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The older Alpha turned to Amara with a respectful nod. "Lady Amara. I hear congratulations are in order for more than just surviving your mate's birthday preparations."

Amara's heart skipped. "I'm sorry?"

"The trade route reforms you've implemented," Alpha Darius interjected as he joined their circle. "Brilliant work. We're already seeing improved efficiency across all four territories."

Relief flooded through her. For a moment, she'd thought someone had discovered her pregnancy before she could tell Raxen herself.

The evening blurred into a whirl of conversation, laughter, and the easy camaraderie that had been impossible during Tavian's reign of manipulation. Amara moved through the crowd with the natural grace of someone who belonged—no longer the outsider trying to prove herself, but an integral part of Solaryn's future.

She watched Raxen work the room with effortless authority, accepting well-wishes and praise with genuine humility. Pride members approached him not with fear or formal deference, but with the warmth reserved for family. Children tugged on his shirt to show him drawings, elderly couples shared stories of his father and mother, and young adults sought his advice with the confidence of people who knew their Alpha truly cared about their welfare.

This is what Tavian never understood, she thought. Real power isn't taken—it's given freely by people who trust you to use it well.

"He's magnificent, isn't he?" Vessa appeared beside her, following her gaze to Raxen, crouched down and listening intently to something a young pride member was explaining with animated gestures.

"He really is," Amara agreed softly. "I never expected to find someone who could make me want to give my heart away again, but watching him with the pride... I can't imagine choosing anyone else."

"Even when he's being impossibly overprotective?"

Amara laughed. "Especially then. Though I've trained him to ask before assigning me bodyguards now."

"Progress," Vessa declared solemnly, then grinned.

Before Amara could respond again, Pax appeared with a massive cake balanced carefully in his hands. The crowd began to gather closer, voices rising in anticipation as Raxen was summoned to the center of the room. Amara's heart hammered as she moved through the crowd toward him.

Hidden in the folds of her dress was a small wrapped box containing an ultrasound image and a note written in her careful handwriting: Happy 40th Birthday, Daddy.

"Before we sing," she called out, "I have a special gift for the birthday Alpha."

Raxen's eyebrows rose as she approached, the small box trembling slightly in her hands. Through the mate bond, she felt his curiosity spike, followed by a wave of love and gratitude so intense it nearly buckled her knees.

"Amara, you didn't need to⁠—"

"Open it," she interrupted, pressing the box into his large hands.

The room fell silent as Raxen carefully unwrapped the gift. His fingers stilled as he lifted the ultrasound image, his blue eyes scanning the grainy black and white picture with growing wonder. When he read the note, his face went completely blank.

The silence stretched until Alpha Kael cleared his throat. "Well? Are you going to share with the rest of us?"

Raxen's gaze snapped to Amara's face, and she saw the exact moment comprehension hit him. His eyes widened, his mouth fell open, and for the first time since she'd known him, the Alpha of Solaryn was completely speechless.

"We're having a baby," Amara announced to the crowd, her voice steady despite the tears threatening to spill. "The future heir of the Sol family is on the way."

Then the ballroom erupted. Cheers, applause, and congratulations filled the air. But Amara only had eyes for Raxen, who stood frozen in place, staring at her like she'd just handed him the universe.

But seconds later, in one fluid motion, he swept her into his arms and spun her around, his laughter mixing with the crowd's celebration. When he set her down, his hands immediately went to her face, his thumbs brushing away tears she hadn't realized were falling.

"A baby," he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. "We're really having a baby?"

"We really are," she confirmed, placing her hands over his.

Through their bond, she felt the exact moment his joy overwhelmed every other emotion.

"I love you," he said fiercely, his forehead pressed against hers. "I love you so much it terrifies me sometimes."

"I love you too," she whispered back.

The crowd pressed closer, voices calling out blessings and well-wishes, but in that moment, Amara felt like she and Raxen existed in a bubble of perfect contentment. She'd come to Nova Aurora broken and afraid to trust, convinced that love was just another way to get hurt.