Chapter 160: 160 - the baby
160
~Lisa’s POV
The meeting finally ended. My hand ached from writing down every word, every decision, every correction the Alphas made. I didn’t even lift my head much, just focused on my duty, taking the minutes, recording everything, and not making mistakes. That was all I told myself.
When the last word was spoken and the room fell quiet, I closed my book gently and stood. My knees wobbled slightly from sitting for too long. I stretched them just a little under the table before stepping out from behind the chair.
I didn’t expect to feel eyes on me. Heavy eyes. Curious. Burning.
I glanced up and froze.
Three pairs of eyes. Rowan. Kael. Damon.
All staring at me. All with that same strange intensity.
I frowned lightly, clutching my book to my chest.
"What is it?" I asked softly. My voice trembled, though I tried to make it steady. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Rowan was the first to move. He pushed away from the wall where he had been standing and stepped closer, his shoulders tight, his jaw clenched.
"Do you even know who he is?" His tone was sharp, demanding, but something was trembling underneath it.
"Who?" I blinked, honestly confused.
"Thorne," Rowan said, lowering his voice like even the name was dangerous. "Alpha Thorne. The man you kept your head down from during the whole meeting. The one staring at you."
I shifted nervously, hugging the book tighter to my chest. "I... I don’t know him. I’ve never left this pack. How would I know?"
Kael scoffed from behind, his laugh sharp and bitter. He stepped forward, too, his eyes darker than usual.
"You don’t know him. Fine. But that doesn’t change the fact that he was staring at you the entire time."
I swallowed, my throat dry. "So what? Why does it matter if he looked at me or not?"
Kael’s eyes flared. His voice cut like a blade.
"Because no one should dare to lay their eyes on our mate. You’re ours alone. Not his. Not anyone’s."
I gasped quietly. My stomach twisted at his words, our mate. He said it so fiercely, like a warning, like a truth he believed with his entire soul.
Rowan’s jaw tightened. He added quickly, "Kael is right. Thorne or anyone else, it doesn’t matter. You’re ours. He has no right to look at you that way."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, too many emotions rushing at once. My hands trembled against the book. "I... I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I didn’t see him staring. I was busy writing. I didn’t even..." My words faded, my voice cracking.
Damon finally spoke. He had been quiet all this while, watching the tension grow like fire ready to burn the whole room. His voice was lower, calmer, but it carried jealousy, too.
"This shouldn’t turn into unnecessary drama."
Rowan turned sharply to him. "Drama? He was staring at her like..."
"Enough," Damon cut him off, his eyes firm. He stepped toward me, and for a second, the tension broke. His hand reached out and caught mine, warm and steady. "She doesn’t need this right now."
I looked up at him, surprised. His fingers wrapped around mine gently, but with a kind of claim that made my heart pound.
"Come," Damon said softly, almost too softly for the others to hear. "Let’s go."
I glanced between the three of them, confusion swimming in my chest. My lips parted, wanting to ask more questions, but Damon’s steady gaze pulled me in. Without thinking, I let him guide me, my hand still in his.
Behind us, Kael scoffed again, the sound bitter. Rowan muttered something under his breath, but I didn’t catch it.
I didn’t look back. My heart was too loud in my ears. My mind was too clouded.
Why did they even care?!
Damon led me gently to my room, his hand warm but firm around mine. The moment the door shut behind us, everything inside me exploded.
"Why does it feel like I’m being questioned about who I see and who I don’t?" I snapped, spinning around to face him. My voice shook with anger. "Why does it feel like I’m being watched, like every step I take, every breath I breathe, is under your control?"
Damon’s brows furrowed, but he didn’t let go of my hand.
"You’re exaggerating," he said quietly.
"I am not exaggerating!" I shouted, pulling my hand free. "Back there, the way Rowan and Kael looked at me, like I was guilty of something just because someone else dared to glance my way. Why? Why is it such a crime if Thorne looked at me?"
His lips pressed together, but he didn’t answer immediately. He just stood there, staring at me like he was trying to read the storm brewing inside me.
"You act like I belong to you," I continued, my voice breaking. "But I don’t. I don’t belong to any of you. I am nothing to the three of you. So why...why this jealousy, why this obsession?"
Damon’s expression shifted then. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Not mocking. Not cold. Almost... soft.
"That," he said slowly, "shows Rowan and Kael actually care for you."
"Care?" I scoffed, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. "That wasn’t care, Damon. That was control. That was possessiveness. That was them treating me like an object. Caring is different. Caring is freedom. Caring is trust. What they did, what you’re doing, is nothing close to caring."
He stepped closer. I wanted to step back, but my legs felt glued to the floor.
"You’re wrong," he murmured. "They are not monsters. You see their anger, their fire, and you mistake it for cruelty. But beneath that, there’s something real. Something strong."
I shook my head, biting down on my lip. My throat felt tight.
"No. You’re just trying to make excuses for them. You all want to control me. You want to cage me, and you’re dressing it up as ’care.’"
Damon closed the last bit of distance between us. I could feel the heat radiating from him, the quiet power in the way he stood so close.
"Stop yelling," he whispered, his voice suddenly soft. "It’s not good for the baby you’re carrying."
My heart stopped for a moment. The words pierced through me, sharper than any blade. My mouth went dry, and my hands dropped from my chest.
"The... baby?" I echoed, my voice trembling.
His eyes searched mine, his hand lifting to brush against my forehead gently. "Yes. The baby."
For a moment, the world tilted. My anger, my frustration, all of it tangled with a sudden wave of shock. My throat tightened, and my eyes stung as tears began to gather.