Page 48 of Pregnant, Rejected and Exiled By the Lycan King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #45)

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Damon

“Move! MOVE!” I roared at Carlton’s team as I scooped Rhea into my arms, her blood leaving a trail across the warehouse floor.

The chains fell away under my claws, metal no match for desperate strength.

She curled into me, face pressed against my chest, small sounds of pain escaping with each breath.

The twins. Our children. The thought of losing them after everything we’d survived made my wolf howl with rage I couldn’t voice.

“Ren’s got the car running,” Carlton shouted, already coordinating our exit. “Medical’s been alerted.”

I burst through the warehouse door into blinding daylight. Ren had the SUV positioned perfectly, engine roaring, back door already open. His eyes widened at the blood on Rhea’s legs but he said nothing, just gunned it the moment I was inside with her.

“Drive faster,” I snarled, cradling Rhea against me as Ren took corners at dangerous speeds.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, though her face was paper white. “The babies are moving. That’s good, right?”

“Don’t talk. Save your strength.” I pressed my hand over hers on her belly, feeling the flutter of movement beneath. Still there. Still alive. But the blood...

The fifteen-minute drive took eight. Ren drove like a man possessed, running red lights, mounting curbs, scattering pedestrians.

Carlton called ahead from another vehicle, ensuring Dr. Mira was ready.

By the time we screeched to a halt at the medical center’s emergency entrance, a full team waited with a gurney.

“No,” I growled when they tried to take her from me. “I carry her.”

Dr. Mira appeared, gray hair pulled back, already in scrubs. “Alpha Kildare, I need you to let my team work.”

“I’m not leaving her.”

“Then follow quickly and stay out of the way.” She was already moving, shouting orders. “Get me an ultrasound, fetal monitoring, full blood work. This is a twenty-four-week twin pregnancy, possible placental abruption.”

The medical terms meant nothing and everything. I followed the gurney through halls that blurred together, Rhea’s hand gripping mine with surprising strength. Staff scattered from our path, recognizing an alpha on the edge of violence.

“Damon,” Rhea’s voice was stronger now. “Your mother. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. Not now.” I couldn’t process Lucinda’s death, couldn’t think about birthrights and lies while my entire future bled in my arms.

Dr. Mira’s exam room was chaotic. Machines appeared from nowhere, IVs started, monitors attached. I stood frozen as they cut away her clothes, revealing the full extent of the blood. Too much. Far too much.

“Alpha, I need you to step back,” Dr. Mira said firmly, hands already moving over Rhea’s belly.

“I’m staying.”

“Then be silent and still.” The ultrasound wand moved across Rhea’s skin, gel mixing with blood. The screen flickered to life, showing shadows and movement I couldn’t interpret. Dr. Mira’s face remained neutral, professional, but I caught the slight relaxation in her shoulders.

“There.” She pointed to the screen. “Two heartbeats, both strong. See? They’re moving normally.”

The sound filled the room. Rapid, steady, alive. My knees nearly buckled with relief.

“But the blood?” I managed.

“Stress-induced spotting, complicated by whatever drugs were used on her.” Dr. Mira continued her examination, thorough but gentle. “The placenta is intact, no signs of abruption. But this was close. Too close.”

“So they’re okay?” Rhea’s voice was small, hopeful.

“They’re fighters, like their parents.” Dr. Mira offered a small smile. “But you need complete rest. No stress, no activity, nothing but eating and sleeping for at least a week. These babies are growing fast, and your body needs time to recover from today’s trauma.”

“A week?” I’d been expecting months, years, forever if it kept them safe.

“Minimum. We’ll monitor daily, but if she follows orders, there’s no reason to expect further complications.” She fixed me with a stern look. “That means no pack business near her, no stressful conversations, nothing that raises her heart rate. Can you manage that, Alpha?”

“Yes.” I’d tear apart anyone who tried to bring pack drama near her.

“Good. We’ll keep her overnight for observation, then strict bed rest at home.” Dr. Mira squeezed Rhea’s shoulder gently. “You’ve been through hell, but you’re stronger than you know. These babies chose the right mother.”

The medical team gradually dispersed, leaving us in relative quiet. Machines beeped steadily, monitoring three heartbeats that meant everything. I collapsed into the chair beside her bed, suddenly exhausted as adrenaline faded.

“Hey,” Rhea said softly, reaching for me.

I caught her hand, bringing it to my lips. “I thought I’d lost you. When I woke up and you were gone...”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. None of this was your fault.” I moved to sit on the bed’s edge, careful not to disturb the monitors. “Lucinda, she... God, Rhea, I don’t even know how to process what she told me.”

“That you were born first? That she lied about your age all these years?”

“That she killed my mother. That she raised me to hate myself.” The words tasted like ash. “Everything I believed about my family, my place, it was all lies.”

Rhea tugged me down until I was lying beside her, my head on her shoulder. “Not everything. Laziel was still your brother. Your father still loved you, even if he couldn’t show it properly. And you became the alpha you were meant to be, despite her poison.”

“I nearly became her.” The admission hurt. “Cold, calculating, rejecting my mate for politics.”

“But you didn’t.” Her fingers combed through my hair, soothing. “You chose truth over comfort. You chose me over your throne. You’re nothing like her.”

“I banished you. Marked you as murderer. If Carlton hadn’t found that evidence...”

“You were grieving. Manipulated. She orchestrated all of it, Damon.” Rhea tilted my face up to meet her eyes. “The important thing is you did investigate. You did seek truth. And when you found it, you didn’t hide from it.”

“How can you forgive so easily?”

“Because I love you, you stubborn Alpha.” She smiled, the first real smile I’d seen in hours. “And because holding onto anger would hurt our children. They deserve parents who choose love over bitterness.”

“Like my mother couldn’t.” The parallel was too obvious to miss.

“Exactly. She let hatred poison her entire life, turned her into someone capable of murdering an innocent woman, of emotionally torturing a child. We won’t be that.

” Her hand moved to her belly, where our twins rested safely.

“We’ll tell them the truth, all of it, when they’re old enough.

About their grandmother Serena who died bringing their father into the world.

About how love is stronger than hate, even when it’s harder. ”

I pressed my palm over hers, feeling the movement beneath. “They’ll know they were wanted. Both of them, equally.”

“No falsified birth records,” she agreed with dark humor. “No favorites based on birth order.”

“No cold silences or calculated cruelty.” I kissed her softly, tasting hope. “Just love. Probably too much of it.”

“Never too much.” She yawned, the day’s trauma finally catching up. “Will you stay?”

“Try to make me leave.” I carefully arranged myself around her and the monitors, protective even in rest. “Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake.”

“And tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we go home. Carlton will have everything ready, the softest bed, the best food, anything you need.” I stroked her hair as her eyes grew heavy. “A week of rest, then we start preparing for these little warriors.”

“Mmm. Damon?”

“Yes?”

“Your mother was wrong. I’m not going to destroy you.” Her words slurred with approaching sleep. “We’re going to build something better from the ashes she left behind.”

I held her as she drifted off, monitors singing their steady lullabies.

Outside the door, I could hear Carlton organizing security, Ren probably pacing the halls, the pack machine moving to protect their queen.

But inside this room, there was only peace.

My mate safe, my children alive, the truth finally exposed after decades of lies.

Lucinda was gone, taking her poison with her.

In her place, we’d build something new. A family based on truth, a pack led with honor, a future where omegas and alphas were valued equally.

It wouldn’t be easy. The coming weeks would bring challenges as the pack absorbed today’s revelations. But we’d face them together.

“Sleep well, my loves,” I whispered to all three of them. “Tomorrow, we start healing.”