When I said nothing, he rushed to explain. "Perenna, I had no choice. Wolves in the Hollowmere Pack saw you with the Alpha Heir. If the pregnancy got out, it would have torn the court apart."
I let out a bitter laugh. "Was it really about the court? Or were you afraid your precious Cressida would lose her power?"
Hadeon's brow creased. Whatever guilt had been in his eyes vanished, replaced by cold displeasure. "That was all my decision. Cressida had nothing to do with it. Leave her out of this."
Even now, he was still shielding Cressida. The last thread of hope in me snapped. Somewhere beneath my ribs, my wolf went utterly still, as though the creature had simply stopped breathing.
"Then what about my pups? The first one, fine, I'll blame myself for grieving too hard to protect it. But the second?"
Hadeon saw that I had ripped away the final veil, and he stopped pretending. "Yes. I had someone take care of it."
His scent had changed. The black walnut bark and iron I had once pressed my face into were still there, but that sweet, wrong undertone had risen to the surface, thick as rot. I could taste it on the back of my tongue.
"I wasn't ready to be a father."