Cecilia’s pov
My mind had been a ss all day.
Last night’s revelations kept replaying in my head like a movie I couldn’t turn off.
Sleep barely happened.
My chest hurt, my head was loud, and nothing felt okay.
When my phone lit up with Mom’s na, my stomach dropped.
For one crazy second, I thought she’d sohow figured out I was pregnant through mom-senses or sothing equally terrifying.
"Hey, Mom," I said, trying to sound normal.
"Cece, the neighbor called. She saw so strange man hanging around outside our house this afternoon. Said he took off when she walked toward him."
Her voice had that exact worried tone I’d grown up hearing.
I sat up a little straighter.
"That’s not good," I said, frowning."I’ll order a security cara and have it set up. Don’t stress. You, Dad, and Grandma are fine where you are."
"About Colorado Springs next month... your grandmother and I talked. If you really don’t want to go, we won’t.
Also, that place Sebastian set up? Total fail. Your grandmother is losing her mind over there. Tried to drag to the mall the day after we arrived. We’re thinking of just going back to her old house. Your dad and I will stay with her for now."
That was a sudden change.
But Dad was there. He wouldn’t let anything shady happen... right?
Maybe they were just starting to realize how dangerous the Lockes really were.
"Yeah, going back to Grandma’s sounds like a good idea," I said."We’ll send soone to take you over next week."
With them settled and still in the dark about the pregnancy, I’d have so space to figure things out.
One less thing to stress about for now.
After we hung up, I leaned back in my chair, hand resting on my still-flat stomach.
My thoughts spiraled between the baby, the Lockes, Maggie, last night’s chaos, and now this creepy stalker guy.
Everything felt like a ss, and I just didn’t have the energy to deal with it.
My head throbbed. Each problem felt huge on its own.
Together? Completely overwhelming.
--
After work, Sebastian and I rode ho together. Tang was driving.
We rode in silence in his sleek black Audi, city lights flashing across the windshield.
I told him about the strange man outside my parents’ house and said I’d handle the caras.
"I’ll send soone," he said, brushing it off.
"You shouldn’t be doing anything stressful in your condition."
My ‘condition.’
Ever since he found out I was pregnant, he treated like I was going to shatter.
The Alpha of the Silver Peak Pack, now acting like I needed to be bubble-wrapped.
"Thanks," I said, too tired to argue.
There was no point pushing back against his protective instincts.
I didn’t say who I thought sent him. Maybe Maggie. Maybe Zane.
Maggie was just the enemy now. Zane? That was a whole different kind of problem, and I wasn’t ready to deal with it.
Sebastian kept glancing over at , eyes flicking between the road and my face.
"You don’t have to carry all this alone," he said gently, reaching over to brush his thumb across my cheek.
"I’ve got broad shoulders for a reason. Let carry so of it, alright? Your stress becos the baby’s stress."
I nearly choked.[ Did he just say that out loud? ]
Tang’s head snapped around so fast I thought he might sprain sothing.
I smiled tightly and stared out the window like I hadn’t heard a thing.
Great. Just great. Subtlety? Dead.
--
Back at ho, Sebastian pulled Liam aside right away to talk about the Cassian.
I didn’t stick around. I dragged myself upstairs, feeling like I’d been hit by a truck.
Was this what pregnancy felt like?
The nausea. The exhaustion that sank deep into my bones.
The strange sense that my body wasn’t really mine anymore.
It was all getting worse. Fast.
I barely made it to the bed before collapsing face-first into the mattress.
Then ca the knock. Sharp. Demanding.
Thinking it was Sebastian, I mumbled, "Co in."
Wrong guess. Hurricane Harper slamd her way in, eyes blazing like she was seconds from full ltdown.
"Harper?" I groaned, not even lifting my head. "What are you doing here?"
I was way too exhausted for whatever storm she was about to bring.
She marched to the side of the bed, hands on her hips like a furious PTA mom. "Are you pregnant?"
My heart stopped. Just for a second.
"Wow," I said, trying to laugh, "maybe start with ‘hi’ next ti?"
Harper didn’t blink.
I looked away, suddenly very interested in the IV line taped to my arm. "Can we maybe... ease into that question?"
She raised an eyebrow so high I was surprised it didn’t lift off her face. "Do we really need to?"
"Yes. Yes, we do," I muttered. "Give a second to invent a really solid lie."
It was supposed to be a joke.
Harper wasn’t laughing. She reached over and pinched my arm. Hard.
"I’ll give you a lie," she snapped. "What, you thought pretending it wasn’t real would make the baby disappear?"
"Ow! Seriously?" I yelped, jerking back.
"What were you thinking?" she hissed, dropping her voice. "What’s your ga plan here?"
I flopped dramatically across her lap. "I don’t know. He wants the baby, and he’s an Alpha wolf. I don’t exactly have the upper hand."
She gave my back a light smack. "Cece! How could you be this reckless?"
"I..." I started, but she cut off.
"Forget it. That’s not the point." Her tone shifted, a little less angry, a little more sisterly. "So, he wants the baby. Fine. But what’s he offering? What’s his long-term plan? Sure, he cares about you. But what about you? What do you want out of this?"
I sighed, shoulders sinking.
"I’m not ready for marriage. He knows I’m pregnant, and I know there’s no way he’ll agree to... you know, not have the baby."
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.
"And?" Harper pressed. "This isn’t just going to pause while you figure things out. The baby’s growing. You need a plan."
"I made a deal with him," I said quietly. "The baby gets my last na. I raise the baby. He stays out of the picture."
Harper stared at like I’d just said the moon was made of cheese. Then she pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. "No fever. So why are you saying crazy things?"
"I’m serious."
"Cecilia, he’s not so chill ex-boyfriend who’ll Venmo you child support and disappear. He’s Sebastian Black. Alpha of the Silver Peak Pack. You really think he’s just going to let his heir be raised like so side character in your life?"
I pulled her hand away and looked her in the eye.
Of course I didn’t believe him. I wasn’t that naive.
"Even if I tell him I don’t buy it, he’ll just keep repeating it until I pretend I do."
"Sotis pretending is the only way to breathe."
Harper’s face softened, just a little. "That’s what happens when you’re dealing with Alpha-level delusion."
Before I could reply, there was a knock at the door.
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