Chapter 3– The Stranger's Offer

Lori's POV 

"My children, oh my goodness. Are they... Are they...?" I sat up immediately, my hands moving around my belly, trying to see if I was feeling any pain there, if they were fine, if they were—

"Your babies are fine, ma'am. Which is a miraculous thing after all your body has been through." I heard a voice from beside me, and even if I didn't know who the person speaking was, I felt the relief spread across my chest immediately.

That was when I started to feel every other pain as memories of the championship night flooded my memories. My heart ached with a hole so deep that Silas created from the rejection. It ached so hard that tears spilled from the corners of my eyes, and I knew I shouldn't be focused on that.

My babies were fine, that was all that mattered. They were fine, healthy, and not killed by the pack that was supposed to protect them. Everywhere was still dark, and it wasn't long before I realized my eyes were still closed, even as I tried checking on my babies. How was I able to do that?

I forced my eyes open and I was met with a strange environment. I knew at once that this was a hospital room, but it didn't look like it belonged to any pack. Packs usually had murals of wolves on the walls, but there was nothing like that, and I could only come to one conclusion... This was a human hospital.

"Where…" I tried to sit up, but a firm hand pressed me back down.

"Don't move. You've been unconscious for eighteen hours. Your body needs rest."

I turned my head toward the voice and found myself staring at Dante Dominic. He sat in a chair beside my bed, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, looking like he had just stepped out of a business meeting rather than the hockey game from the championship night. His expression was unreadable.

"How did I get here?" I whispered.

"Through my jet and car," he said it calmly and there was no air of arrogance around him. "I brought you to the hospital so the doctors can take a good look at you." He leaned back and folded his arms across his thick chest. "I don't think any of the packs would have helped you after the rejection." I winced at the memory of the rejection. "They benefit a lot from Silas' games, and they wouldn't want to make an enemy out of him, that's why you're here. You're welcome, by the way."

"Why?" The question came out harsher than I intended. "Why would you help me? You don't know me. We've never even spoken before."

"Because you were dying on a loading dock behind my arena, and I'm not in the habit of letting pregnant women bleed out in the trash." His voice was flat devoid of emotions. "And because I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" My attention piqued.

Dante reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of papers and placed them gently on the bed beside me. I didn't touch them. I just stared at him, trying to understand what kind of person could look so calm while discussing the wreckage of someone else's life.

"What is this?" My voice was barely a whisper now as I stared at the stack of papers warily.

"You've been publicly rejected," he said. "Stripped of your pack, your title, your mate, and every possession you ever owned. You have no family, no friends, no money, and definitely no place to go. If you walk out of this hospital right now, you'll be homeless, pregnant, and alone in a world where your deepest trauma was broadcast to millions of people."

My body trembled slightly at the fact that he wasn't wrong at all.

"The way I see it, you have two options. Option one: you leave, struggle, and probably lose those babies before the year is out. Option two:" He gestured at the papers. "You marry me."

The words didn't make sense. I waited for him to laugh, to say it was a joke and that he was working for Silas to mock me, but his expression remained deadly serious.

"Marry you?" I finally managed. "You don't even know me."

"I know that you know how to be the perfect wife, and hiunsoent years being one to a man who never deserved you." He leaned forward slowly that his frame filled my vision, and my breath hitched. "And I know you want revenge." His eyes met mine. "Am I wrong?"

I couldn't answer because he wasn't wrong. Even through the grief and the shock, that word had been burning in the back of my mind since the moment Silas called me damaged goods.

Revenge.

"What's in it for you?" I asked. "People like you don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts."

"That's correct." He didn't even try to pretend to hide it as he stood and walked to the window, his back to me. "I need a wife. My parents have been pressuring me for years to settle down and produce heirs. I need someone to play the part... attend events, smile for the cameras, and most importantly, give them grandchildren."

"You want me to be your… broodmare?" I almost laughed despite my situation.

"I want a contractual arrangement that benefits both of us." He turned back to face me. "You need protection, first of all, for your survival. And you'll also be needing the resources to take your revenge. I need a wife and children to get my family off my back. The fact that you're already pregnant is… convenient. We don't need to go through any more stress."

I stared at him in shock, my jaw dropping. "You want to claim my babies as yours?"

He turned around and nodded. "Yes, Lori. I'll raise them as my own, give them my name, make sure they are well taken care of and protected." He stopped in front of me, and the coldness in his eyes was back. "And when the time is right, I'll help you destroy Silas Crane in whatever way you see fit." He gave me a long look. "So, what do you say? Or do you need more time to think about it?”