BOUND BY A RIVAL

Chapter two

Two weeks later.

I knew something was wrong with me the moment I began to feel off. I slept for unusually long hours, felt dizzy most of the time, and strangest of all, I suffered constant headaches. It was rare for werewolves to fall seriously ill unless they had been poisoned with wolfbane or were carrying a pregnancy, and the thought of either possibility made my chest tighten with fear.

I haven’t been in contact with wolfbane because it was banned in our city but pregnancy? It can’t be that to. I only had s*x once.

But my father refused to make any guesses. That cold Monday morning, he told me to get dressed, saying we were both heading to the pack clinic.

I gulped when he mentioned the clinic, but I forced myself to calm down, telling myself that nothing could go wrong with both of us there.

But what I did not know was that this would be the day my entire life began to unravel, slipping quietly and irrevocably down a path I was never meant to walk.

The doctor drew my blood and disappeared into the testing room to run the tests. When he finally returned, the look on his face made my heart sink before he even spoke. My father leaned forward, tension written across his features, unable to wait any longer as he demanded to hear the results.

“She’s pregnant Alpha.”

The room spun violently as the words sank in. This could not be real. It made no sense. I had only been with someone once, just once, and yet the truth pressed down on me, crushing every breath from my lungs.

“I do not believe those results, Doctor Wills. Run the test again. My daughter cannot be pregnant. I know her too well for that. She would never bring this kind of shame upon me,” he said. His eyes turned to me, cold and accusing, while I remained frozen in my seat, unable to move or defend myself.

The doctor ran the test again and returned with the same results. My father’s anger erupted like a storm he could no longer contain. His hand clenched at his side until the knuckles whitened, and his eyes began to shift, darkening with a fury that made my blood run cold. I stayed frozen, heart hammering, terrified of what would come next.

His muscles tightened until every movement seemed controlled by raw force. A deep growl rolled through his chest, trembling against his throat, and silver light danced beneath his skin like liquid fire. His eyes burned with a dangerous heat, every heartbeat echoing the storm inside him, threatening to break free at any moment.

Here was my dad, trying with all his strength not to shift and pounce on me. I stared at the doctor, hoping he could calm my father, but there was nothing the old man could do to control this, Alpha.

“Tell me,” He said to the doctor, his voice tight and controlled, “how many months along is she?”

“Yes, I can tell you that after a month has passed”.

“I want you to do it now, so I can decide on what to do.”

“Yes Alpha.”

The doctor led me into the dimly lit scan room, the air cold against my skin as I lay back and stared at the ceiling. The machine hummed softly beside me, each second stretching unbearably long. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and careful, and the words settled into me like a slow ache. I was already one month along.

I began to cry. This couldn’t be happening to me.

My father’s name carried weight everywhere it was spoken. His influence stretched across lands, his power unquestioned, his presence enough to make even other Alpha’s tread carefully. And yet, he was the first Alpha bold enough to break tradition, to place the future of the pack in the hands of a daughter instead of a son. That future rested on me, the eldest, raised not as a weakness but as an heir.

But now, I was nothing but a disgrace not just to my father but to the whole pack. He was still struggling not to shift.

And now I stood there, locked inside my own body. The familiar heat that always came before a shift stirred and then faltered, fear tightening around it. My hand drifted instinctively to my stomach as the truth settled in. Shifting was no longer an option. One wrong move, one loss of control, and the fragile life growing inside me would suffer the consequences.

“I want it terminated.” Those were my father’s next words. How could he say something like that? This was an innocent child, if anyone deserves to be punished, that should be me.

“No dad.” I just voiced out, I didn’t even know where I gathered the courage to speak up.

“What did you just say to me Elle?”

“I said No dad. If you want to punish anyone it should be me and not this innocent child.”

“You think you’re in any position to tell me no?” He yelled.

“We can handle this,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady even as my chest tightened. “Let’s just go home and let me talk to my mother.”

She was the only one who ever listened without judgment, the only one whose words could steady me. My father paced the length of the hall, heavy footsteps echoing against the floor, his jaw clenched as he turned the idea over in his mind. With each slow step, the tension in his shoulders eased just enough to tell me he was beginning to consider it.

“Tell me, Elle,” he said, his voice low and cutting. His eyes flicked briefly to my stomach before snapping back to my face. “Do you truly intend to keep that… thing?”

I was silent. I didn’t know what to say.

“You have a bright future to rule this great pack and become its Alpha. Terminate this pregnancy and I’ll forgive you and still give you your position.” He said, hoping that what he just said made sense enough for me to change my mind.

But some strange, unyielding force pushed the words from my lips. I could not say no to the life growing inside me, not even when every instinct screamed that the father was my father’s enemy. My hands clenched at my sides, knuckles white, and my chest ached with the weight of the choice I was daring to make

“Go ahead and abort the child Wills.”

“I’m sorry Alpha but without her consent, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about it.” The doctor said.

“One more time Elle, take this offer.”

“No dad, allow me talk to my mom first before making any decision we can sort this out.”

“I hate to tell you this, Elle, but you are no longer my daughter. From this moment on, I sever every tie between us,” he said. He did not wait for a response. His footsteps echoed across the clinic floor, each one landing like a blow, until the doors closed behind him and the silence he left behind felt heavier than his words.

I was shocked, the last thing I could think my father could do was to disown me which also meant I was banished from the pack.

Tears blurred my vision as I lunged toward him, voice shaking as I begged him to reconsider. His hand struck with unyielding force, and I tumbled backward, landing hard on my butt, the air knocked out of me as sobs ripped through my chest.

“From today, I do not know you.” He said and sped off.

I sat on the ground where I fell and cried till I couldn’t breathe again. The pack doctor who was watching the whole scene shook his head and entered the clinic.

Once a person is disowned in the werewolf community, he would be cast out, a rogue with no pack, no allies, and no one willing to stand near him. His name would carry only fear and shame, leaving him.

That was my fate now. A rogue, disowned and banished by her own father.

I reached the house to find my belongings scattered across the yard, tossed out like I had never belonged. Inside, my parents’ voices clashed, sharp and heavy, cutting through the air. I ran toward my mother, who looked at me with a mix of pity and helplessness. My sister pressed close behind her, and I found myself standing between them and my father, my chest tight as I tried to hold him back.

“Just let her in for one night Leo.” My mother begged.

“No and you won’t go against my decision. Pack your things and leave.”

“Don’t do this to your daughter Leo, what’s gotten into you?”

“Pack your things and leave you’ve got fifteen minutes to be out of this pack.” He said and drove away.

My sister hugged me in tears and asked me why I didn’t tell her what happened the day of the party.

But I couldn’t talk. I packed up my things and placed them in my car and hit the road.

My life as a Rogue had begun.