chapter nine

Camila's POV

Nathaniel's words rang in my ears, but I barely heard them over the blood roaring in my head.

Selene.

Nathaniel's sister.

I had met her before. Spoken to her. She had treated me with thinly veiled contempt, but I had thought nothing of it at the time. Just another privileged wolf looking down on someone beneath her.

I had been wrong.

Selene wasn't just some entitled wolf—she was the sister of the man who had just bought me. And from the fire burning in her eyes, she hated me.

I should have been used to it by now.

People always looked at me like I didn't belong. Like I was nothing more than a tool, a thing to be used and discarded. But this was different.

Selene didn't just hate me.

She feared me.

She thought I was dangerous. Thought I had bewitched Aiden… and now Nathaniel.

I could almost laugh at the absurdity of it.

If only she knew the truth.

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. "I didn't ask for any of this." My voice was quieter than I intended, but steady.

Selene's lip curled. "Oh, spare me the act."

Nathaniel let out a slow, controlled breath. "Selene. Enough."

She whirled on him. "You can't seriously be taking her to Blackwood. You don't even know what she's capable of."

His gaze remained impassive. "What I do with my property is none of your concern."

Property.

The word sent an ugly shudder through me, but I didn't react. I couldn't afford to.

Selene's jaw tightened. "You're making a mistake."

Nathaniel didn't answer her. He just turned to me. "We're leaving."

The finality in his tone sent a chill down my spine.

He wasn't asking.

He was taking me.

Selene's furious glare burned into me as Nathaniel's hand closed around my wrist, firm but not cruel. His touch sent an unexpected jolt of warmth through me.

I didn't look back as he led me away.

But I could feel it.

Selene's promise.

This wasn't over.

We had barely taken three steps when Alpha Greene's voice cut through the tension like a blade.

"Nathaniel."

Nathaniel didn't stop.

"Nathaniel."

This time, the weight of authority in Greene's voice forced him to halt. His grip on my wrist remained firm, his fingers warm but unyielding around mine.

"We are not done with this conversation," Alpha Greene said, his tone dangerously low. "I don't care what argument you're having with your sister. We will finish this."

Nathaniel turned his head slightly, his body coiled tight with irritation. "I paid the highest bid. The auction is over."

Greene let out a slow, humorless chuckle. "You think this is just about an auction? You're taking a pregnant she-wolf from my pack. You really believe I'll let you walk away with my grandchild without consequences?"

The air thickened with tension.

Nathaniel didn't flinch. His expression remained unreadable, but the shift in his energy was unmistakable—something sharp and territorial crackled beneath the surface.

He already knew I was pregnant.

But the fact that Alpha Greene was now claiming a right to my child?

That was what set him off.

Nathaniel released my wrist, stepping forward just slightly, shoulders squared, jaw clenched. "Your grandchild?" His voice was calm, but there was nothing gentle about it. "That's funny, because last I checked, Camila belongs to me now. Which means that child does, too."

Aiden inhaled sharply, his fists curling at his sides. "She doesn't belong to anyone."

Nathaniel barely spared him a glance. "She's mine." His gaze flickered to Alpha Greene. "And I don't share."

Greene's eyes darkened. "This isn't just about her, Blackwood. That baby is blood to my pack."

Nathaniel tilted his head slightly, his lips curling at the edges. "Then maybe you should have fought harder for her."

I swallowed hard.

This was bad.

Nathaniel wasn't just being defiant—he was staking a claim. Not just over me, but over my child.

My child.

I wasn't sure which was worse—Alpha Greene trying to take my baby or Nathaniel using it as another reason to justify owning me.

Aiden stepped closer, his voice tight. "Camila—"

I turned my head sharply.

And the moment my eyes met his, something inside me cracked.

He had doubted me.

He had abandoned me.

And now he wanted to act as if I owed him an explanation?

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

"You should have explained to me," he said, voice thick with something unreadable.

I let out a sharp, hollow laugh. "I did explain to you." My throat tightened. "You just didn't care enough to listen."

Aiden flinched.

