FATED TO THE OLDER ALPHA

Chapter3

The Tricky Fate

~Aria’s POV~

The awful twist in my gut was all too familiar, and it came again. It was the third time this week.

I had the impression that the pregnancy test with the two pink lines on my bathroom counter was gazing at me and making fun of me. I made my way outside with my stomach rumbling.

My legs trembled with shaky gasps before I managed to mutter to myself. “Gosh! I can't be pregnant.” I should be more devoted to finding my path rather than nursing a child.

A one-night stand of pleasurable moments with the older Alpha had done more harm than good. I'm just 21 for fu*k sake! How could I be pregnant already!?

Heavy footsteps approached from behind. My wolf, Zarah, tensed.

"Aria." His voice whispered.

My blood flow tingled at the grasp of his voice. Without turning towards him. I already knew he was the one behind the voice.

The fearless Alpha who had inserted a baby inside of me. Did I ask for this!? My countenance fell and he noticed that.

"You called me? Huh?" My face had no smile on it.

"For days, you have been avoiding me!" I screamed, my stomach still rumbling.

I whirled around, fury gripped my entire body. “After that night, you suddenly went back to being the cold Alpha mourning his dead mate.”

He drew a deep breath. The lines around his eyes deepened in the blinding light, reminding me of the twenty-four years of age difference that had gone by between us.

Why was I even thinking about that?

I pulled the pregnancy test from my pocket and threw it at him. He became aware of it while maintaining a fixed gaze on those two damning phrases.

I whimpered in a broken voice, “I had three tests and all came in positive. All!”

Caden stood firm, staring deep into my teary eyes. A tinge of shock and slight confusion etched on his face. "How long gone?"

“Three weeks already. Ever since that evening. That night, I allowed myself to believe that a man twice my age might really want anything.”

"Keep your gaze on me," he calmly instructed.

I hated how my body still obeyed his commands as I gazed into his eyes.

"I hope you aren't thinking of terminating my child, my heir?" It didn't come out like a question but sounded like a warning.

"I didn't plan for any of these to happen! You certainly don't care about me. "It's all about your heir!" I spoke the words hanging in my throat after I heard him speak.

"I'm twenty-one, Caden. Twenty-one!"

"Too old for you?" His voice was dangerously low.

I responded with a hitch of breath, "Too damaged," I whispered. "Evelyn's ring is still on your finger."

A tinge of shiver cascaded over his shoulder and I could feel every bit of his shock in motion.

I said, with tears swimming from my eyes, “I can't compete with a ghost." “I can't raise a kid with someone who is stuck in the past. I won't.”

“You have been pushing people away for years after her demise. How different would I be after giving birth to your heir?”

Caden approached, looming above me. "You think that's what this is all about? Evelyn? My age and attitude?”

Suddenly, his voice heightened with a serious stare. "All those would come afterward. The primary focus is my baby inside your womb, not love or affection. My heir is paramount!”

He had a grip on my shoulder and whispered into my ears. “You have no choice but to keep the baby. The pack needs an heir and you must give them one!”

I flinched away from his touch. “You're so selfish! What about me? "Don't I deserve love?” I whimpered uncontrollably.

My heart shredded the more while grasping the words of Caden about his heir and intentionally ignoring the feelings of the woman who would birth his baby.

Liam's unfaithfulness and Serene's betrayal seemed like the tip of the iceberg. Caden's selfishness and insensitivity were the worst.

Maybe I should have stayed behind in my pack and not run off. Maybe I would have remained and ignored the insults and gossip from people.

Just maybe!

"Aria—" His voice cut across.

"No!" I stepped back. “I need time." Space. I need…”

He grabbed my wrist and shouted, "You must let me finish!" I didn't want to feel anything, yet his touch ignited something within me.

I laughed bitterly. “Will you stop equating me with your late wife? Or will you stop reaching for that empty side of the bed every morning?”

He tensed and then loosened his hand. Something flashed in his eyes—hurt, anger, or both.

He went on in a rough voice, "Pack your bags."

My heart ceased to beat. "What?"

"You desire a spacious room, right?" He kept turning his back. "I'll give it to you." You may utilize the pack house in the North Territory for as long as you need it.

"I want to stay here!" I maintained, my heart skipping into a million beats.

He gave out a mean, scary smirk. “So you could find a way to escape with my heir?”

“Everything has changed now. "You are carrying my child, and it's time for my mother to meet you.”

Hot chills engulfed my ribs, it seemed like I couldn't gasp or pant anymore.

I haven't recovered from the reality of being pregnant with an older Alpha in my early twenties. He was about to take things a little bit further.

“Am I being delusional? Is Alpha Caden planning to—?”