Alpha Nathan's POV.

Okay, I'm not going to sugarcoat this - I didn't have a choice in the matter. Isabella was pregnant with my child, and that changed everything.

What exactly was I supposed to do in this situation? I honestly had no clue, other than to accept the blessing of expecting new life into this world.

As Alpha, I had a sacred duty to respect any gifts bestowed by the moon goddess, and children were the greatest gift of all.

"This is more than just about me and what I want," I said to myself while pacing the length of my office, running my hands through my hair in frustration.

"These are innocent lives we're talking about - my children. I can't just pretend one of them doesn't exist because it's inconvenient."

The responsibility weighed heavily on my shoulders, but I knew I couldn't run from it.

But since pack law clearly stated I couldn't have two official companions, I had to find a way to accommodate both women, at least temporarily.

I needed time to figure out how to keep all of my children with me without causing more drama than necessary.

"There has to be a solution here," I muttered, staring out the window at my territory stretching into the distance.

"Some way to honor my responsibilities to both women and both children."

I consulted with the pack elders, but their advice was contradictory at best - some suggested honoring my Luna above all else, while others reminded me that mate bonds were sacred.

"You're the Alpha," my father's old advisor reminded me. "In the end, this is your decision to make, and you'll have to live with the consequences."

Isabella had changed dramatically - her attitude had grown significantly more assertive than before.

It felt like she was intentionally challenging my authority at every turn, pushing back against my decisions and questioning my judgment.

"You don't get to make all the rules anymore, Nathan," she told me one evening, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"Not when it comes to me and especially not when it comes to our child."

I wasn't used to being spoken to this way, particularly not by someone who should, by pack hierarchy, defer to me.

"This isn't about pack status," she said when I brought this up. "This is about basic respect - something you seem to have forgotten when it comes to me."

Her words stung because there was truth in them that I wasn't ready to acknowledge.

But all I could do was focus on taking proper care of both women and their pregnancies - that had to be my priority.

What if my child with my Luna didn't survive again? I know it sounds terribly selfish, but I had to consider all possibilities.

If my child with my Luna didn't make it and Isabella safely delivered our baby, I would have no choice but to keep Isabella and break the bond with Lily.

"I hate even thinking about this," I confessed to my Beta Ethan during a private moment.

"It feels like I'm calculating odds on something so sacred, but what choice do I have? I've lost too many children already."

Ethan nodded solemnly, understanding the impossible position I was in.

"Sometimes being Alpha means making decisions no one else would want to make," he reminded me. "That's why you're the one wearing the mantle."

I wasn't willing to risk any more heartbreak or waste precious time with indecision. The stakes were simply too high.

"I've spent too many nights mourning children who never had a chance to live," I whispered to myself late one night, staring at the ceiling.

"I can't go through that again. I won't." The determination hardened within me, pushing aside all other considerations in favor of this single-minded focus on ensuring at least one of my children survived.

Everyone deserves a single chance, I decided. It was time for me to make the ultimate choice between these two women, and I determined to leave it to fate rather than my own conflicted heart.

Whichever of them successfully gave birth to my child, I would accept her as my permanent partner.

"The moon goddess will guide this decision," I told myself, finding comfort in surrendering to a higher power.

"She will show me which path I'm meant to follow."

When Ethan questioned this approach, I simply shook my head.

"My judgment has been clouded from the beginning. Better to let nature take its course than to keep making mistakes based on my own confused feelings."

I can't deny that the situation became exponentially more complicated at that point, particularly since I was constantly shuttling back and forth between the two women.

"Nathan, you look exhausted," my friend Jackson commented when we met to discuss pack business.

"You can't keep this up - running between two pregnancies, two women, two entirely separate lives. Something's gotta give."

I knew he was right, but I couldn't see any alternative. "What would you have me do?" I asked him.

"Abandon one of them? Abandon my child? There are no good options here, just choices I can live with and choices I can't."

I had to demonstrate equal affection and attention to both Lily and Isabella.

I felt like I was leading some kind of bizarre double life, playing two different roles depending on which room I happened to be in at the moment.

It was incredibly distracting and uncomfortable, but that's just how things had to be for now.

All I could do was wait for approximately seven more months and let fate reveal my path forward.

"Some days I don't even recognize myself anymore," I admitted to Ethan during a hunting trip.

"With Lily, I'm the devoted, traditional Alpha mate. With Isabella, I'm... something else entirely. Sometimes I can't remember which version of me is the real one."

Ethan looked at me with something like pity in his eyes. "Maybe neither of them is. Maybe you're still figuring out who you really are."

And yes, I did seriously consider the most difficult question: "What if they both successfully delivered healthy children? Which woman would I choose then?"

After much contemplation, I decided I would simply maintain the current arrangement.

"It's not ideal," I acknowledged to myself. "But it's the only solution that ensures I don't lose either child."

I spent many sleepless nights weighing this possibility, trying to imagine a future where such an arrangement could work without causing more pain than necessary.

My plan was to keep both Luna and Isabella in my life permanently, but Isabella would have to accept the position of mistress and mother to what would technically be my illegitimate child according to pack law.