But before he could say anything, Nathaniel's hand was on my arm again, pulling me back to him. His touch was firm, steady, possessive.

"I don't have time for this." His voice was low, edged with finality. "We're leaving."

Alpha Greene's lips parted, but Nathaniel was already turning, already moving me away from the conversation, away from the men who thought they had any say over me or my child.

I barely had time to process what had just happened.

Nathaniel didn't loosen his grip until we were outside. His hand still rested against my lower back, guiding me toward his car as if I might run if he let go.

Not that I had anywhere to run.

Not that I even knew what to do.

The argument inside still echoed in my head.

Alpha Greene wasn't letting this go. He had no intention of standing by while I left with Nathaniel, pregnant with his supposed grandchild.

And Aiden…

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Aiden had flinched. I had never seen him look so caught off guard, so affected. But it didn't change anything. His regret came too late.

Nathaniel opened the car door for me, waiting. "Get in."

I hesitated. My chest felt tight, like I was being pulled in two different directions. Staying meant dealing with Alpha Greene and Aiden. Leaving meant facing Nathaniel's possessiveness and whatever plans he had for me.

Either way, I wasn't free.

"Camila." Nathaniel's voice was sharper now, edged with irritation. "Don't test me right now. Get. In."

I swallowed hard and slid into the seat.

The door slammed shut behind me, and within seconds, he was in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

The tension between us was suffocating.

He didn't start the car immediately. His jaw twitched, his gaze fixed straight ahead, his breathing slow and controlled—too controlled.

Then, without looking at me, he said, "He didn't know."

I stiffened. "What?"

Nathaniel exhaled sharply, tilting his head back against the seat. "Aiden. He didn't know you were pregnant."

I frowned. "I told him."

Nathaniel's lips pressed together, his expression unreadable. "Then he didn't believe you."

A bitter laugh slipped out before I could stop it. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"

Nathaniel's eyes finally met mine, and for the first time, there was something almost calculating in them. "No," he said simply. "It's supposed to remind you why you're better off with me."

A chill ran down my spine.

I turned my face away, staring out the window as he finally started the car.

Because deep down, I knew what he was saying.

Aiden had doubted me.

Nathaniel never had.

And maybe—just maybe—that scared me even more.

Selene's POV

The moment Nathaniel left with her, I couldn't hold my tongue any longer.

"You're all insane." My voice rang through the room, cutting through the tension. "That girl has bewitched you."

Alpha Greene turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Careful, Selene."

I didn't care.

My brother—Nathaniel—was being manipulated by some she-wolf who had no right to be in our world. And now, she was carrying a child?

I refused to stand by and watch.

"She's dangerous," I spat, turning my glare on Aiden next. "You both let her do this to you."

Aiden's head snapped toward me, his eyes dark with frustration. "You don't know what you're talking about."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, don't I?" I folded my arms. "Because from where I'm standing, she played both of you, and now you're scrambling to claim her like she's some prize."

"She's pregnant," Aiden growled. "This isn't a game, Selene."

"No, it's a trap," I shot back. "And Nathaniel is walking straight into it."

Alpha Greene's eyes flickered with something unreadable. "This is none of your concern."

I scoffed. "None of my concern? That's my brother. My family." My chest rose and fell with my rapid breathing. "I will protect him."

Aiden shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Selene, enough."

"No," I hissed. "Not enough. Not until she's gone."

Because I didn't care what anyone said.

Camila was going to ruin us all.

Aiden had dismissed me like I was some child.

Like I didn't see what was happening.

Like I didn't know.

I took a sharp breath, my hands curling into fists.

Camila had already wormed her way into Nathaniel's life, and now she had Alpha Greene and Aiden tangled in her mess too.

It wasn't coincidence.

It was a carefully laid trap.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of them—blocking out the rage building in my chest.

Then, her voice slithered into my mind like a whisper in the dark.

"The child has to go."

Sasha.

I could almost see her—standing tall, her expression cold and unyielding.

"So be it."

A slow, shuddering breath left my lips.