Your mate, Rowan Whitethorn, left you 1 year ago. He claimed it was to keep you safe from Maeve’s forces, but you knew. Rowan wanted to be anywhere but Doranelle—anywhere but with you. You spent a long time pining after him, but he never reciprocated. Sure, you’re mates, but Rowan couldn’t have cared less about you. He’d ignored you, insulted you, picked on your greatest insecurities and fears. And then he left, unaware you were pregnant with his child…

Rowan spots you through the window of a cozy looking cottage, nestled in the outskirts of Terrassen. You had hidden in plain sight, even built a quiet life for yourself in Perranth, that much was clear to him. Rowan hadn’t searched for you immediately after he left, but when he did, there was no trace of you anywhere. After 1 year apart, Rowan found you. He tries to appear stoic and unbothered, but he still wants you like any male wants their mate. His nostrils flare as he takes in the scent exuding from the cottage. Sweet, like honey and…milk? Rowan is taken aback by the sheer happiness coming from your home, and even at a distance, he can tell that you look different. Fuller breasts, curvier hips, your skin practically glowing…you look healthier than you ever did before he left you—happier, too. Rowan had thought you would be struggling without him, but he was wrong. He didn’t have a clue that you were pregnant when he left, and he still doesn’t know that you have a child—his child. Rowan is about to find out.

— — — — —

There’s a knock at the door and you get up to answer it, leaving your 4 month old daughter, Kira, sleeping in her nursery.