Location: S Country — The Rogue Mission
It had been two long, frustrating weeks.
Carl's patience was hanging by a thread.
Every trail turned cold.
Every informant wound up silent—or dead.
And the last person who saw the rogue?
Also dead.
They were back to square one, and Carl hated it.
His Lycans had already interrogated the entire town, but nothing useful surfaced. Still, he ordered them to stay, observe, and report anything odd. No one would leave until the rogue was caught.
Tonight, Carl was about to finally lay down and rest.
Until she walked in.
Vanessa.
He didn't even glance at her. "Why are you here?"
Her sultry voice answered, "Maybe I can help… ease your frustration, my lord."
Carl turned, just in time to see her silk robe fall to the floor—revealing everything.
She walked toward him, completely bare, and wrapped her arms around his stiff body.
"I know you miss your wife," she whispered in his ear. "But I can be her substitute. Put your heir in my womb. I'm fertile now. I want you, my lord. Just for tonight. Aster can't give you a child, but I can—"
"Shut up."
His voice dropped to a dangerous growl.
The next second, he shoved her away—hard.
She crashed toward the door, and he threw her robe at her before slamming the door shut.
"Disgusting," he muttered. "Thank the moon I didn't choose her."
Carl had already uncovered the truth: Vanessa and Dane had set Aster up. That staged photo of Aster and Dane at the bar? All fake. All planned. They had tried to make it look like an affair, hoping Carl would divorce her and take Vanessa as his wife.
He almost did.
If he had believed the lie, he would've lost the one woman he truly loved.
He closed his eyes.
He could still see her face—Aster, his light.
If only it weren't so dangerous, he would've brought her along. But humans weren't allowed in Lycan missions. No exceptions.
Still, he missed her so badly it ached.
Meanwhile, in the room next door…
Sean, Carl's assistant, had heard the commotion.
He sighed to himself.
So Vanessa tried again. Honestly, she wasn't wrong. Sooner or later, Carl would need an heir—and Aster, being human, might never be able to give him one. That's the truth, whether Carl admitted it or not.
Sean leaned back on his bed.
"Still... not tonight," he murmured. "Carl's too far gone for anyone else. It's Aster or no one."
Nate, another inner circle member, agreed silently.
He remembered the day Aster stumbled into Carl's hotel room—purely by accident. That moment had changed everything. At first, they all thought Carl married her to rebel. But later… they saw the signs.
The private flights.
The six-hour cuddles before dawn.
The way Carl looked at her like she held the stars.
Yeah. It was love at first sight.
---
Location: Santossa
Aster lay pale and quiet in bed, her hands resting over her stomach.
The morning had started with nausea.
By noon, she had fainted.
Now, Cane—Carl's own brother and a top-level physician—was sitting in her room, baffled.
"This is... impossible," he muttered, examining the results. "Unless she cheated on Carl with a human...?"
The butler cleared his throat. "With respect, my lord, she hasn't met anyone aside from your brother in weeks."
Cane raised a brow. "Carl's been in S Country for two months."
"Yes, my lord," the butler said patiently. "But he comes home every night. Uses the private jet. Leaves at dawn."
Cane blinked.
"…What?"
The butler nodded, confirming it again.
Cane burst out laughing. "That psycho! He's been flying back just to sleep next to her? Wow. My brother's really something."
Still chuckling, he collected Aster's blood sample and rushed back to his lab. The results would tell the truth.
As soon as the machine began the analysis, his phone rang.
It was their grandfather.
"Cane, come to the old mansion," the old man barked. "It's about Carl. Something strange happened this morning."
Cane agreed, but before he could even turn off the machine—it beeped.
Results: Positive match.
Carl was the father. 100%.
Cane's hands trembled as he read the screen again and again.
"Impossible," he whispered. "She's really carrying Carl's child. But how?"
There was no time to waste.
He raced to the old mansion.
---
Location: Lycan Sacred Garden
The family's ancient tree loomed high, its bark glowing faintly. This tree held the names of all true-blood Lycans… and their direct heirs.
Their grandfather stood there, eyes fixed on a fresh new carving beneath Carl's name.
"He has an heir," the old man whispered. "Did he… finally choose Vanessa? Is she with him now?"
Cane exhaled slowly.
"No, Grandpa. It's not Vanessa."
The old man's gaze snapped to his grandson. "Then who?"
Cane stepped closer.
"It's Aster," he said softly. "Carl's wife is pregnant. I confirmed it through her blood."
The old man staggered.
Cane caught him just in time.
"A human?" the old man gasped. "How is it possible…?"
The Lycan Tree did not lie.
And neither did the blood.
Carl Landon, Alpha of S Country, had done the impossible—he had sired a child with a human.
And not just any human.
A woman the entire council had once labeled useless.
The real question now was…
What will the Council do when they find out?