Hunted By My Cruel Alpha

CHAPTER 3

SOFIA BELLINI

I’ve been in this mansion for days now, and I can already notice some changes in my body.

Every day I feel like my belly grows a little more, reminding me that I’m carrying a baby inside me.

Every day Alaric comes to take me out of that room.

It’s the only part of the day I look forward to.

He knocks on the door before entering.

He asks how I’m doing.

He’s the only person here who truly seems to care about me.

The day is beautiful today, and then I notice there’s a huge blue pool at the mansion.

Everything here is far too luxurious, and it makes me realize they’re always involved in something wrong.

“Almost no one uses it. We don’t have time for fun here,” he says, pointing to the pool.

I smile for the first time in days.

“Then no one will mind if I use it.”

I go back to the room before he can respond and change quickly.

I put on a small, simple bikini and an even smaller pair of shorts over it.

When I come back, Alaric’s eyes widen.

“Sofia… Anthony will kill you if he sees you like that.”

I shrug.

“I don’t care what he thinks.”

He sighs, clearly uncomfortable, but he doesn’t stop me.

I take off the shorts and jump into the pool, and when I surface again, I see Alaric watching me with a smile.

“You’re very rich here. What do you really do?” I ask, seeing him tense up.

“Business,” he says, avoiding the subject.

I swim some more and then point at him.

“Come on. The water’s perfect.”

“No way. I’m already in enough trouble.”

I insist. He refuses. So I do the only logical thing.

I grab his arm tightly and pull.

Alaric falls into the pool, and I start laughing uncontrollably, and then he laughs too.

“I told you to watch the perimeter of the territory, not have fun in the pool, brother.”

I stop laughing when I lift my head and see Anthony watching us angrily, wearing a black suit.

Alaric tenses immediately.

“I’ve already done the patrol. Everything’s under control,” Alaric says.

Anthony doesn’t respond. His eyes slowly drop to Alaric’s hand, which is still resting on my shoulder.

“And you. You shouldn’t be putting your life and my child’s life in danger. You should be in your room.”

I get out of the pool angrily and look at him.

“I’m pregnant, not sick.”

Anthony scoffs and walks away, but I don’t accept that.

There’s nothing wrong with what I was doing, and I can’t understand why he acts like this.

I follow Anthony, still wet.

“What is your problem with me?” I ask, my voice trembling with anger. “Why do you need to control my every step?”

Anthony suddenly turns around. His gaze slowly travels over my body, stopping at the bikini.

“Take that off. Now.”

“No.”

“Take that off now, or I will do it myself, Sofia.”

My eyes widen.

Part of me wants to wait and see what he would do, and that’s insane.

“You wouldn’t dare…”

He laughs, taking a step toward me.

“Wanna bet?”

I take a quick step back.

“I hate you.”

“I hate you too,” he replies.

I turn my back and run to the room, my heart racing.

Later, after a long, hot shower, I leave the bathroom and stop in the middle of the room.

There’s a black dress laid out on the bed.

“Wear this. Or I’ll come get you myself.”

I roll my eyes, but I put on the dress.

At night, Alaric comes to get me. When he sees me, he’s clearly shocked.

“Wow…”

I smile and take his hand.

When we go down the stairs, everyone looks at us at the same time.

I squeeze Alaric’s hand tightly when I see Anthony watching us together.

“You’re very nervous,” Alaric murmurs.

“Your brother looks at me like he wants to attack me,” I reply quietly.

Alaric laughs, clearly amused, which only seems to irritate Anthony even more.

The music starts, and Alaric asks me to dance. I accept without thinking.

But it doesn’t take long before Anthony appears beside us.

“I’m sure many women would love to dance with you, brother.”

“I’m not dancing with you,” I say, irritated.

“Don’t test my patience right now, Sofia…” he whispers, and I scoff but accept his hand.

I feel strange when his hand rests on my waist as we dance.

I lift my head and meet his golden eyes fixed on me.

He spins me twice before pulling me even closer to him.

I can smell him, and it awakens something inside me.

I quickly remember our kiss.

He turns me, leaving my back against his chest, and I shiver when I feel his hand sliding over my body.

“Stop it,” I whisper.

“Stop what? The dancing?” he asks, his mouth very close to my ear.

I know everyone is watching us now, but everything in me begs to kiss him.

Anthony tilts his head too, leaning in to kiss me. I close my eyes and wait, but it doesn’t happen.

“My love.”

I open my eyes and step back quickly when I see a blonde woman beside us, smiling at Anthony.

She’s wearing a blue dress and she’s very beautiful.

Anthony tenses, and I feel confused when I see her hand touching his arm.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to her, my love?” she asks Anthony, who now avoids looking at me.

“Of course. Helena, this is Sofia.”

She smiles at me in a fake way.

“Don’t forget the best part, my love. It’s time for me to dance with my fiancé,” she says.

Something inside me breaks when I hear that.

I never imagined he was engaged.

I look at Anthony, waiting for him to deny it, but he only nods, touching Helena’s arm.

They start dancing, and then I look around and see everyone staring at me.

