Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

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Some old, complicated grief moved through me, listening to her voice break apart like that–not quite forgiveness, but a kind of recognition, maybe, of a version of consequences I understood better than most people could.

“Welcome to the club,” I said, quieter now, some of my own anger softening into something more tired. “I did this completely alone for eight months, Marissa. No pack, no family nearby, no idea if I was even doing any of it right. It’s terrifying. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t.”

“How did you survive it?” Her voice was smaller now, something genuinely lost beneath the question.

“One day at a time,” I said. “And I stopped waiting for anyone else to fix it for me. That’s the only thing that actually worked.”

Silence stretched between us for a long moment, filled only by the fading sound of her baby’s cries settling into quiet on the other end.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me,” Marissa said eventually, her voice steadier now, some of the earlier fury replaced by something more subdued. “I know I don’t deserve that. I just-I don’t know who else to talk to right now. Everyone else in my life is either gone or actively working against me.”

“I’m not the person to call about that,” I said honestly, though without the sharpness from earlier in the conversation. “I can’t be your support system, Marissa. Not after everything. That’s not me being cruel, it’s just true. You broke something between us that I don’t think either of us can fix right now, maybe not ever.”

“I know.” Her voice cracked again, quieter this time. “I just needed to hear another voice that actually understood any of this, even for a minute.”

Иooked over at Willow, still sleeping soundly in her bassinet, and felt something in my chest settle into a strange, complicated resolve.

“Take care of your daughter,” I said finally. “Whatever else is falling apart around you, she didn’t ask for any of it. Make sure she knows that, whatever else you figure out.”

“I will.” A pause. “Evelyn-I really am sorry. For all of it. I don’t expect you to believe that, but I am.”

I didn’t have an answer ready for that, some old ache still sitting too close to the surface to offer anything resembling absolution. “Goodbye, Marissa.”

I ended the call before she could say anything else, setting the phone down on the blanket beside me, feeling strangely drained by the entire exchange in a way that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion.

Willow stirred slightly in her bassinet, a small, restless sound, and I reached over instinctively to soothe her back to sleep, my hand resting gently against her tiny back until her breathing evened back out.

I thought about Damon’s mother out there in some cabin miles away, gently walking a colicky newborn who wasn’t even her grandchild, showing more patience and care than I imagined she’d been shown in thirty years of marriage. I thought about my father-in-law’s threats rippling outward, touching everyone who dared to resist him, isolating each person just enough to make surrender feel inevitable.

And I thought, with a clarity that surprised me, that whatever happened next-whatever decision I eventually made about Damon, about the pack, about the life stretching out ahead of Willow and me–I didn’t want any part of it built on that same foundation of fear and forced compliance.

I looked down at Willow, sleeping peacefully now, entirely unaware of the storm still gathering somewhere

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Chapter 36

beyond the walls of this small hospital room, and made myself a quiet promise.

Whatever came next, it would be my choice. Not fear. Not pressure. Not anyone else’s ultimatum.

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