Chapter 4: Miracle or Mistake

Verena's POV

I practically flew back to the packhouse, my heart hammering with excitement and nervous energy. The pregnancy test results were folded in my pocket like a golden ticket—proof that something miraculous was happening, something that could change everything between Elijah and me.

The packhouse was buzzing with early morning activity. Pack members were heading to breakfast, starting their daily routines, living their normal lives while mine had just been turned completely upside down. I searched for Elijah's familiar scent, following it through the corridors like a bloodhound.

I found him in his office, bent over a stack of territorial agreements with Joshua at his side. They both looked up when I burst through the door without knocking.

"Verena," Joshua said, his tone carefully neutral. "You shouldn't be here without an appointment."

"I need to speak with Elijah," I said, ignoring the Beta completely. "Alone."

Elijah leaned back in his chair, studying me with those ice-blue eyes I'd once loved to get lost in. "We have nothing to discuss that Joshua can't hear."

"We have everything to discuss." I pulled the test results from my pocket, my hands trembling with anticipation. "Elijah, I'm pregnant."

The silence that followed was deafening. Joshua's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, while Elijah's expression remained perfectly blank.

"Congratulations," Elijah said finally, his voice flat. "Who's the father?"

The question hit me like a slap. "You are."

"That's impossible."

"The blood test says otherwise." I thrust the papers toward him. "Dr. Williams confirmed it. Six weeks along."

Elijah didn't take the papers. Instead, he looked at Joshua, who was studying me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"You don't have a wolf," Joshua pointed out. "You can't carry a werewolf's child."

"Dr. Williams thinks I might be a late bloomer," I explained eagerly. "That the pregnancy itself could trigger my transformation. It explains everything—the nausea, the dizziness, all the symptoms I've been having."

"Or," Joshua said slowly, "it explains why you've been sneaking around the border. Meeting with rogues, maybe?"

The accusation was like ice water in my veins. "I haven't been meeting with anyone. I haven't been to the border except for the times you claim to have photographed me there."

"The timeline fits," Joshua continued, pulling out his phone. "Six weeks ago, you were acting strange. Secretive. Leaving the packhouse at odd hours."

"I was planning our anniversary dinner!" I turned to Elijah desperately. "You know I was. I spent weeks organizing everything, coordinating with the catering staff—"

"Show me the medical records," Elijah interrupted.

I handed over the test results with relief. Finally, he was listening. Finally, he was looking at actual evidence instead of Joshua's fabricated photos.

But as Elijah read the papers, his frown deepened. "These are from Pine Valley Medical Center."

"Yes, that's where Dr. Williams sent the blood work for confirmation."

"Pine Valley is in Shadow Den territory."

My blood went cold. "So?"

"So you drove two hours into enemy territory to get a pregnancy test?" Joshua's voice was full of skepticism. "Instead of using our perfectly good medical facility here?"

"Dr. Williams wanted a second opinion," I said weakly, but even I could hear how flimsy it sounded.

Elijah was already reaching for his phone. "I'm calling Pine Valley to verify these results."

"You don't believe me." The words came out as a whisper.

"I don't believe convenient miracles," he replied, dialing.

I watched his face as he spoke to someone at the medical center, my heart sinking with each passing second. His expression grew darker and darker until he finally hung up.

"They have no record of Verena Matthews ever being treated at their facility," he announced.

"That's impossible." I snatched the phone from his hand and redialed the number myself. When the receptionist answered, I gave them my name, my date of birth, every piece of identifying information I could think of.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we have no patient by that name in our system."

The phone slipped from my numb fingers. "I don't understand. Dr. Williams sent my blood there. I have the results right here."

"Forged," Joshua said matter-of-factly. "Probably picked them up when you were in Shadow Den territory. They're good at that kind of thing."

"Why would I forge pregnancy test results?" My voice was getting higher, more desperate. "What would be the point?"

"To trap Elijah into staying with you," Joshua replied. "To guilt him into taking you back."

"That's not—" I looked at Elijah, searching his face for any sign that he didn't believe this insane theory. "Elijah, you know me. You know I wouldn't lie about something like this."

But his expression was closed off, shuttered. The man I'd fallen in love with, the man I'd married, might as well have been a stranger.

"The evidence suggests otherwise," he said quietly.

"What evidence?" I was screaming now, past caring about dignity or composure. "Fake photos and missing medical records? That's what you're basing this on?"

"That and your history of deception," Joshua added helpfully.

"My history of—" I spun to face him, fury making my vision blur. "I have never lied to either of you about anything!"

"Then explain the forged pregnancy test."

"I can't explain it because I didn't forge it!" I turned back to Elijah, tears streaming down my face. "Please. Call Dr. Williams. He'll confirm everything."

Elijah studied me for a long moment, and I thought—hoped—that maybe he was starting to see reason. Then he picked up his phone again.

"Dr. Williams? It's Elijah... Yes, I need to ask you about Verena's recent medical tests... What? No record of any pregnancy test?... I see. Thank you."

He hung up and looked at me with something like pity. "Dr. Williams says he never ran any pregnancy tests. He treated you for a concussion last night, nothing more."

The room spun around me. This couldn't be happening. I had the test results in my hand, physical proof of what I'd been told just hours ago. But somehow, every trace of evidence was disappearing.

"Someone's covering this up," I said weakly.

"Or someone's lying," Joshua countered.

"If you don't sign a statement denying these false pregnancy claims," Elijah said, standing up, "I'll have you imprisoned for fraud and conspiracy."

"Conspiracy with whom?" I demanded.

"Shadow Den pack. Your new allies."

The accusation was so absurd it took my breath away. Shadow Den was Iron Claw's oldest enemy. They'd been trying to undermine Elijah's authority for years. The idea that I would work with them was...

Actually, from their perspective, maybe it wasn't so absurd. A Luna who could feed them inside information, who could weaken their Alpha from within. If someone wanted to frame me, allying me with Shadow Den would be the perfect way to destroy any credibility I had left.

"I've never had contact with Shadow Den," I said, but my voice lacked conviction now.

"Sign the statement," Elijah repeated. "Admit that you fabricated the pregnancy test to manipulate me into staying married to you."

I looked down at the papers he was holding—a formal denial of pregnancy, an admission of fraud, a confession that would paint me as exactly the kind of manipulative woman Joshua had been suggesting I was.

If I signed it, this nightmare would be over. Elijah would stop looking at me like I was a stranger. The pack would stop treating me like a pariah. Maybe we could go back to being civil, even if we couldn't be mates.

But if I signed it, I'd also be admitting to lies I'd never told, crimes I'd never committed. I'd be saying that the tiny life I could feel growing inside me—because despite everything, I knew it was real—was nothing but a fabrication.

"I can't sign this," I whispered.

"Then you'll be arrested within the hour," Elijah said, his voice final.

I looked at him one last time, memorizing the face I'd loved for three years, trying to find any trace of the man who'd once promised to protect me from anything. But all I saw was an Alpha who'd already made up his mind about my guilt.

The test results were still in my hand, still proof of the miracle happening inside me. But as I stood there in Elijah's office, watching the man I loved prepare to have me arrested for fraud, I realized that sometimes miracles weren't enough.

Everything is done.

"I'm calling Dr. Williams myself," I said, grabbing Elijah's desk phone before he could stop me. "Right now. In front of both of you."

My fingers shook as I dialed the medical center's number. Dr. Williams answered on the second ring.

"Dr. Williams, it's Verena. I need you to tell Alpha Elijah about my pregnancy test results from this morning."