I feel awful and quickly step away, seeing Alaric coming toward me.

“Who is she?” I ask.

He sighs, as if he’d been expecting that question.

“Helena has been promised to Anthony since they were children. An agreement between families.”

“Does that… does that bother you?” he asks carefully.

“No,” I answer too quickly. “Of course not.”

It’s a lie. A big lie.

I look at them and see Anthony lean in and say something in her ear. She stops smiling, and I tense when she looks at me and then at my belly.

She knows now.

Helena looks at me with anger.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I murmur.

Alaric grabs my arm. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” I lie again, pulling away before he can insist.

I look at myself in the mirror and then touch my belly.

Helena enters seconds later and stares at me.

She doesn’t smile this time.

“You shouldn’t be carrying this baby,” she says coldly. “You should never have entered his life.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know exactly enough. Anthony will do whatever is necessary to protect the family name. When this child is born… you will be a problem.”

Tears fill my eyes.

“He’ll kill you,” she continues cruelly. “Or he’ll make sure you disappear. Women like you always disappear.”

She walks past me and opens the door.

“Enjoy it while you can.”

When I’m alone again, the tears finally fall.

I leave the bathroom and see Alaric, but I avoid him and walk away quickly.

Someone offers me a glass of alcohol, and I know I shouldn’t drink because of the baby, but I need it.

I drink it all and walk toward the mansion’s balcony.

The tears are still in my eyes.

I close my eyes, and then everything becomes strange when I groan, feeling a sharp pain in my belly.

“No…” I whisper.

Then I start coughing uncontrollably and widen my eyes when I see blood on my hands.

“The baby…” I groan again.

I try to breathe, but it’s getting harder and harder now.

I lean against the wall and stifle a scream when I cough again.

I put my hands to my throat, trying to call someone.

I get dizzy and almost fall as I drag myself back toward the party.

I blink and scream when the pain gets worse.

I cry desperately, and then when I lift my head, I see Anthony looking at me from across the room.

“Anthony…” I whisper his name, feeling weaker.

I scream again as I see Anthony and Alaric start running at the same time.

Before I fall, he grabs me tightly.

I taste blood in my mouth.

“Sofia…”

“Something is wrong…” I manage to say. “With the baby…”

He holds my face in his hands, looking over my whole body, trying to see what’s wrong.

“What’s happening?” he demands.

I can’t answer. I scream and cry at the same time.

“Breathe with me. Stay with me, Sofia. Look at me,” he pleads, but I can’t.

Alaric kneels and picks up the glass I drank from, his eyes widening when he smells it.

“Anthony…”

“What?” he growls.

“Poison.”

I try to stay awake as Anthony carries me in his arms and runs somewhere.

He shouts desperate orders I can’t understand.

I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.

“I don’t want to die…” I whisper.

He holds me tighter, running faster.

“I won’t let you. Listen to me… I won’t let anything happen to you. Or to our baby.”

Our baby.

ANTHONY DE ANGELIS

At the hospital, I’m desperate.

I stare through the glass, watching the doctors try to save them.

I’ve never felt fear before, and now I do.

I pace back and forth, shouting at my men:

“Find who did this! I want names! Now!”

I growl, fighting my transformation, and then I punch the wall hard, leaving a hole, but I don’t care about the pain.

Alaric grabs my shoulder.

“Anthony, calm down. This won’t help.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I snarl. “They could die.”

He doesn’t answer.

I look at the glass again. They wouldn’t let me in.

Sofia is far too pale, her body covered in wires.

“Save her. Save them both.”

My jaw tightens.

If someone dared to poison what is mine…

I will burn the entire world if I have to.

I turn my head and tense when I see Helena running toward me.

“Anthony… how is she? How are you?”

Before she can touch me, I grab her wrist.

Her eyes widen.

“If you did this, Helena…” I growl, leaning toward her. “If you laid a finger on her…”

“I didn’t do anything! Do you really think I would do that?”

I tighten my grip slightly, feeling her racing pulse beneath my fingers.

“You’ve always been unstable. And you have every reason in the world to want Sofia dead.”

Her face twists with anger.

“You’re accusing me because of that human? You choose her over me?”

I slowly release her wrist and look at Sofia.

She begged in my arms not to die. Many people have begged me for that, but none ever affected me like she did.

“If I have to kill or burn the entire f*ck*ng world so my baby lives… then I will.”

Helena falls silent.

“How can you say that? We’re going to get married, Anthony. You care more about that incubator than—”

“Never call her that again.”

She glares at me.

“Get out of here, Helena.”

“What?”

“Leave. Now.”

She scoffs and walks away.

I start pacing again. Back and forth.

Then I see Sofia’s body jerk on the bed.

“No…”

The doctors start shouting orders. Someone runs. Someone pushes the crash cart.

“Cardiac arrest!” someone shouts.

I rush to the door, but Alaric holds me back hard.

“Anthony, no!”

“Let me go! They’re dying!”

I watch as the doctors start chest compressions, but nothing seems to work.

God.

A doctor steps out and approaches me, tense.

“How is she?” I demand. “Talk. Now.”

“She…”