Chapter 30 Knox
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Knox
I sat in my office with Noah, reviewing the investigation into Mary’s pregnancy that had become my personal nightmare. Papers spread across my desk, timelines, scent analyses, everything we’d gathered in the last few days while trying to figure out who the actual father was.
“The scent markers are strong,” Noah reported, tapping one of the documents. “Whoever the father is, he’s powerful. High-ranking. That narrows it down to what, two dozen wolves?”
“Less,” Noah said, leaning back in his chair. “Mary’s vain. She wouldn’t sleep with anyone she considers beneath her. No low-ranking wolves, no one poor, no one she finds unattractive.”
“So we’re looking at council members, visiting Alphas, maybe.
..” I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building.
This whole situation was a disaster. Mary’s announcement had trapped me perfectly.
If I’d denied it publicly, she would have exposed Lina and the twins.
If I went along with it, I’d lose them anyway.
“There’s more,” Noah interrupted my spiral. “Alderic’s been leaving pack territory at night. Three times this week. Always returns before dawn, always smells like he’s been running hard.”
I straightened in my chair. “Covering his tracks?”
“Or meeting someone. I’ll follow him tonight.”
We were narrowing down suspects, building our case piece by piece. Once we had proof of who the real father was, I could expose Mary’s lie without risking my family. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was all I had.
My phone rang, Hunt’s name flashing on the screen. I almost didn’t answer, too focused on solving this crisis before it exploded in my face. But instinct made me pick up.
“Lina’s been injured. She’s bleeding. Fuck, Knox, she...” Hunt’s voice was pure panic, words tumbling over each other.
I shot to my feet, the chair crashing backward. “What happened?”
“Mary. Claws to the ribs. She’s conscious but-”
Through the phone, small voices that made my heart stop: “Please, please, is Mama going to be alright?”
Thea. My baby girl, terrified.
Then softer, broken: “Daddy...”
Rowan. My son, trying to be strong but scared.
“Is that Daddy?” Thea’s voice got louder, closer to the phone. “Mama is hurt, please come!”
My pups were there with my injured mate, calling for me. Begging for me. And Mary had done this. Mary had dared to touch what was mine.
“Five minutes,” I snarled, already moving toward the door, my body beginning to shift.
“Knox-” Noah started, but I was already gone, bones cracking and reshaping as I let the wolf take over completely.
“I’ll handle things here. Go!” Noah shouted after me, but I barely heard him over the roar of blood in my ears.
Four legs were faster than two. I tore through the pack grounds, not caring who saw, not caring about anything except getting to them.
Mary’s scent lingered in the air, mixed with Lina’s blood, and my wolf wanted violence.
Wanted to hunt her down and show her what happened to anyone who hurt our family.
But first, Lina. First, making sure she was okay.
I burst through Noah’s door, barely managing to shift back to human form before entering.
Lina sat on the couch, Hunt pressing bloodied towels to her ribs.
She was conscious, alert, but her expression stopped me cold.
Fury and betrayal radiated from her, the kind that had nothing to do with physical pain.
“Take the children upstairs,” she said, voice deadly quiet.
Hunt looked between us nervously, clearly sensing the storm about to break. “Lina, maybe you should let Knox look at-”
“Now, Hunt.” Her tone left no room for argument.
Hunt gathered the twins quickly, ushering them toward the stairs with promises of stories and games. Thea kept looking back at me, tears still on her cheeks, while Rowan watched everything with those too-knowing gray eyes.
“But Mama needs-” Thea started.
“Your mama needs to talk to Knox alone,” Hunt said gently. “Come on, I’ll teach you that card trick I promised.”
The second their footsteps faded upstairs, Lina stood despite her injuries. Blood had soaked through her shirt, but she moved with the kind of determination that made injuries irrelevant.
“Basement. Now.”
I followed, dread building with each step. She was already pulling off my grandmother’s ring, the sapphire catching the light as she yanked it from her finger.
The moment the basement door closed, she whirled on me.
“You fucking liar.” The ring bounced off my chest as she threw it with surprising force. “You got her PREGNANT?”
“What? No! Lina-”
“Don’t you dare lie to me again!” Her voice rose, fury giving her strength. “She told me everything. The council meeting where you announced it, your heir, your upcoming wedding-”
Her voice cracked on the last word, and I saw it then. The devastation under the anger. The betrayal of trusting me again only to have it thrown in her face.
