Nathan's POV.

I'm absolute scum! Seriously! I can't believe what I've done - made love with my Luna! Damn it all to hell!

But that's exactly what happened, as much as I hate to admit it. I still can't figure out if my Luna somehow cast some kind of enchantment over me or what the hell came over me!

It was like a complete blackout - like everything that happened between Isabella and me had been temporarily erased from my memory.

"What kind of man does something like this?" I muttered to myself, pacing the room in agitation. "I'm supposed to be better than this. I'm supposed to have some kind of self-control!"

I absolutely despised myself for what I'd done. The truth is, I didn't truly desire her, and I found no pleasure in her touches or kisses.

It felt all wrong - like my body was physically rejecting the interaction, screaming at me to get off that bed and return to Isabella where I belonged.

"This isn't right," I remember thinking as my skin crawled with each caress. "This isn't where I'm supposed to be."

It was as if my wolf spirit was howling in protest, trying to break through the fog that had settled over my mind and judgment.

The guilt was like a physical weight pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next - Isabella lying on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood.

I completely freaked out, feeling like someone had punched me in the gut. I almost lost the ability to breathe, my lungs seizing up in panic.

"Oh my God! Isabella!" I shouted, rushing toward her fallen form. My heart was hammering so hard I thought it might burst through my chest.

The sight of all that blood - her blood - made my vision swim and my stomach turn violently. "What have I done?" I whispered in horror, unable to process the scene before me.

I silently cursed myself under my breath, knowing deep in my soul that this had happened because of me and my actions.

The entire room was demolished, furniture splintered and walls cracked as if some raging monster had torn through the place in a blind fury.

"This is my fault," I thought, surveying the destruction with wide eyes. "Something happened here, something terrible, and it's because of me."

The evidence of violence was everywhere, and I couldn't help but wonder if I had somehow blacked out and caused this destruction myself, or if Isabella had done this in her distress over my betrayal.

Isabella was clutching her belly and whimpering in pain, tears streaming down her face like rain in a thunderstorm.

Her normally bright eyes were clouded with agony and something else - something that looked terrifyingly like hatred.

I carefully approached her and gently lifted her up, my voice barely audible as I whispered, "Isabella."

I couldn't manage to form another word, my throat closing up with emotion and panic. "I'm so sorry," I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come.

My hands trembled as I held her, afraid I might cause her more pain. "Talk to me," I pleaded silently, "Tell me what happened. Tell me how to fix this."

What had happened? And where had all this blood come from? The questions raced through my mind like wildfire.

I felt completely helpless, standing there with her broken body in my arms, unable to comprehend the scene around me.

"Was there an attack?" I wondered frantically. "Did someone break in and hurt her while I was... while I was with..." I couldn't even complete the thought, the shame burning through me like acid.

She struck my chest with surprising force and sobbed, hatred evident in every line of her face as she cried, "Get your filthy hands off me! You killed my baby."

Her words were like daggers, each one piercing deeper than the last. I could see the raw pain in her eyes, the betrayal that cut deeper than any physical wound.

"How could you?" she choked out between sobs. "How could you do this to us? I trusted you, Nathan. I gave you everything!"

I hung my mouth open, completely shocked and confused, rooted to the spot and unable to move another step.

"Your baby!" was all I managed to say, the words barely audible. Holy shit! That was literally the only response I could force out.

My mind was reeling, trying to catch up with this new information that changed everything.

"A baby?" I repeated stupidly, blinking rapidly as if that might somehow clear the confusion from my mind. "Isabella was pregnant? With my child? And now... now it's gone?"

Really! Her baby! Which means mine! What the absolute hell had happened to me, for crying out loud?

It was as if I wasn't even myself anymore, like some stranger had taken control of my body and actions.

"I don't understand," I mumbled, running a shaking hand through my hair. "When did you... how long have you..."

I couldn't even form a coherent question, my thoughts scattered like leaves in a windstorm.

Nothing made sense anymore - not my actions, not this situation, not the blood or the destruction or the terrible pain in Isabella's eyes.

I was completely lost and felt weaker than I'd ever been in my life, which was ironic considering I supposedly controlled everything in that castle and had everything a man could want: a Luna, a mistress, and apparently a baby on the way.

"How did I let things get this complicated?" I asked myself. "How did I become this person I don't even recognize?"

The weight of my responsibilities and failures pressed down on me until I could barely breathe beneath them.

But I never expected that Isabella might be pregnant too! Maybe because I hadn't really considered our relationship in a truly serious light.

I mean--I had intended to move forward with her, to deepen our connection, but I wasn't thinking long-term.

"I was just playing with fire," I admitted to myself. "I was following my instincts without considering the consequences."

Maybe I was simply craving her, drawn to my real mate by forces I couldn't control, but I hadn't truly committed to staying with her forever.

"What kind of man does that make me?" I wondered bitterly. "Someone who takes what he wants without concern for who gets hurt in the process?"

I placed her gently on the bed and watched her crying and mumbling with pure hatred, "I hate you! You killed my baby."

Her words cut through me like a knife, each syllable dripping with venom and pain. I couldn't blame her - not really.

What I had done was unforgivable, regardless of whether I had been in my right mind.

"Isabella, please," I started to say, reaching toward her before thinking better of it and pulling my hand back. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

And guess what my brilliant response was? I ran my fingers through my hair and actually said, "What baby? Who told you that you're pregnant?"

The words were out before I could stop them, callous and dismissive. I watched her face crumple in disbelief, her pain transforming into white-hot rage before my eyes.

"Are you serious right now?" she whispered, her voice dangerously quiet. "Are you actually standing there pretending you didn't know? After everything we've been through together?"

I hated myself for saying those words. I regretted them instantly when she responded with a full-throated shout, as if she wasn't crying or bleeding at all,

"Get the fuck out of this room now." Her voice was steady despite the tears streaming down her face, her eyes blazing with a fury I'd never seen before.

"I mean it, Nathan," she added when I didn't move. "I can't even look at you right now without wanting to tear your throat out."

"What!" I exclaimed, genuinely surprised by her vehemence. I took a step back, hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Isabella, let's talk about this. You're hurt, you're upset, and I understand that. But you need medical attention right now. Let me help you, and then we can sort this out."

I was scrambling, trying to take control of a situation that had spiraled so far beyond my grasp that I couldn't even see the edges of it anymore.

She gritted her teeth and repeated, "Get the fuck out of my room now, or I'm going to jump out the window, and you'll regret it for the rest of your miserable life."

Her threat hung in the air between us, and I hesitated, unsure if she was serious or just speaking from a place of extreme pain and betrayal.

"You think I'm joking?" she demanded, shifting toward the edge of the bed. "Try me, Nathan. Just try me and see what happens. You've already taken everything else from me - what do I have left to lose?"

I didn't even call for a doctor or a servant to check on her! I just stood there like a cold, unfeeling statue.

I honestly wonder what the hell happened to me in those moments. My Luna had gotten pregnant multiple times before and lost our babies! So why was I so detached now?

Maybe because I wanted to hold onto the last thread connecting my Luna and me. Perhaps I really wanted to make things work with my Luna because she seemed more compatible with me than Isabella was.

"This is what's expected of me," I told myself. "This is what everyone wants - for me to be with my Luna, to have heirs with her, to fulfill my duty as Alpha."

Even though I knew Isabella was Alpha Dark's daughter, that fact actually worked against her in my mind.

I had even forgotten my mother's explicit warning not to hurt Isabella, but I went ahead and did it anyway, inflicting the worst kind of pain imaginable.

"My mother will never forgive me for this," I thought grimly. "But maybe that's what I deserve - to be unforgiven."