Chapter 173: The Trap She Sets.
Leonardo’s POV
I called Lena. She answered fast.
"Where are you?" I put it straight.
All was quiet at first. Then, someone talked in the back. A doctor.
I clenched my teeth.
"Are you at a hospital?" I asked, slower this time.
A pause. Then she said yes.
"Yes. I’m at your pack’s hospital."
My eyes got big. "You're where?"
"At your pack’s place,” she said it easy. Too easy.
I ran my hand through my hair, walking around as it hit me.
The pack’s place. The same spot where my dad, Alpha John was getting better. She knew that. Sure she did.
"You came here on a goal," I said to myself more than to her.
"I needed a check-up," she claimed, a tricky tone under her words.
"And it made sense to come here... where he’d be."
I shut my eyes, the stress building. She wasn’t here just for a check-up. She was making a move.
She was stepping deep into the pack’s business. Right by my dad.
And it hit the mark.
“Lena…” I got out quietly, feeling her play weigh on me.
“What are you doing?”
Her not speaking told me all.
She knew her game.
And if I didn’t step in, she’d use that baby to win it all.
Before I could say anything else, the line went dead.
I pulled the phone away from my ear, staring at the screen in disbelief. Then I brought it back again, calling her name.
“Lena?” I snapped. “Lena!”
Nothing.
“Shit!” I hissed, anger flaring hot in my chest.
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to think, trying not to lose it.
Then I shoved the phone into my pocket and turned on my heel, heading straight for the pack’s infirmary.
If she wanted to play this out in front of my father, then so be it.
But not without me there to shut it down.
Not this time.
The halls were a blur as I ran through the packhouse, each step louder than the last. My heart beat fast, from running and from the fear in my gut.
Lena was always steps ahead. She wasn't just at the infirmary by chance, she had a plan. She wanted people to see. She wanted him.
Alpha John.
If she showed off her pregnancy to him, playing the weak, soon-to-be Luna... I couldn't bear to think of the stress she'd try to put on him.
How she'd call it a hero's choice that I had to take.
I slammed the infirmary doors open. A pair of nurses looked up, shocked, but I kept moving.
"Where is she?" I asked them, speaking sharp and low.
"Exam room three," one nurse said, careful.
I nodded once and moved down the hall.
I had no plan. No trick. Just rage and guilt battling in my heart.
But whatever Lena thought she would do today…
I was going to stop it.
It had to end now.
Before it took all from me.
I got to exam room three and stopped for a bit outside, my hand just on the handle.
I could hear her voice float through the door sweet, high, too nice. The sort of voice folks use when they know others can hear them.
She was talking with the doctor like she fit right in. Like this was her group. Her spot.
I grit my teeth and pushed the door open.
She was on the exam table, one hand on her belly, legs crossed nice as if she was in a fancy photo.
The moment she saw me, there was no shock only a look of joy.
Like she had set a trap, and I walked straight into it.
Lena had a small smile.
“Well, well,” she said, her voice loud enough for any passing by to catch.
“Look who rushed here as soon as he knew I was around.”
I ignored the doctor who looked lost and stepped in, shutting the door.
“What are you doing here, Lena?” I asked quiet but sharp.
Her head tilted, a fake sweet curve on her lips.
“Calm down, Leonardo. Just here for a quick check,” she said, touching her belly too gently,
“You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your baby… right?”
I clenched my teeth, sure of her moves.
She had come here with a plan, my Pack's doc place, where Alpha John was getting better, where every warrior and nurse could see her.
See her smile. Touch her belly. Watch me follow her in.
She aimed for whispers. For doubt. For them all to ponder her link to me again.
And worse, what she could turn into.
As Lena’s smile grew, watching my anger rise.
“I thought,” she spoke easy, “if I’m to be a part of this group’s future, I should start being seen.”
I stared at her, ready to burst.
She was in for a risky play.
I would not let her win.
"You will not join our Pack, Lena."
The words flew from me, sharp, mad, full of the truth I had held in too long.
Her eyes shot my way, icy and sharp, but she did not back down. She just took her coat, fixing it on her like she had lots of time.
"You think so, Leonardo?" she asked smoothly.
Her smirk was smug. "From where I stand, looks like the pack is starting to question things."
She stepped closer, slow and sure.
"They saw me come in. Pregnant. Alone. Vulnerable. Then they saw you follow."
She let the silence hang. "What do you think they'll believe?"
I held my ground.
"They'll know the truth."
Her grin widened. "Oh, honey," she hissed.
"The truth is what I twist it to be."
I stepped forward, voice like steel.
"You think getting pregnant gives you power. That you can force me or my father into making you Luna."
Her smirk faltered.
"But let me be clear: I’m not becoming Alpha. And even if I did, you would never be Luna."
Her eyes narrowed, the cracks showing.
"I will never marry you, Lena. Not now. Not ever."
Her jaw tightened.
"You’re not Luna material. You’re a manipulative, selfish opportunist who thinks a baby erases your ambition."
She tensed. Breathing harder. I struck a nerve.
"They’ll never respect you. They see through you. Just like I do."
For a second, she looked shaken. Then her mask snapped back into place.
"Leonardo," she purred, voice like poison.
"You really think saying that changes anything?
You think you can stop me?"
She stepped closer.
"You think I played this long just to quit now?"
She scoffed.
"If I don’t become Luna, I’ll burn this pack to the ground.
And I’ll start with your father."
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