“I trusted you again and you played me for a fool!”
“The baby isn’t mine!” I caught her wrists as she swung at me, gentle despite her struggles. “I haven’t touched anyone since you. Not once in five years!”
She laughed, bitter and broken. “Right. Just like you were protecting me when you left?”
The comparison hit its mark. I had left her to protect her, and look how that turned out. Why would she believe me now?
“I am protecting you!” I still held her wrists carefully, feeling her pulse race under my fingers. “Mary announced the pregnancy at the council meeting before I could stop her. If I’d denied it publicly right then, she would have revealed you and the twins to everyone. Made you all targets!”
“So you just let everyone believe you’re having a baby with her?” The hurt in her voice was worse than the anger. “You let the whole pack think you’re marrying her while giving me your grandmother’s ring?”
“To buy time! Noah’s been investigating. We know the pup isn’t mine - the scent’s all wrong. We’re tracking down the real father.”
She wrenched free, the movement reopening her wounds. Fresh blood seeped through her shirt, and I had to fight every instinct to grab her, hold her still, make her let me help.
“Always deciding what’s best for me,” she said bitterly. “Always keeping me in the dark ‘for my own good.’ First you left to protect me, now you’re lying to protect me. When do I get a say in my own protection?”
“Lina, you’re bleeding-”
Her palm connected with my chest as she shoved me. I stumbled back a few steps, not from the force but from the shock. My wolf actually purred at her ferocity even as my heart broke at the pain causing it.
“I deserved that,” I said quietly.
“You deserve worse.” But she was swaying now, adrenaline fading. The enhanced healing could only do so much when she insisted on reopening the wounds.
I caught her as her knees buckled, pulling her against me despite her weak protests.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered against my chest, and the fight seemed to drain out of her. “I gave you another chance. I was starting to trust you again.”
“I was going to. I was trying to solve it first so you wouldn’t worry-”
“I’m not a child, Knox. I’m your partner. Your...” She paused, swallowing hard. “Or I was.”
The past tense cut deeper than any claw could. “You are. You always will be.”
I lifted her carefully, noting how she didn’t protest this time. The basement wasn’t the place for this conversation, not with her bleeding and both of us raw.
“Let me explain everything while I treat your wounds,” I said, heading for the stairs. “No more secrets. I swear. I’ll tell you everything about Mary, the investigation, all of it.”
She was quiet for a long moment, and I thought she might refuse. Then, grudgingly: “The ring’s under the stairs. Don’t lose it.”
My heart jumped at the words, hope blooming despite everything. “You’ll wear it again?”
“I’m still deciding.” But her arm tightened around my neck slightly, and I took that as progress.
I paused at the bottom of the stairs, spotting the sapphire glinting in the shadows. Carefully balancing Lina, I retrieved it, slipping it into my pocket.
“For what it’s worth,” I said as we climbed the stairs, “I really was trying to protect you. But you’re right. I should have told you. Should have let you decide how to handle it.”
“Yeah, you should have.” But some of the anger had faded from her voice, replaced by exhaustion. “I’m tired of secrets, Knox. Tired of being protected. I’m stronger than you think.”
“I know you are.” I pressed a kiss to her temple, grateful when she didn’t pull away. “That’s what terrifies me.”
We emerged from the basement to find Hunt hovering anxiously at the top of the stairs. “Kids are playing in their room. You okay?”
“We’re figuring it out,” Lina said before I could answer. “But Knox has some explaining to do.”
“Lots of explaining,” I agreed, carrying her to the couch. “Starting with why I’m going to skin Mary alive for touching you.”
“Get in line,” Lina muttered, then hissed as I peeled back her shirt to examine the wounds.
They were already healing, the enhanced abilities doing their job, but the sight of her blood still made my wolf rage. Mary would pay for this. But first, I had to fix what I’d broken with my silence.
“Start talking,” Lina demanded, settling back against the cushions. “And Knox? No more deciding what I can handle. I’m your equal or I’m nothing.”
“You’re everything,” I corrected, pulling out the first aid supplies. “And you’re right. No more secrets.”
I cleaned the wounds carefully while I talked, telling her everything.
How Mary had stood up at the council meeting before I could make my own announcement.
How she’d placed her hand on her stomach and declared she was carrying the Alpha’s heir.
How the room had erupted in congratulations while I sat frozen, calculating options.