"Not mate with him? Mate with you instead?"
"Do you really have to force me to say something cruel?"
"He's the Alpha heir of the Stormfang Pack. And you? An unmarked wolf who knows nothing but watering crops and tilling soil. How could you possibly be worthy of an Elder Councilor's trueborn daughter?"
My face went white. I pressed on, unwilling to let go. "Do three years of what we had really have to be measured by bloodline standing?"
A sharp, twisting pain tore through my lower abdomen. I clutched my stomach, but I still waited for her answer.
"In pureblood families, bloodline and rank are everything. The line between trueborn and unmarked is absolute."
She paused, and guilt crept across her face as she looked at me.
"The pup I'm carrying might be his."
My mind went blank. I stared at her, unable to comprehend.
"Fenris, my pup has to be recognized as the Stormfang Pack's firstborn legitimate heir. That's the only way you'll be safe."