Rejected and Pregnant I Fled The Pack novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Damon pov

Evelyn’s apartment sat above the diner, up a narrow staircase at the back of the building, and when she finally let me carry the last of the bags up behind her-Willow secure in her arms, still swaddled from the discharge nurses’ careful instructions-I found myself standing in the doorway, genuinely stunned by what she’d built

It wasn’t large. A single main room that served as both living space and kitchen, a small bedroom visible through an open door, everything scaled down and practical in a way that spoke of careful budgeting and hard-won independence. But it was warm. Genuinely warm, in a way I hadn’t expected-soft yellow light from a lamp in the corner, a well-worn armchair positioned near the window with a blanket draped over the arm, framed photos didn’t recognize scattered across a small bookshelf, evidence of an entire life she’d built completely without me.

“You did all this yourself,” I said, setting the bags down carefully near the small kitchen table, looking around a everything with something between admiration and quiet grief for all the months I’d missed.

“Most of it,” Evelyn said, settling carefully onto the armchair with Willow, still moving gingerly from the birth.” Pete helped with the heavier furniture. Josie helped me pick out curtains, since apparently I have terrible taste in color coordination.”

I found myself smiling despite everything, looking around the small space again, at the genuine, hard-earned life she’d carved out of nothing. “It’s beautiful, Evelyn. I mean that.”

She glanced up at me, something complicated behind her eyes-not quite warmth, but not the guarded distance from the hospital either. Something in between, cautious but not entirely closed off.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, adjusting Willow gently against her shoulder. “It’s not much, but it’s mine.”

I sat down slowly on the small couch across from her, still taking in the space, trying to imagine the months of exhausting work it must have taken to build all of this from nothing, entirely alone, while also carrying Willow the whole time. Something in my chest ached with the weight of exactly how much I’d made her face without me.

My phone rang before I could say anything else, cutting through the quiet, and I glanced at the screen to see Callum’s name,

“I need to take this,” I said, standing carefully and moving toward the small kitchen area for a bit of privacy, though the apartment was small enough that true privacy wasn’t really possible.

“Alpha.” Callum’s voice came through tight, clearly upset, none of his usual measured calm present. “You need to hear this directly from me before you hear it secondhand.”

“What happened.”

“Your father called an emergency council session. Two days from now. He’s petitioning to have you formally declared unfit for succession unless Evelyn and the child return to pack lands before then. He’s also renewing his push to have your mother and Marissa’s situations addressed ‘appropriately,’ as he’s putting it.”

Cold dread settled into my stomach. “He can’t just unilaterally call something like that.’ Council sessions require–

“He’s citing the pack stability clause,” Callum cut in. “Says the extended instability justifies an emergency session outside normal procedure. Half the council is going along with it because they’re scared to openly oppose him. The other half-” he hesitated. “The other half seem genuinely convinced there’s real cause for concern. That an heir raised outside pack structure, born to a mother who fled, represents an actual threat to succession stability.”

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I closed my eyes, feeling the full weight of exactly what my father was doing settle over me. Not just pressure through phone calls and enforcers anymore-an actual formal mechanism, dressed up in enough legitimate- sounding procedure that even wolves who might otherwise hesitate to support him could convince themselves it was justified.

“What happens if the council rules against me,” I asked quietly, though some cold, certain part of me already suspected the answer.

“Depends on the specifics of the ruling. Worst case, they could strip your succession claim entirely, name a different heir, potentially even authorize enforcement to bring Willow back under pack custody regardless of what you or Evelyn want.” Callum’s voice was grim. “I don’t think it’ll go that far. Most of council still respects you individually, Damon, whatever they think of the situation. But I wanted you prepared for the worst possibility before you walked into that session blind.”

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