Alec’s

"You seem to have selective amnesia. You clearly told me that you wouldn't allow your child to be born by a whore. That whore being me. So what has changed since then, hmm? Is it finding out we are mates? Is it finding out that I wasn't in the wrong?"

He remains quiet. His eyes briefly scanned my face before they were back on the road. I lay my good hand on my lap, waiting to see what bullshit answer he'd come up with. When he still doesn't say anything, I continue.

"Tell me, if the truth hadn't come out and you still thought I was a whore, would you have wanted her? If we were not mates, would you still be interested in being in her life?"

His jaw clenches and so do his hands on the wheel. I didn't want to let him go easily, though. His words from that day still haunt. Still ring in my fucking head more times than I care to admit.

"I made a mistake, Sadie," he whispers, his voice hoarse.

"You don't get it. A mistake is buying the wrong cereals or cooking beef when everyone had asked for chicken-that kind of thing. Wanting to kill your child and her mother isn't a mistake. It's a conscious decision."

My heart still aches thinking about that day. If Raven had been a minute late, I wouldn't be here, and neither would Aspen. Most of my bitterness towards Alec stems from that day. I don't care about the torture as much as I care about him almost ending Aspen's life.

"You had cost me who I believed was my mate. I thought you were lying to me."

"And why would I lie?"

"Think about it, Sadie. I had just banished you. Life as a banished wolf is hard enough, but life as a banished wolf who has no training whatsoever, money, or anything for that matter is terrible. I thought you wanted back into the pack, so what better way than to lie about being pregnant with the Alpha's pup?"

I am starting to get angry. Livid is

more like it. "After all the fucking bell you put me through in that dungeon, you seriously thought I would willingly come back to you if didn't have a good fucking reason?"

He slows down and lets out a breath. "Now that you put it that way, I admit that I should have thought it through. I was just so angry and bitter. I was too consumed by my hatred to think clearly."

Is it weird that as much as I try to understand his reasons, I just can't? Yes, Raven explained why Alec wasn't able to sense Aspen, but that doesn't absolve him of his crimes. The fact that he still wanted to kill me even after I told him I was pregnant-that's what I am having a hard time letting go of.

"When a woman you've slept with tells you she's pregnant, even if you don't trust her, you take her to the goddamn doctor and get answers before assuming that she's lying. How do you expect me to let you into her life when you had your hand in my chest, ready to rip out my heart even after I told you+was pregnant? Just like with the drugged drinks, you didn't bother to find out the truth. You simply chose to believe I am a liar and a

manipulator."

"I'm sorry," comes his thick voice after I am done with speaking.

His eyes give nothing away, but his rigid posture does. It's almost like his mistakes have finally dawned on him, and he doesn't know what to do or say.

This time I don't say anything. I go back to looking outside, thinking that it's a little bit too late for an apology. It doesn't really matter now, because the damage has been done and it can't be reversed.

We drive in silence, both of us lost in our own minds and thoughts. About forty minutes later, we arrive at the pack. The moment he parks the car, I get out silently, not even bothering to look back at him. I find Raven in the meeting room pacing. Jason, Micah, and, surprisingly, Piper were there with her.

"Raven?" I call, making her swivel around to face me.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure," she begins. "But I think I found the person who is imprisoned in that confinement spell."