Hunted By My Cruel Alpha

CHAPTER 5

SOFIA BELLINI

A FEW WEEKS LATER

After that night, Anthony was never the same with me.

He no longer talks to me about anything except the baby, and he always leaves when I arrive.

Anthony became completely cold with me again, in a very cruel way inside this house.

I don’t know if he regrets our night together, but it doesn’t matter.

Helena and he are getting married in a few days, and every day I feel worse about it.

I’m in the garden when I feel someone watching me, and when I lift my head I see him at the window on the top floor of the mansion.

In a few days, I’ll find out the baby’s gender, and in a few more months the baby will be born and I could die.

I’m still looking at the window, waiting for Anthony to come back, but he doesn’t.

“Sofia. Would you like to help me in the greenhouse? The flowers are a mess,” Alaric asks, smiling.

“I don’t know anything about flowers,” I confess.

“I’ll teach you,” he replies, holding out his hand.

I smile and accept.

There is a greenhouse full of flowers and plants, and he starts teaching me everything about them.

When his hands hold mine, I shiver and turn my head, seeing his face very close to mine.

I blink, feeling his hand touch my face slowly.

“Sofia…” he whispers my name, moving closer.

I don’t pull away when Alaric kisses me.

I close my eyes, holding onto his shoulders as I let it happen, and I think I like it.

When he pulls away, his eyes widen.

“I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I shouldn’t have…”

“I liked it,” I confess, and he smiles.

It would be so easy to fall in love with him.

At night, the three of us have dinner together, but no one says anything.

I feel Alaric’s hand touch mine, and when I lift my head I see Anthony staring at our hands with anger.

More days pass, and my belly grows more. Anthony and I grow more distant every day.

Tomorrow will be his wedding.

I can’t sleep, so I go to the kitchen to get something to eat when I see him standing there, drinking a glass of whiskey.

I take a deep breath when I realize he’s shirtless and sweaty.

Imagining that he was in bed with Helena makes me want to vomit.

He gets ready to leave when he sees me, but I stop him.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not,” he replies, without looking at me.

“So what did I do wrong?”

“Nothing. You didn’t do anything.”

I grab his arm before he can leave.

“What’s going on with you?”

He sighs and looks at me.

“I’m going to marry Helena tomorrow, Sofia. Alaric likes you. You should do the same.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask, tears filling my eyes.

“Because this is how things are supposed to be. You are not mine. You never will be,” he says coldly.

“Then why do you care so much about me?”

“It’s not about you. It’s about my son.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

I take a step forward, and he steps back.

“Don’t make things even harder than they already are, Sofia.”

“Don’t you feel anything for me?” I ask.

“No.”

“Say that while looking into my eyes,” I beg. “Say that you don’t love me. Say that your heart is as cold as I always thought it was.”

We stare at each other in silence, and then I close my eyes when Anthony grips my face tightly and kisses me.

He holds my face with both hands. His eyes burn into mine. Long seconds pass.

He pulls away from me quickly.

“This can never happen again. I’ll be married tomorrow.”

“Don’t do this. Please,” I whisper.

“Sleep well, Sofia.”

“I hate you…” I whisper, and he says nothing.

He leaves, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I realize that I feel something for him. Something that shouldn’t exist.

I don’t know if it’s the hormones driving me crazy, but I spend the whole night crying.

I spend the entire night crying.

When morning comes, I get up and go to the window, seeing that everything is already prepared for his wedding.

I run to the bathroom and throw up.

I shower and leave the bedroom, but I stop on the stairs when I see many people arriving.

He lifts his head and looks at me. Helene notices this and looks at me angrily before saying something in his ear.

I avert my gaze to Alaric, who is wearing formal clothes and comes toward me smiling.

“Sofia,” he says loudly, making everyone look at us.

I frown, confused and tense.

“Alaric, what are you doing?”

“I know this isn’t the easiest moment. But I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to pretend that what I feel doesn’t exist.”

I feel Anthony watching us at that moment.

“I know we’ve only known each other for a few months, in a strange way, but I like you. I care about you.”

My eyes widen when he shows a small box, and when he opens it, I see a diamond ring.

