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Astra covers her mouth, swallowing her words.

I don’t think I’ve seen her shocked into silence in… well, since I’ve met her.

She drops her hand. “Is that possible? How⁠—”

“It’s our reality, witch,” Jessamine growls.

“Why on earth would you get pregnant?” Astra stares at her.

She doesn’t understand it—and to be honest, I don’t either. Although when my wolf thinks about Astra in the future, it isn’t like he imagined her without pups running around her legs, driving us crazy.

Stop it.

“It’s biology.” Coral seems confused by Astra’s question. “Even if we wanted to fight our nature–at some point or another, instinct drives us to create new life.”

I glance sharply at her. She’s emitting a wave of sadness, and I don’t understand why. Not until Jessamine reaches across the table and puts her hand on top of Coral’s.

Astra kicks me under the table and gives me a look.

I shake my head. It would be really handy to mind-speak with her right about now, because even she seems to understand Coral’s weird reaction.

“You haven’t found a mate?” Astra asks her with an unexpected gentleness.

Ah.

Fuck.

Coral’s gaze lifts and locks on to Astra. If looks could kill. “I’ve dated a few wolf shifters, but I haven’t found anyone who wanted to connect with me. So, no.”

Yeah, double fuck.

I was one of those guys. Before my father died. We were both teenagers, and my father was shoving me at every eligible she-wolf in the pack. Of course we dated. It got my father off my back, and I was able to learn a woman’s body without fear of judgment. I thought we were pretty clear after the first few months that it was a matter of convenience. Orgasms and skating through life without the pressure to mate.

And then my father died, I became alpha, and for the first time, I was able to feel her emotions. What I felt… it wasn’t a friendly, convenient relationship. She was hiding that she was falling for me.

I wrestled with indecision for half a day. Did I let her down easy? Break it off and blame it on my new role, or grief, or whatever? Did I tell her the truth?

In the end, I went with honesty. I promised her that she would find a mate.

That was ten years ago, and she’s still alone. That’s my fault.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her.

Whether or not she thought we would eventually mate is unknown. Mate bonds and love don’t always hold hands at first—take Astra and me for example.

Fate is fickle like that.

“I don’t blame you, Alpha,” Coral whispers. “I just feel…”

“Empty,” Jessamine finishes.

Astra makes a face. Her nose scrunches; her brows furrow. “I’m never having children,” she declares.

I stare at her. “What?”

Her head slowly swings back to me. “I’m never having children. I’m not getting pregnant. I’m sorry that your kind was cursed. It sounds horrific. But do you honestly expect me to be okay with your response to the situation? One bad witch doesn’t represent all of us.”

We’re all staring at her now.