains at the border, but they haven't found his—"