Theo's POV
My brain just—blanked out.
A mate?
A pup?
Those words echoed in my head like someone threw a grenade and walked away like nothing had happened. For a few seconds, I legitimately forgot how to breathe.
"W-What did you just say?" I asked, my voice suddenly rough and stiff.
"I said," he stepped away from his car, slow and steady, but with that threatening kind of calm that made me instinctively back up, "You're my mate. And you're pregnant."
I laughed—but it came out wrong. Tight, panicked, like I was cracking apart or maybe losing my mind. "Alpha, are you seriously talking like that?"
His stare didn't flinch. "I'm dead serious."
And damn it, there wasn't a hint of doubt in his eyes. No smirk. No sarcasm. Just this look that cut through every defense I had and made my bones go cold. I wanted to bolt, but I couldn't move.
