Chapter 19

(Julia’s POV)

My charged conversation with Ronan couldn’t have come at a worse time. I was exhausted, and felt lonely. Add to that the physical effects of the pregnancy, as well as the work the merger required, and I was in a low place.

The merger negotiations were in their most critical phase, and the stress of getting everything perfect was taking a toll on me. I had started getting dizzy and losing my balance again, and my wolf was weakening with every day that passed.

Ronan’s continued distance from me just made things worse. He avoided me at the office as much as possible, not even meeting my eye during meetings we both attended, and was still not talking to me at home.

I hated how much I minded his absence. One touch from him would soothe my constantly-racing heart and settle my stomach, full of nerves about the deal. I needed him, and it hurt that he didn’t seem to need me back.

I was having a bad day, full of dizzy spells, but I had to push through. Today was the most important meeting of the entire process, where I and the other pack officials would hammer out the details of our partnership with Pack Theta.

I was Acting Beta and I was in charge of this merger. I couldn’t call out sick. I had to push through, especially because the merger’s details weren’t the only thing that were on the line. Since this was the most important conversation about the merger, it was open to observers, which meant most of PackHouse would probably be there to watch.

I pushed open the door to the meeting room, and tried not to look nervous. The room was full of people. I even spotted Sandy near the back, Kevin hanging off of her arm. Normally, that would have thrown me, but I was concentrating so hard on not fainting or throwing up that it hardly phased me.

To my surprise, the meeting went off without a hitch. I shared all the important facts and figures in a detailed presentation, and Pack Theta gave their own presentation that answered any lingering questions I had had.

By the time the break came up, though, I was struggling. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I took deep breaths, trying to keep myself from throwing up all over the conference table. As soon as the break was called, I bolted down the hall and to the bathroom.

I threw up the few bits of food I had managed to get down before the meeting, my nerves turning my stomach into knots. I cleaned myself up and pushed open the bathroom door, ready for Round 2.

“Julia?” I stopped short at the sight of Ronan standing outside the bathroom, eyebrows furrowed in what I now recognized as concern. “What’s wrong? You ran out of there so fast, I thought — are you alright?”

It was like my body had been waiting for his presence before it decided to break down. My knees buckled and I stumbled a bit. Ronan shot forward, his arm coming up to steady me, but I pushed him off.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate, sir,” I said coldly. “You’re my superior and I’m your Beta, remember? We should maintain the proper distance while in the office.” Ronan’s face looked like a thunderstorm.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Alex chose that moment to appear at his side. “The break is almost over,” he said quietly, looking quickly between Ronan and me. “Round two is about to begin. We’d better get back.”

The rest of the meeting went well. Both packs took questions, and I was proud of both myself and my team as we fielded them with ease. Pack Theta also performed admirably, and I found myself impressed with Ronan’s decision to merge with them.

Others might have overlooked Pack Theta, but Ronan was wise enough to see the potential they had, and how well they would work with our pack.

After both the packs’ presentations, the only thing we really had left to do was sign the paperwork, which we did quickly. I let out a sigh of relief that the merger was finally done. Now, all I had to focus on was the baby.

“Congratulations, Julia.” Robert, Pack Theta’s representative in the merger, shook my hand, smiling warmly. “You pulled off a tricky merger in a short amount of time and made it all look easy.”

“It was a team effort,” I replied, gesturing towards the rest of the room. He just laughed. “You’re being modest. You were the one answering my questions, day and night, and never once asked me to call back during business hours.” I laughed, too. “Well, the grind never stops, and I ju—”

“Oh, save it.” I looked in horror at Sandy, who had wormed her way to the front of the room and was now sneering at me. The room went quiet at her words, and everyone was watching us.

“You’re so fake, Julia,” she said. “I mean, you sit there and pretend you’re the perfect employee, when really, you’re damaging PackHouse’s reputation with your behavior. Cheating on your mate is just the tip of the iceberg.”

I took a deep breath, trying to maintain a little bit of professionalism, even in the face of this public assault. “What happens in my private life has no bearing on how I conduct myself in the workplace, or on how I perform my professional duties.”

I prayed that was a good enough answer to keep Sandy from saying anything else. There was no good way for me to explain what was happening between me and Ronan, and I didn’t need it all to come out here, at this meeting.

I expected Sandy to give up, to step back with her tail between her legs like she had before. She had no proof of anything, and besides, she still didn’t know what was going on. All she knew was that I had a rich new boyfriend.

But instead, Sandy just smirked. “You know, I thought you’d say that,” she said, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket. “So I brought some proof of your scandalous behavior.” Even from a distance, I knew what it was: the confirmation slip of my most recent doctor's appointment, which would confirm that I was pregnant.

“Julia is pregnant, and has been since before the merger.” Sandy spoke louder, to make sure the whole room could hear her. “She hid it during the key leadership competition for Acting Beta, and during the process of the merger.

She looked around the room, then slammed the paper down on the table. “Julia is a liar and has been deceiving the leaders at PackHouse for her own gain. I demand that Ronan terminate her as Acting Beta, immediately.”