Chapter 6

Isabella's POV

I stared at Gabriel, my mouth hanging open. "Your... pup? What are you talking about?"

My body instinctively shifted backward on the examination table, the paper crinkling beneath me. Gabriel's presence suddenly felt dangerous—predatory even. His green eyes seemed to possess an otherworldly intensity that made my skin prickle.

Gabriel's gaze turned to Sarah, who had already gone ghostly pale. "You used my sample to inseminate your friend." His voice was deep like a growl, each syllable carrying almost tangible anger.

Sarah shook her head vigorously, her fingers trembling on the ultrasound machine. "No! We used a surgeon's sample. You can check the records. It wasn't yours!"

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Gabriel snarled, the examination room suddenly filling with a sense of oppression, like the low pressure before a storm. "I can smell it. And you—" he turned to me, "—coming to my home to plead her case? You clearly knew this was my sample."

"Sarah had nothing to do with this," I said, finding my voice despite my trembling hands. "She didn't send me to your house. That was entirely my decision."

Sarah stared at the ultrasound screen, "Oh my God."

"What?" Panic rose in my chest. "What's wrong with my baby?"

"This fetus..." Sarah's voice was barely audible. "It's not... human."

The room seemed to tilt around me. "What do you mean not human? Of course it's human! What else could it be?"

"Stop pretending!" Gabriel's voice exploded in the small room. "This was all carefully orchestrated, wasn't it? Stealing my sample, the 'accidental' insemination—"

"I don't understand what's happening!" I shouted back, tears welling in my eyes. "Can someone explain what's going on with my baby?"

Sarah looked at me, her hands trembling as she set down the ultrasound wand. "Izzy, I signed confidentiality agreements when I started working here. Not just doctor-patient confidentiality... other secrets."

"What secrets?" I pressed.

"Gabriel is..." Sarah swallowed hard. "He's a werewolf."

I blinked, certain I had misheard. "He's what?"

"A werewolf," she repeated, eyes darting nervously toward Gabriel.

A hysterical laugh escaped my lips. "Are you serious? Werewolves don't exist. Why are you making up such ridiculous—"

"I didn't believe it either, until I started working here. Do you know why this supernatural reproductive center is so prestigious?" Sarah interrupted. "Half of our sperm bank contains werewolf samples, and actually, very few humans work here, only a select trusted few."

"You've lost your mind," I whispered, looking between her and Gabriel. "There's no such thing as—"

A low growl cut me off. I turned to Gabriel, and my words died in my throat.

His eyes—those piercing green eyes—were now glowing a brilliant gold.

"She's not crazy," he said, his voice deeper, rougher.

The room spun, darkness closing in from the edges of my vision. The last thing I remember was Sarah calling my name as I slipped away into unconsciousness.

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a couch in what looked like a private office. I thought I had just had a nightmare.

Then I saw Gabriel.

He stood across the room, hovering over a strange device that resembled an ultrasound machine but was different, emitting a soft blue light. He was studying something on the screen with intense concentration, occasionally making notes on a tablet.

My baby. He was examining my baby.

All the memories came flooding back—Gabriel bursting into the examination room, Sarah's revelation, his eyes glowing gold...

Gabriel's head suddenly snapped up. He turned to look at me. "You're awake."

I pushed myself up, immediately feeling dizzy. "I'm... I'm hallucinating. Or dreaming. This can't be real."

"It's very real," he said, setting the tablet down and approaching me. "All of it."

"The speed," I whispered, memories coming together. "When you saved Jack from that car. And when you said my scent was somewhat different... was it because you're a werewolf?"

His jaw tightened. "Yes."

"This is insane," I murmured, more to myself than to him. "Werewolves are fairy tales. Horror movies. They're not—"

"We've existed alongside humans for millennia," Gabriel interrupted. "We've just gotten better at hiding."

I stared at him, searching his face for any sign that this was some elaborate prank. "This doesn't make any sense. None of this explains how I'm pregnant with... with..."

"My child," he finished, his voice becoming serious. "Stop pretending to be innocent. This was all carefully planned, wasn't it? You thought you could trap a wealthy Alpha by stealing his sperm? Use the baby to extort money from me? I've had my people investigate you. I know about your debt."

The accusation felt like a slap. "Are you kidding me? We had no idea the sample was yours! I chose a surgeon's sperm!"

"Impossible. I can feel the connection. This is definitely my offspring."

"If werewolves really existed, people would know by now."

Seeing I still didn't believe him, Gabriel rolled his eyes, and his features began to change.

It wasn't the full-body transformation of horror films. Instead, his eyes glowed that brilliant gold again. His canines elongated into sharp points, and his fingernails extended into fierce claws. The change, though subtle, was terrifying in its reality.

"See now?" he asked, his voice rougher, almost a rumble.

"I need you to stay away from me," I whispered, pressing back against the couch.

"That's not going to happen," he said, the golden glow fading from his eyes as he returned to his human appearance. "You're carrying my child. In our world, children are very precious."

"Your world? What, is there some werewolf society I don't know about?"

Gabriel nodded. "We're organized into Packs across the country. You can think of them like counties or states in a larger kingdom."

"So there are kings and queens?" I asked, trying to understand this madness.

His eyes flickered with something I couldn't read. "Something like that," he said vaguely.

"But I'm human," I said, desperate to understand. "How could I possibly be pregnant with a... a werewolf baby? This doesn't make sense!"

Gabriel's brow furrowed. "I don't know. This is unprecedented. Humans becoming pregnant with werewolf children is extremely rare—almost mythical."

I pressed my palms against my temples. "I need time to think."

"What you need is to be practical. You're in debt. You have no job, no stable housing. Be reasonable and sign over custody of the child to me."

"No job because of you," I snapped. "You got me fired!"

"I did no such thing," he retorted. "Your own actions led to that."

"Right, because I dared to ask you not to ruin Sarah's career. I'm so terrible."

Gabriel's jaw clenched. "This isn't about Sarah anymore. This is about my child."

"Our child," I corrected him.

"A child you clearly can't support," he said coldly. "I know women like you. You see a wealthy man and dollar signs flash in your eyes. How much do you want? Monthly support? A lump sum payment?"

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. "You have no idea what I want. Do you know how long I've dreamed of becoming a mother? How I worked with children for years, loving them, caring for them, while hoping someday I'd have my own?"

My tears flowed uncontrollably. "After everything bad that's happened, do you know how difficult it was to even consider giving up this baby? Even when I had nothing left?"

Gabriel stared at me, his expression shifting from skepticism to something unreadable. He suddenly stood up, towering over me. "You were considering an abortion?"

The horror in his voice was unmistakable.