The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Fake Pregnancy Chapter 07

The Alpha Who Threw Me Away for a Fake Pregnancy Chapter 07: The Crumbling Land

“The eastern riverbed dried up yesterday,” Kael stated.

He stood beside the massive digital map dominating the intelligence room wall. The glowing blue grid flickered, highlighting several jagged red zones across the northern territory.

“And the southern aquifers?” I asked. I leaned back in the high-backed leather chair, resting my elbows on the armrests.

“Gone. Mud and cracked stone.” Kael tapped a command into the console. The map zoomed in on the Hale pack lands. “The crop yield is already failing. The soil is turning to ash.”

“It’s only been two days.”

“A Royal’s presence is the lifeblood of a territory. Your aura fed the earth for five years. The moment you crossed that yellow line, you took the pack’s vitality with you.”

I stared at the shrinking borders on the screen. “Caleb always boasted his Alpha blood was the reason the harvests were so rich.”

“He is a fool.”

“He is panicking,” Kael said. He stepped away from the monitors and approached the sleek obsidian desk. He dropped a thick parchment folder right in front of me. “He sent envoys to three neighboring packs this morning. All refused to grant him loans.”

“Because they smell a dying Alpha.”

“Because they fear the crown,” Kael corrected. “They don’t know who you are yet, but they know the Royal Guard extracted you. No sane Alpha will align with a man who angered the King.”

I reached out and opened the folder. The top sheet was a transcript of an intercepted communication link.

“Send water transports immediately,” I read aloud, my voice flat. “The western barrier is collapsing. Rogues breached the perimeter at dawn.’ He sounds desperate.”

“He is losing control of his council. The elders are demanding answers he doesn’t have.”

“He told them I was cursed. That I was the reason the pack couldn’t produce strong pups.”

“Now he has to explain why the rivers died the second the ‘cursed’ Omega left.”

I flipped to the next page. A formal document, bearing the royal crest at the top, stared back at me.

“What is this?” I asked, tapping the heavy paper.

“The applicant list for the Royal Banquet next week. He petitioned the court directly.”

“He wants an audience.”

“He wants a royal grant to save his dying soil. He claims his pack is suffering a temporary, unexplained drought.” Kael crossed his arms. “He is begging for royal funds.”

I stared at Caleb’s signature slashing across the bottom of the request. The exact same arrogant, sharp strokes he used to sign our severance decree.

“He plans to bring his new Luna,” Kael noted.

“Sienna.” I tested the name. It felt entirely hollow on my tongue. No sting. No burn. Just empty syllables. “Will she survive the trip in her delicate condition?”

Kael didn’t blink. “He listed her as an honored guest.”

I picked up the solid gold royal seal resting on the edge of the desk. The metal felt heavy, cold against my palm. I ran my thumb over the carved wolf insignia.

No rage flared in my chest. Two days ago, standing on that porch, the sight of her swollen belly made my stomach twist into knots. Now? I looked at his signature and my pulse never moved. Just the flat, unbothered calm of a hunter watching a snare snap shut.

“Deny him?” Kael asked.

“Approve it.”

Kael raised an eyebrow. A rare crack in his stoic armor. “You want him in the capital?”

“I want him in the throne room.” I gripped the seal tighter. “I want him standing on marble, surrounded by the highest Alphas in the realm, when he realizes exactly who he threw away.”

“He will demand you return to him.”

“Let him try.”

I pressed the gold seal into the red wax pad. I slammed it down onto Caleb’s application. The heavy thud echoed sharply off the steel walls.

“Done,” I said. I tossed the approved document back across the desk.

“The King will find this amusing,” Kael remarked, gathering the papers.

“The King wanted a weapon. He is getting one.”

“Will you address the court before the banquet?”

“No. Let the rumors spread. Let Caleb walk in blind.”

As Kael lifted the folder, a single piece of paper slid loose. It drifted down and settled on the black glass surface.

Not a pack document. A photocopy of a crumpled, stained receipt.

“My scouts intercepted a courier leaving the black market an hour ago,” Kael murmured. His ice-blue eyes locked onto mine.

I picked up the flimsy paper. The ink was smeared, but the itemized list was perfectly legible.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Read the ingredients.”

I scanned the typed lines. “*Wolfsbane extract. Phantom-root. Hormone synthesizers.*” I frowned, looking up at him. “This is highly illegal. It mimics an Alpha’s scent.”

“Keep reading.”

“*False-moon flower. Uterine expanders.*” I stopped. The words blurred for a fraction of a second before snapping sharply back into focus.

“A fake pregnancy potion,” I read aloud.

“Purchased three months ago,” Kael confirmed. “Delivered directly to the Hale pack house.”

I stared at the name printed at the bottom of the receipt.

*Buyer: Sienna.*