“I promise to take care of you and protect you. Sofia, will you marry me?”

I feel like I’m going to faint. Tears fill my eyes when I look at Anthony and see him nervous.

I look at Alaric, able to see what he feels for me.

A tear runs down my face.

I look at the people and then at Alaric and slowly nod my head.

“Yes. I accept.”

Alaric smiles, placing the ring on my finger, and then he hugs me tightly.

I laugh, and then he kisses me in front of everyone.

Anthony is right, even though it hurts. He’s going to get married, and I need to move on with someone who is good for me.

I can’t look at Anthony anymore after that.

When night falls, I’m sitting with Alaric by my side, with many people around us.

I’m wearing a long purple dress, holding Alaric’s hand tightly.

Anthony is ready, and then I turn my head, seeing Helena arrive dressed as a bride.

Everyone stands up, and I look at Anthony, but his eyes aren’t on her.

They’re on me.

I try not to look back, but it’s impossible.

“Are you okay?” Alaric whispers beside me.

I grip his hand tighter when I feel a sharp pain in my belly, but I nod.

“I am.”

Being here and seeing this is horrible, but then I look at the ring on my finger.

I can’t be in love with Anthony. I can’t.

The wedding continues, and they look perfect together.

“Anthony De Angelis, do you accept Helena Gaspar as your lawful wife?”

Anthony looks at me at that moment, and I’m afraid of what he’s going to say.

“I…”

ANTHONY DE ANGELIS

“I…,” I start to say, but I can’t finish.

Sofia looks at me with wide eyes, far too pale.

Sofia.

“Come on, Anthony. Say yes…” Helena whispers.

I see the tears in her eyes and then I want to say no.

But my eyes fix on her hand intertwined with Alaric’s.

She’s going to marry him. He’ll be good to her in a way I never could.

He loves her and truly cares about her.

“Anthony…” Helena grunts irritably, waiting for my answer.

Before I can speak, I see Sofia bend over, one hand on her belly.

I tense instantly and notice the pain on her face.

I go on high alert when I see Alaric touching her shoulders and saying something.

The entire hall turns toward her.

Sofia groans in pain once more, making everyone look at her this time.

I take a step forward, but Helena grabs my arm tightly, staring at me with wide eyes.

“What are you doing?”

I don’t take my eyes off Sofia.

“She needs me…,” I whisper.

Helena laughs and then throws the bouquet to the ground forcefully.

“Is this serious?” she screams, drawing everyone’s attention. “Is this really what you’re doing to me?”

“Helena, don’t start this now…”

She smiles at me in a cruel way and then points at Sofia.

“We’re getting married! Here! Now! And all you can do is look at her?”

“Helena, stop,” I growl. “Now.”

But she doesn’t stop.

“She’s faking it! She’s faking this pain to stop the wedding! Can’t you see? She’s manipulating you!”

“She would never do that.”

Helena laughs even more.

“Never would?” she repeats. “Do you really believe that?”

I see Sofia crying, her hand on her belly.

“That’s enough!” I shout.

Helena ignores me and then turns to the guests, starting to yell louder.

“You want to know who she really is? Sofia is just the woman carrying the Alpha’s child. A human.”

Some people widen their eyes.

Some consider it impure for a human to carry a werewolf’s child.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I shout, trying to grab her, but she shoves me hard.

“Stop this now!”

Sofia cries even more, feeling humiliated in front of everyone.

Helena looks at me angrily before pointing at my face.

“You want her, don’t you? A human,” she whispers.

“Stop this scene or I swear that—” I begin, but she cuts me off, looking at Alaric.

“Alaric, do you really think she feels something for you? She loves Anthony. And he loves her. She’s just using you to forget him.”

“Shut up!” I scream, losing control.

But she keeps going.

“I was promised to you since we were children! But you never looked at me the way you look at her. Never!”

“That’s enough, Helena!”

She’s completely out of control now.

She points at Sofia again.

“She’s a gold digger! This pregnancy wasn’t an accident! She did this for money, because you’re rich, powerful!”

“Control her now, Anthony!” Alaric growls, holding Sofia tightly.

“Did you tell your brother what you did to his fiancée, Anthony? Did you tell Alaric that you slept with her minutes before he told you he loved her?”

