"What?" Violet blurted out in her head, alerting Asher and Alaric immediately. They stirred through the bond.

"Violet? What is going on in there? Should we come in?" Alaric asked, urgency clear in his voice.

Asher snarled in her head. "If that thing that returned as your mother lays a hand on you, I’m going to murder her."

Violet didn’t answer, dumbfounded.

She said to her mother, "How did you know that?"

Seraphira gave her a long-suffering look. "Have you forgotten I see auras? And right now..." Her purple eyes glowed faintly, focused on Violet’s stomach. "There’s a tiny blotch of aura in your belly that wasn’t there before. If that isn’t pregnancy, then tell me, did you swallow a soul?" she finished sarcastically.

"But how?" The words fell from Violet’s lips as if she didn’t know how a baby was made. Unfortunately, Violet Purple was in a state of massive shock.

"I assume you’re trying to ask how it is possible for a baby to form so quickly," Seraphira continued. "Unlike Fae, who have longer gestation periods, often lasting over a year, wolves are the opposite. Their pregnancies typically last between four months, due to their accelerated growth."

She chuckled softly, as if recalling a distant memory. "I carried you for six months, if I remember correctly. Likely because I am Fae and you are a hybrid."

"Oh shit," Violet muttered again through the bond as the information sank in.

"Violet!" Asher’s voice boomed in her head. "Answer me! What is going on in there!"

Finally, Violet said the life-altering words, her voice almost flat.

"My mother thinks I’m pregnant."

The bond went completely silent.

"Asher?" Violet called out, her face tightening.

"Asher, what is—"

In the next second, the door to the queen’s chambers slammed open so hard it nearly came off its hinges. At the doorway stood Asher and Alaric, both wearing expressions of pure disbelief.

In a blink, Asher was already in front of her, his hands on her arms, scanning her body, his gaze lingering on her stomach.

Then his eyes lifted to hers.

"Is it—" he started, but couldn’t finish.

They had just come out of their mating frenzy. There was no way. Except... there was. Werewolf pregnancies were not normal.

His heart pounded violently in his chest, thoughts racing faster than he could control. It couldn’t be—but it could be. And even if it wasn’t his, it didn’t matter. The child would be theirs. All of theirs. That was what their bond meant.

He would love Alaric’s child as his own, just as Alaric would do the same for his.

Violet nodded slowly, still trying to process it herself.

"I think it’s yours," she said. "My mother can see the life in my belly."

Asher took a startled step back, his expression wide with shock, his entire body going still as the weight of her words settled in.

For a brief, ridiculous moment, Violet had the absurd thought that he might refuse it. That he might look at her and see a mistake. They were young after all. She was still in her final year of high school, and now she was supposed to carry a child that could arrive in four—six months at most if her mother was right about hybrid pregnancies. Her future—their future—had just shifted in a way she hadn’t planned for.

Oh fuck. Nancy was going to lose her mind. Violet almost laughed hysterically at the thought. She was pregnant at the same time as her own mother. This was not how she imagined any of this happening.

Then Asher lifted a hand to his mouth, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Come here," he said hoarsely, and before she could react, he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her so tightly it knocked the breath from her lungs.

"We made a baby," Asher whispered against her hair, his voice breaking.

"We fucking made a baby." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head this time, lingering there like he needed to ground himself, to feel her.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his gaze dropping instinctively to her stomach, as if he could somehow see it.

"I’m going to be a father," he said, barely above a breath.

The realization hit him again, harder.

"I’m going to be a father."

The tears came harder, spilling freely down his face as he let out a shaky laugh, overwhelmed.

"Thank you, Violet," he murmured, pulling her back into him, holding her like she might slip away if he loosened his grip. "Thank you so much." Asher buried his face into her hair, his shoulders trembling as he wept.

Violet stood there for a second, stunned. She had prepared for his hesitation and regret, not this.

It took Violet a moment to understand that Asher wasn’t breaking down because she had ruined something, but because, to him, this was everything. That he wasn’t losing anything, instead was gaining something.

Slowly, Violet’s arms came up around him, tightening as she leaned into him, holding him just as tightly, as if anchoring herself in the moment.

At the corner of the room, Alaric sniffed quietly, dragging a hand across his face as he blinked away the moisture in his eyes. Their mate was pregnant. The thought alone hit deeper than he expected.

He wanted to go to her, and pull her into his arms too, to be part of that moment, but he held himself back. This belonged to Asher and Violet right now. He would have his moment later.

Still, he couldn’t help the warmth that spread through his chest as he watched them. Asher had been alone for so long, carrying so much within himself. Seeing him like this—open, overwhelmed, filled with a feeling so pure—it felt like a gift.

And maybe it was.

Alaric wasn’t one to speak of fate or divine will, but even he could see the pattern. Violet hadn’t conceived during the others’ mating haze. And then it happened with Asher. This was no coincidence, and certainly something more.

Either way, he knew one thing. Griffin and Roman were going to lose their minds when they heard.

However, while they were celebrating, Seraphira took a proper look at Violet and Asher, and that was when she discovered the shock of her life.

"No... you didn’t." She recoiled as if slapped.

Earlier in the hall, she had been distracted, but now she saw clearly the life bond between them.

"What have you done?" she demanded, horror written all over her face.

Violet pulled away from Asher, frowning. "What do you mean by that?"

Seraphira pointed at Asher, her hand trembling. "You bound your life to him?"

Oh. Violet stilled. So she finally saw it.

"I had no choice," Violet said. "He was dying. No—he died. It was a miracle I managed to bind us."

But Seraphira wasn’t moved.

"And of all the ways to save him, a life bond?" she snapped. "Or have you learned nothing from my mistake, Violet?"

Violet’s jaw tightened.

"That’s the thing," she said coldly. "I am not you, mother."

"What?" Seraphira’s voice rose in disbelief.

Violet met her gaze head-on. "Just because your mate bond with Angus failed doesn’t mean mine will. Angus was an anomaly to begin with, and you were unlucky to be bound to him. And Baron—" she scoffed, "—that was another terrible choice. So don’t project your fears onto me. It won’t happen. My fate is not yours."

For a moment, the room fell silent. Mother and daughter stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

"Fine," Seraphira sneered. "You know best. Your mother is a testament to failure, after all."

Violet’s brows furrowed. "I didn’t say that."

"Then what was that about Angus and Baron?" Seraphira shot back. "Or are you simply rubbing your perfect bond in my face now?"

Violet exhaled sharply, frustration rising. "I’m only saying you were unlucky—"

She stopped and shook her head.

"No, you know what? I’m done." She lifted her hand, cutting herself off. "It’s one thing to have abandoned me all these years, but being jealous of me? That’s a whole different level of madness."

Her voice dropped, sharp and final.

"I’m leaving this realm first thing tomorrow morning."

"Good!" Seraphira snapped. "Leave then! After all, what is there to learn from your failure of a Fae mother?"

Violet shook her head slowly, disappointment settling deep in her chest.

To think she had believed coming here and getting to know her biological mother, would be everything she had ever wanted.

Instead, it was a disaster. At least she and Asher were bonded now. That was something.

"Let’s go," Violet said to her men.

She turned to leave but Asher caught her hand, stopping her.

Violet glanced back at him, confused.

Asher didn’t look at her. He looked at Seraphira with a hardened expression.

"This is the last time Violet is giving you a chance," he said. "Once we leave this realm, I don’t want your toxicity anywhere near her, or my child."