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My protective instincts flared as she winced, and I growled in warning. Korren moved closer to Brielle’s side, and Ezra wedged his body between our mate and Councilman Rhys.
The piece of shit was gloating. I desperately wanted to rid the male of his organs, but by some Goddess-blessed miracle, I was able to hold it together.
Brielle’s hand curled around my wrist, though her eyes never left Raza’s. “Good. I hope his face haunts you.”
Councilman Rhys cleared his throat, cutting through the tension. “The test, councilman,” he said blandly.
“Right. We’ll start now.”
We reluctantly stepped back, allowing the councilman to take out the necessary equipment and begin the test. The air crackled with anticipation as their gazes lingered on Brielle with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
Brielle went to the bathroom to provide a sample and returned with the same bored expression. She joined us as Raza fired up a machine that whirred like a ticking bomb, each beep bringing us closer to a fate we couldn’t control.
My wolf raged inside my skin. I needed to take Brielle far away from these males, but doing so would affect the entire pack.
The machine buzzed.
Councilman Raza slowly pulled out the tray and scanned the results. The corner of his mouth lifted, and I knew the answer before he spoke.
“Congratulations, Brielle,” Councilman Raza said, his eyes on Wynn. “It looks like you’ll be giving Hidden Creek their first pup.”
Shockwaves rippled through the bond. For us not to have sensed it meant the pup had only existed for a matter of days. And now that the Council knew, they would have a reason to drop in again. It was a stark reminder of the fragility of our situation.
The news of Brielle’s pregnancy hung in the air, and amidst the uncertainty, fear, and anger, one thing was clear—our unborn child would know a different life than this.
We’d pay any price to ensure it.
Chapter 32
Korren
As our collective anxiety grew to a fever pitch, Councilman Raza spoke up.
“I’m sure you’re excited to celebrate the good news with your mates, but we must perform the ranking test first.” He held out his hand like they were old friends. “Come, Brielle.”
I stepped in front of her, hiding my unsheathed claws behind my back. “That won’t be necessary. You’ve done quite enough for one day.”
“I can assure you that the methods are quite safe for the pup—”
“I said no—as both a mate and a healer,” I growled. It might have been the wrong move, but Councilman Raza needed to be humbled. “I don’t know what method you’re using to test unborn pups, but last I heard, you were without the Goddess’s blessing to do so.”
His face went red with anger, but I held his stare. There was nothing he could say. He wouldn’t admit to using magic, and we both knew only a powerful healer could pull off something like that. The fact that he wanted to do a rank test now, instead of waiting for the birth, was proof that he didn’t trust Hidden Creek after what had happened with Isolde.
“When the child is more developed, I will rank test it myself,” I said.
Ezra stood at my back, waiting for someone to question me.
Something passed across Councilman Rhys’s face, but his eyes hardened before the emotion could fully reveal itself. “The healer is right. There’s no need to rush.” Councilman Raza’s eyes snapped to his, but Rhys continued, “Even if we discovered the child is an Omega, we wouldn’t collect it until it was six years old.”
His callous tone as he spoke of taking away our pup had me longing for his death. Ezra gripped my shoulder, keeping me present.
Councilman Raza wasn’t happy about this concession, but appearing as a united front was more important than pursuing an argument he couldn’t win.
Perhaps I was wrong, but something told me Councilman Rhys had other things on his mind.
Councilman Raza stood, and Councilman Rhys joined him. “I will see you in five months,” Raza said before nodding to the Alpha and taking his leave.
Bishop followed them outside and watched them get in their car.
