Chapter 254 Pregnant and poisoned

Chapter 254: Chapter 254 Pregnant and poisoned

_Rowena’s POV_

I sat on the bed in Alaric’s bedroom at the Ebon Moon packhouse, watching him pace back and forth across the room. He had his dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, his jaw clenched tight, and his shoulders tense as he walked from the window to the door over and over again.

"I do not like this, Rowena," Alaric said, stopping right in front of me. "Why do you need to go on a date with him? Why do you need to hang out with Kyle at all?"

I looked up into his eyes, keeping my posture relaxed and my voice steady.

"I feel guilty," I said. "We set a trap at the market. We hired street thugs to tackle a nineteen-year-old boy, and we went through private records. We treated an innocent person like a dirty criminal just because we were desperate for answers. I just want to clear my guilt and make things right."

Alaric let out a breath, running his hand through his hair. He looked down at the floor for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"Fine," he grunted, stepping closer to the bed. "I understand why you feel that way. But I still do not trust him. My instincts tell me something is wrong with that man."

He sat down beside me on the mattress, taking my hands into his palms. He rubbed his face with his hand, looking deeply exhausted.

"My engagement ceremony with Brielle is coming up soon," Alaric said, his deep voice sounding flat and tired. "The council elders are rushing everything. They are printing the official announcements and setting up the decorations. I still have to marry her if we do not find real proof."

"Give me more time," I said calmly, leaning in to press my hand against his cheek. "We have thirty days under traditional pack law. I will fix this, Alaric. Trust me."

Alaric looked into my eyes, his expression softening. He pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face into the crook of my neck. We spent the next hour together in the room, holding each other tightly, letting the stress of the court fade away before I had to leave.

By six o’clock in the evening, I left the Ebon Moon packhouse to meet Kyle. We had agreed to meet for a casual dinner at a restaurant downtown, far away from the guards and the city lanes.

When I stepped through the front entrance, Kyle was already waiting at a small round table in the back corner. He was wearing a dark blue sweater over a white shirt, looking completely neat and professional. The moment he saw me, he stood up politely and pulled out my chair.

"Rowena," Kyle said, giving me a warm smile. "It is good to see you. I am glad you made it."

"Thank you, Kyle," I said, sitting down as he pushed the chair back in. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."

"Not at all," he replied, sitting down across from me. "I just arrived a few minutes ago myself."

We picked up the laminated menus and placed our orders with the waiter. For the first twenty minutes, the atmosphere was completely normal. Kyle spoke about his daily hospital work, mentioning how his long-term patients in the maternity ward were recovering well. I told him about my m projects at the Ashthorne estate and how my team was updating the property security systems.

He listened attentively, giving smart, logical replies and making simple jokes that made the conversation feel easy.

Halfway through our conversation, the waiter returned to our table carrying a large black tray. He placed two deep white bowls of hot soup right in front of us, along with a basket of bread.

"Enjoy your meal," the waiter said with a small bow before stepping away.

I picked up my spoon, intending to take a small bite. But the exact second the strong smell of the broth reached my nose, a sudden, violent wave of nausea hit my stomach.

My mouth instantly went dry. My throat felt tight, and a strange dizzy spell swept through my head, making the entire room tilt for a split second. My stomach turned upside down so fast that I barely had time to think.

I slammed my spoon down onto the table, pushed my chair back abruptly, and stood up. I didn’t say a single word to Kyle. I grabbed my purse, turned around, and rushed straight down the hallway toward the customer restrooms.

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_Kyle’s POV_

I sat at the table, watching Rowena speed down the hallway with her hand pressed tightly over her mouth.

I froze in my seat, my eyes narrowing into tiny slits as I tracked her movements. My face remained completely blank, but behind my eyes, my brain was calculating at lightning speed.

I might be a spy, but before being a spy, I’m also a doctor. I had treated hundreds of newly pregnant women. I knew that exact reaction, that sudden pale look, and that immediate sprint to the bathroom. It was not food poisoning from a fresh bowl of soup. It was early morning sickness.

Rowena was pregnant.

I slowly leaned back against the seat of the booth, letting out a sigh.

This was an unexpected variable. If Rowena was carrying Alaric’s child, my initial plan to play the nice doctor, take her away from him, and break her emotionally would become far too complicated. An Alpha bloodline baby inside her meant Alaric would search every inch of the world to protect her.

I closed my eyes briefly and opened my internal mindlink, connecting directly to my handler back at the rogue base.

“Rowena is pregnant,” I communicated through the private mental link, my tone flat and emotionless. “I can tell just by looking at her symptoms. She probably does not even realize it yet.”

There was silence on the other end of the mental connection for a few seconds before the deep, scratchy voice of my handler responded.

“Kill her,” the voice commanded flatly. “Kill her right now before the child forms properly and the Alpha bloodline gets stronger. I want her destroyed for what she did to my father. Do not let that baby survive.”

“Understood,” I replied back through the link. “I will handle it right now.”

I severed the mental connection, opening my eyes calmly.

I reached inside my inner jacket pocket, my fingers wrapping around a tiny, clear glass vial. Inside was an unreleased, lethal chemical compound, a liquid poison that was completely clear, odorless, and tasteless.

Once ingested, it would look like a sudden, natural biological heart failure within twelve hours, leaving zero trace in an autopsy.

I looked around the restaurant dining room. The waiter was busy at the main counter near the kitchen, and the few other customers were engaged in their own private conversations. No one was looking at our corner booth.

With a fast, smooth, and expertly trained movement, I unstoppered the tiny vial beneath the edge of the table. I reached across the table and poured three small drops of the liquid straight into Rowena’s bowl of soup.

The drops hit the hot broth and dissolved instantly, leaving the color and smell completely unchanged.

I slipped the empty vial back into my pocket, picked up my own spoon, and took a sip of my soup.

A minute later, the hallway door opened.

Rowena walked back over to our table. Her skin looked pale, her lips were slightly dry, and she looked visibly drained as she pulled her chair back out and sat down.

"Are you okay, Rowena?" I asked, putting on a deep, worried expression and setting my spoon down. "You look very pale. Did something disagree with you?"

"I am fine," Rowena said, wiping her face with a paper napkin. "My stomach just felt completely upset all of a sudden. I do not know why."

"It happens sometimes when you are overworked and stressed," I said gently, picking up her bowl and pushing it two inches closer to her hands. "Drink some of your soup. The hot broth will settle your stomach and help you feel better."

Rowena looked down at the bowl. She picked up her spoon, dipped it into the broth, and lifted it to her mouth.

She took a slow sip, swallowing the liquid completely.

I sat right across from her, keeping a polite and gentle smile on my face as I watched her drink.