Everyone’s eyes widen—and so do Alaric’s.

Sofia’s eyes widen, and I grip Helena even harder.

“I swear to God I will banish you forever. I swear you will pay for every word, Helena!”

She isn’t afraid of me now, and that’s very bad.

“Aren’t you going to tell her what you really are, Anthony?” she asks, laughing.

My body freezes.

Sofia slowly lifts her head.

“What…?” she whispers.

“Tell her. Say who you are. Say that you kill people. Tell her you’re planning to kill her when the baby is born. Say that you’re a murderous beast. A werewolf.”

Once again, fear grips me when I see the shock on Sofia’s face.

She had suspicions about what I really am, but she had never said the word werewolf before.

Helena is putting her life in danger, because no werewolf here would let her live after knowing what we truly are.

They would kill her.

I shove Helena away and take a step toward Sofia, but she backs away from me.

“Sofia, please…”

Alaric tries to hold her, but she starts running away from us.

“No!” I shout.

I hear Alaric yelling my name, but I don’t stop running after her.

I run faster, and then this scene makes me remember when I ran after her to kill her—and now I’m running to save her.

“Sofia, wait!”

She’s crying loudly now.

“Stay away from me! You’re a monster!”

She doesn’t stop running, and I scream when I see her run toward the edge of a cliff behind the mansion, in the dark.

“Sofia!” I shout desperately. “Get away from there now!”

She turns to look at me, her face soaked with tears.

“I don’t belong in this place!” she screams. “I knew there was something wrong with you!”

She stares at me, trembling.

“Is it true…? Are you a werewolf?”

I take a step forward, and she gets closer to the cliff.

“Please, it’s not safe. Come to me, Sofia…,” I murmur, and she shakes her head.

“Answer my question, Anthony! Are you a werewolf?” she screams.

“Yes,” I whisper, making her step even farther away from me.

She slips and screams as she starts to fall, but I run as fast as I can and grab her arm tightly, pulling her back to me.

“Sofia, no!”

She sobs against my chest, and I hold her tightly. I close my eyes and realize what I’ve just done.

Revealing our existence to humans is also one of our most important laws, and breaking it means death.

“Let me go… please…,” she cries, but I shake my head.

I hold her shoulders and force her to look at me.

“You want to hear the truth? Yes! I’m a killer! I’m a werewolf! I’m all of that!” I say, shaking her shoulders.

I hold her face desperately, wiping away her tears.

“But I love you!” I shout. “I love you and I’m in love with you! And yes, I was supposed to kill you, but I can’t do it!” I yell.

Her eyes widen.

I think I’ve never said those words to a woman before in my entire life.

“You love me?” she asks, and I nod.

“I do, and I’m afraid of losing you. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re human or not. You’re the mother of our child—that’s what truly matters!”

“I hated you and tried to keep hating you, but I failed, Sofia. And that night was the best night of my life, and I would never let you go…,” I continue.

My whole body tenses when Sofia looks at me and then looks at something behind me.

My heart nearly stops when I hear footsteps.

I slowly turn my head and see Alaric staring at us, wide-eyed and heartbroken.

“Alaric…,” I call him, but he shakes his head.

“Did you do this? Did you take her to bed the same night I told you I was in love with her?”

I can’t answer.

He looks at Sofia in my arms.

“Brother, please…,” I try to step closer, but seconds later he rushes at me and punches my face hard.

I don’t fight back.

I taste blood in my mouth when he yells at me and hits me again.

“You said you felt nothing for her and made me propose to her, and then you say you’ve always loved her? It’s always about you, isn’t it, Anthony? The great Alpha!”

“Alaric, please…,” Sofia pleads.

Since the day we lost our parents, I swore to protect and take care of my brother—but I failed.

“I’m so sorry, forgive me…,” I murmur, and he shakes his head before walking away from us.

“Make her happy. She deserves that, even knowing that you’ll break her heart again…”

Maybe I’ve gained love for the first time in my life, but I’m also losing my brother.

I turn when I hear Sofia groan in pain, and I panic when I see more tears in her eyes and blood on her hands.

“The baby… it’s coming…”