"All right," I agreed. "Herman, Liv will come find you. Give her the relevant files to arrange."
"Thank you, Elias! I'll take care of it!" Liv's face lit up. She left the office in high spirits.
After she was gone, I was about to hang up when Herman stopped me. "Is this really a good idea, Alpha?"
"What do you mean?"
"Miss Liv," Herman said. "There are still too many unanswered questions about her return. I don't think we should trust her completely at this stage."
I fell silent. Serenity had said the same thing.
"I don't completely trust her, Herman." Alone with my Beta, I could be honest. "That's exactly why I brought her to the office."
Only where I could see her could I monitor her.
"If you've thought it through, I won't say more." Herman paused. "But there's one more thing I think you should know."
"What is it?"
"The Luna," Herman said quietly. "She's pregnant."
My breath stopped. Fenrir leapt up inside me, howling with joy. My hand shook violently. My body felt light, as if wrapped in clouds. Only one thought remained:Pregnant? Serenity is pregnant? I'm going to be a father?
The corner of my mouth curved up instinctively—but then I remembered just how few times Serenity and I had actually shared a bed. I could count them on one hand. The joy evaporated.
"That's not possible." I forced myself to stay calm. "How did you hear this?"
"She told me herself."
"When?"
"When…" Herman suddenly faltered. "When she was trying to get past the guards so she could come see you and Miss Liv…"
I laughed—a cold, humorless sound. "Obviously, she was just lying to get away from you. If she were really pregnant, the family doctor would have told me immediately. There's no way I wouldn't know."
Herman still sounded uncertain. "But I thought the Luna seemed very genuine at the time."
"That's because she's good at that." I answered flatly. The old anger resurfaced, tangled painfully with something deeper.
"I won't trust her again."
I said it with finality.
CHAPTER 7
SERENITY KELLER
After moving out of the Vernal mansion, I started looking for a place to live.
Although Alfred had agreed to my deal and allowed me to move freely within Vernal territory, he certainly wasn't kind enough to provide me with housing. I didn't want to live under the pack's surveillance anyway, so I eventually found a suitable apartment far from the werewolf district.
"Rent's due on the fifth of every month. Fifteen hundred a month, plus one month's deposit," the landlord said as he showed me around. "If you want to move out, give me advance notice. By the way, do you have any pets?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Then no pet deposit needed. What do you think of the place? If you're satisfied, we can sign the lease right now."
I looked around the apartment. It was small—a one-bedroom with a living room. You could see the entire layout the moment you stepped through the door. It was a completely different world from the sprawling Vernal mansion.
