Isabella Pov.

His eyes searched my face desperately, looking for answers that I couldn't give him.

I held my breath until my lungs burned, and I fought back the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks and expose everything.

I didn't dare turn my head to look at him directly; I just managed to say in a shaky voice: "It's very nice to meet you, sir. I hope you have a pleasant visit here."

He thundered in response, his voice booming with authority and making me freeze completely in my movements like a statue.

"I am Alpha Dark Rodriguez!" he announced, as if he wanted to give me absolute assurance and confirmation of my suspicions about his identity, as if he somehow knew that I needed to hear those exact words.

And Nathan, clearly sensing the tension and danger in the air, quickly stepped in with a concerned tone, smoothly releasing my hand from my father's strong grip and immediately starting to talk to him in an attempt to distract him from his intense focus on me.

"So tell me, Alpha Dark, why exactly are you here visiting us today?" Nathan asked with practiced diplomatic charm. "Please don't tell me that we're having problems between our packs again. I thought we had resolved all those border disputes last month."

I lingered just long enough to try to hear more of the conversation between them, straining my ears to catch every word, but it became increasingly hard for me to make out what they were saying as the voices started to fade and become muffled once I finally reached our room on the third floor, my legs shaking with each step I climbed.

Something deep inside me, some powerful instinct, pushed me to turn around, run back downstairs, and confess everything right then and there!

"Just tell them the truth," a voice in my head urged. "Tell them who you really are."

I desperately wanted my father in my life, and I wanted my mate Nathan too. I wanted to find a way to stop all this madness and conflict that was brewing.

I wanted to end the secrecy and lies that were eating me alive from the inside.

But suddenly, just as I opened the door again with the intention of going back downstairs to reveal everything, I heard Alpha Dark - the powerful bear shifter who was supposed to be my real, biological father - saying clearly to Alpha Nathan and Alpha Kwan,

"Yes, I'm still actively searching for my lost daughter, and I won't give up until I find her. Once I finally locate her, once I have her back where she belongs, she will be mated to Alpha Kwan as we previously arranged years ago."

I gasped loudly and immediately locked myself back into the safety of my room, my hands shaking as I turned the key.

I inhaled and exhaled rapidly, my breathing becoming erratic as I almost wanted to scream at the top of my lungs from the shock and horror of what I had just heard.

Be mated to Alpha Kwan? Why him of all people? Why that terrifying man who made my skin crawl?

Wasn't my father supposed to love me and want my happiness above all else?

But instead, he was actively looking for me just to force me into doing whatever he wanted, not to ensure my happiness or well-being, but to use me as a pawn in some political game I didn't understand.

That's when I suddenly started to vomit heavily and violently, as if I had eaten something completely wrong or poisonous.

"What's happening to me?" I thought frantically. I barely managed to drag my weak, shaking feet to the small bathroom and continued throwing up until I couldn't breathe anymore, feeling like I was having a heart attack.

My vision became blurry and distorted, everything started spinning around me, and gradually everything went into complete darkness.

The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Nathan's voice calling out in panic, "Oh my God! Isabella! What's going on? Someone help me!"

And then I completely lost my consciousness, falling into a deep, dreamless void.

I opened my eyes much later; only God knows exactly how long I had been unconscious like that.

I slowly searched my surroundings with confused, unfocused eyes to find myself tucked safely in bed, but no one else was there in the room with me.

Not even Nathan, which worried me immediately.

I heard careful footsteps approaching by the door, getting closer and closer.

Then someone stepped inside quietly and locked the door securely with their keys.

I couldn't turn my heavy head to see who it was, but from the familiar, comforting scent that filled the room, I immediately knew it was Nathan returning to check on me.

He gently placed his warm hand on my forehead to check for fever and whispered softly, "There you are, sweetheart. How are you feeling now? Are you in any pain?"

His voice was filled with genuine concern and relief.

I coughed several times, trying to clear my dry, scratchy throat. "I think I'm okay now," I managed to say weakly. "What exactly happened to me? Why do I feel so terrible?"

He carefully sat down next to me by the edge of the bed and hugged me gently, being careful not to hurt me.

"You fainted completely and scared me to death," he explained patiently. "I cleaned your entire body because you were covered in cold sweat.

You were shivering so violently that I was afraid you were going into shock. Then I carefully placed you in the bed and made sure you were comfortable.

After that, I went downstairs for about half an hour to greet my birthday party guests and make my apologies for leaving so suddenly, and then I came back up here immediately to be with you."

I sighed deeply, feeling unhappy and guilty about the situation.

"I'm so sorry for completely ruining your birthday party celebration," I said sadly. "I didn't know today was your special day, and I've caused nothing but trouble. Happy birthday, Nathan. I'm feeling okay now, so please don't worry about me. You should go back to your guests and enjoy the rest of your party."

But honestly, deep down in my heart, I absolutely didn't want him to leave me alone again.

I was terrified, though I wasn't entirely sure of what exactly I was afraid of.

But maybe I was finally convinced that the only thing I truly wanted from that moment forward was not a father, not a mother, not some perfect family, but only Nathan and the love we shared.

He teased me playfully and started to stand up from the bed. "Okay then, since you're feeling better and seem to be recovering well, I suppose I should go back down to my guests who are probably wondering where I disappeared to."

But I quickly pulled his hand and intertwined our fingers tightly together, holding on like my life depended on it.

"No, please don't go," I pleaded desperately. "Please stay here with me. I really need you right now more than anything."

He gulped nervously, and I could see that he was clearly hesitant to open up the difficult conversation about my arranged mating to Alpha Kwan.

Finally, he asked me carefully, "Did you happen to hear what they were discussing downstairs?" He paused, watching my face for any reaction.

I nodded slowly, feeling my heart sink. "Yes, I heard every word of their conversation. I don't want to tell him that I'm his daughter, Nathan. Please understand that. I just want to be with you and nobody else."

He blew out a deep, troubled breath as if he had accidentally done something terribly wrong.

"But Isabella, I think I need to tell him the truth soon," he said reluctantly. "We can't keep this secret forever. It's not fair to anyone involved."

"NO!" I screamed, and immediately started vomiting again, my body rejecting the very thought of being separated from him.

Well, I guess there was going to be a very pleasant surprise coming for both of us in the near future. Maybe a baby growing inside me?!