I was reasonably confident that Isabella wouldn't decline this arrangement since she was without employment or financial resources, and this position, while not ideal, was certainly better than having nothing at all.

But if she rejected my offer, I had already steeled myself to take the child from her by force if necessary. Harsh? Probably!

But I was the Alpha of this territory, and the truth was that she needed me far more than I needed her.

"No child of mine will grow up without knowing their heritage," I vowed. "No child of mine will be raised outside the pack."

When my conscience troubled me about the morality of this plan, I pushed those doubts aside.

"Sometimes being Alpha means making difficult decisions for the greater good," I reminded myself.

I was fully aware that Isabella was my true mate according to all the signs and deserved to be with me by the laws of nature.

However, I had to face the harsh reality that love wasn't the only important factor in life, especially not for someone in my position.

There were more consequential matters to consider - pack politics, alliances, stability, tradition.

So I committed myself to proceeding with this uncomfortable plan despite my reservations.

"A leader can't always follow his heart," my father had told me once.

"Sometimes you have to make the decision that serves the most people, even if it serves your own happiness the least." I was beginning to understand what he meant.

Before moving forward with anything, I knew I had to inform my Luna about this unfortunate situation and specifically request that she not react with hostility toward Isabella.

"Lily," I began carefully, sitting beside her on our bed. "We need to discuss something important, something that affects all of us."

Her eyes narrowed immediately - she wasn't a fool and had certainly noticed my divided attention.

"This is about her, isn't it?" she asked, her voice tight with controlled emotion. "About the baby."

I nodded, taking her hands in mine. "Yes, but I want you to understand that nothing has changed between us. You are still my Luna, still the mother of my heir. Isabella's child will never threaten your position or your child's birthright."

When I instructed Isabella to wait for me in her new quarters, she sighed dramatically with obvious irritation.

Rather than asking politely, she demanded my assistance with her shower in a commanding tone that surprised me.

"I need help getting clean, and since you're the reason I'm in this condition in the first place, you're going to help me," she stated matter-of-factly.

I didn't argue the point and decided to comply with her request - I wasn't in the mood for a conflict when there were already so many tensions simmering beneath the surface.

"Whatever you need, Isabella," I replied, trying to keep my voice neutral. "I'm here to make sure you and the baby are taken care of properly."

I couldn't deny that I loved the idea of potentially having two babies simultaneously and wasn't about to squander any opportunity to ensure their safe arrival.

"Two children," I marveled to myself. "After so much loss, to be blessed with two at once... perhaps the moon goddess is finally smiling upon me."

The thought gave me a sense of hope I hadn't felt in a long time, a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, things would work out for the best despite the current complications.

When I knocked on my Luna's door to discuss the situation further, she immediately threw a pillow at my head and began shouting about how I had broken my promise to her by continuing to see Isabella.

I tried to calm her down, explaining, "Honey, I'm only keeping Isabella here for the sake of my child. The moment she gives birth, I'll send her away."

This was a complete fabrication - I was deeply conflicted about whether I could ever do something so cruel to Isabella, but I needed to pacify Lily at that moment.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" she demanded, tears of frustration in her eyes.

"After everything that's happened? After I've seen the way you look at her?"

I approached her cautiously, hands outstretched. "Lily, please. Try to understand the impossible position I'm in."

She studied my face for a long moment, then her expression softened unexpectedly.

She wrapped her arms flirtatiously around my neck, pressing her body against mine as she asked in a sultry voice,

"Are you absolutely certain about that, Nathan? Once the baby is born, she's gone?"

Her sudden change in demeanor caught me off guard, but I wasn't about to question it when it meant avoiding another argument.

I forced a convincing smile and nodded reassuringly, saying, "Absolutely, yes. I love you, Lily. You're my Luna, my chosen one."

The words felt hollow as they left my mouth, but I pushed that feeling aside.

"Trust me on this. Everything I'm doing is for our future, for our family." I stroked her hair gently, hoping my touch would reinforce my words.

She immediately pulled me down onto the bed beside her, and her intentions became crystal clear.

She was clearly in the mood for intimacy, and I didn't want to disappoint her and risk another confrontation.

"Let me show you how much I've missed you," she whispered, her hands already working at my clothes.

"Let me remind you why you chose me in the first place." I closed my eyes and surrendered to the moment, pushing all thoughts of Isabella from my mind.

I made a catastrophic error in judgment when, in the heat of the moment, I called out, "Isabella... I mean, Lily," quickly trying to correct my mistake.

This slip of the tongue earned me an immediate and painful kick to the shin and an enraged shout from Lily,

"My name is LILY, not Isabella! Get out of here right NOW!"

Her face was flushed with fury and humiliation as she pointed toward the door.

"How DARE you say her name when you're with me! After everything I've forgiven, after everything I've endured!"

Wow, that escalated quickly! But at least she didn't insist I stay and continue explaining myself, which was a small mercy given the circumstances.

"Lily, I'm sorry," I attempted, but she cut me off with a raised hand.

"Just go," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "Just... I can't even look at you right now." I nodded and backed toward the door, knowing when a strategic retreat was necessary.