Chapter 37

Tyler POV

Moonrise Entertainment

"Your mate is pregnant."

I looked up from my laptop to raise a brow at my father. My assistant had been instructed to ensure I worked undisturbed, but John Wright was redirected by no one.

As the Alpha of Moonrise Pack, my father had more power than any other Alpha in the country. We had the largest population as well as the most resources at our disposal. I doubted anyone had ever told my father 'no' since he'd passed his eighteenth birthday.

"Yes," I agreed, "Rachel is pregnant."

"You didn't think it was worth mentioning to me? You have an heir growing in that bitch's belly and she's out having her picture taken with another Alpha? House Lewis could lay claim to the child if she becomes legally wed to that Nathan."

Werewolf laws regarding children were different than human laws. Rachel and I had never married in a human court which meant she couldn't appeal to the human legal system to intervene on her behalf either.

As Alpha to her omega, I had first claim to the child. I could claim the baby at his or her birth in order to utilize the child to continue on the Alpha line of House Wright. Rachel would have no say in the matter before the Alpha Council as she could not refute my parental rights based on any of our laws.

I had never abused her. I had provided for her throughout our entire mating. I had kept faithful to her in spite of never making our commitment to one another formal.

Wolfen law said I was the rightful father to the child and my claim would be strengthened by my obvious ability to provide a better quality of life for the child given my family fortunes alongside my regular income from Moonrise Entertainment.

Thinking of Nathan Lewis smiling as he held my mate's hand made my teeth sharpen in my mouth. I'd been avoiding thinking of him at all; I had not considered the threat he posed to my child as a result of my desire to remain unaffected.

My wolf, Wynd, was still sleeping which helped me maintain my calm. The fact my body showed any signs of shifting at all was comforting to me.

Technically, I could not shift without my wolf being awake.

My father would have been furious to learn I had alienated myself from my wolf with the loss of Rachel. He'd already had to change his line of inheritance from my brother William to me as a result of William becoming crippled with the loss of his ability to shift.

If I told him my wolf was gone from me, my father would have to start considering my sister Charlotte as his last chance to carry on House Wright's claim to the Alpha House of Moonrise Pack. Passing the Alpha seat to a female meant her mate would take the seat---not Charlotte herself.

If Charlotte were to be deemed the inheritor of the Alpha seat, my father would have to accept he'd failed to provide a male heir for his family line for the first time in five generations; my father would fight viciously to ensure that didn't happen.

"Has she learned the gender yet? If you're having a son, we need to file with the Alpha Council immediately. A prior bloodline claim will trump a rite of marriage contention."

"I don't believe she's carried long enough to learn the gender. How did you come to learn about this pregnancy? She hasn't gone public as far as I know."

My father snorted, rolling his eyes at me as if I were an ignorant boy again, "Our Rachel is being followed by photographers almost constantly now. Camelot Records announced she's doing a countrywide tour."

I watched my father pace my office with irritation clearly driving every step. His suit was as crisp as ever but his gait was stuttered and his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides. I hadn't seen him so visibly shaken since I had come to him to report finding my fated mate at LUST.

Father continued, "Every gossip rag in publication has been reporting on her dalliance with Nathan Lewis. I was told she was visiting an obstetrician by one of the more ambitious paparazzi. He sold me the information as he thought it might be of value to me. How do you think I felt having a human sell me information my son should have offered me freely?"

John Wright was not interested in being a grandfather. I had not intended to address my pending fatherhood with him until the child was born.

A living, breathing heir would have to be dealt with---a fetus was only a possibility, not a certainty.

"She's pregnant," I stated, "She hasn't delivered the child. Who's to say the pregnancy will come to term? She could lose the babe and then it would have been a waste of both our time to discuss it at all."

"She's a healthy, strong female. There's no reason to believe she'd fail to deliver safely. Do you want me to handle it? I can understand if you're not interested in the child. I wasn't interested in dealing with a child at your age either. I invested in a professional nursemaid. Saved my sanity."

I imagined the nanny had saved my stepmother's sanity more than John's because John would have had very little obligation to the child beyond providing financially.

Wolfen society didn't expect fathers to parent their young. Females were natural caregivers among our kind. I had been lucky to be born to a mother who was especially attentive. She'd never let me feel unwanted or as if I were anything less than the stars in her sky.

I felt another wave of pity for my older brother William as I realized he had probably never been loved the way I had.

His entire life likely revolved around being the heir to our house before he became crippled and he was shunted to the side while I was taken from my mother to assume the role his misfortune left absent.

"I haven't considered raising the child. As I said? The child doesn't need to be addressed before birth."

"Don't be an idiot," Father snapped at me, his hands fisted tightly at his sides as he glared at me, "You severed your bond with your fated mate. There's no guarantee you'll have a second chance mate. We could put our hopes on a potential heir from a mating I arrange, but there's no guarantee of breeding between an unmated pair. We aren't humans. We can't just procreate wildly."

I knew there was the possibility I would never have an heir without Rachel. My birth to an omega mother who was not my father's fated mate had been unusual. I still had trouble understanding why my parents had come together in the first place given the difference in their personalities and priorities.

"I'm proof it's possible to have a child outside the mate bond."

I watched my father as his glare diverted away from me with a shiftiness I found strange. What was he thinking? Was he ashamed he'd been weak enough to breed with a mistress? Or, more likely, was he ashamed he'd been caught fucking an omega rather than his Alpha wife?

I'd have bet my annual salary on the second being more likely.

"You can't hang your hopes on my---good fortune. I'll file the claim for the child tomorrow. Even if it is a female, there's still a chance for us to arrange a good match in the future."

Every muscle in my body tensed as I realized my father wasn't going to let this go. He was going to lay claim of bloodline to the child Rachel was carrying and it would kill her if we took the baby at birth.

"There's no need for that," I offered, projecting a confidence I didn't feel into my words, "I'm going to win Rachel back and there will be no need to claim the child as we will marry as soon as she returns to my side. I won't risk losing her again. Marriage will settle the issue of inheritance."

"What about a potential match for yourself? I've been working on your behalf for years now, you realize, yes?"

I stood up from the desk and closed my laptop. I wasn't even worried about work after this heart-to-heart with my father.

"I realize I couldn't offer anything more than a legal marriage with my wolf's loyalty to his mate. No female deserves a loveless, sexless marriage of alliance alone."

My father hesitated before nodding slowly. His hands relaxed as he seemed to accept the confidence I faked.

"Fine. You get her back and you marry her. I'll make my arrangements for William and we'll placate Nathan Lewis with Charlotte. She'll make him a fine Alpha wife. He'll surely be satisfied with her over Rachel."

Charlotte couldn't hold a candle to Rachel in terms of looks or personality, but she was an accomplished businesswoman.

Somehow I doubted Nathan Lewis would consider her a prize in comparison to Rachel, but he'd have to settle for my sister because he wasn't going to waltz off with my mate.

I was going to get Rachel back and my certainty was now backed with a new time crunch as I had to secure our mating before the birth of our child or else lose the little one to my father's ambition.