Rejected & Pregnant: The Alpha's Secret Heir

Rain hammered the stained-glass windows of the Pack House like it was trying to break in. Loud. Good. Maybe it would drown out the sound of my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. I stuck to the shadows behind a cold marble pillar, picking at a loose thread on the hem of my grey dress. Just another shadow in a room full of gold and silk. Invisible. Just the way I liked it. Usually. Elena the Orphan. Elena the Runt. But tonight, the air felt too thin. Too tight. Because tonight was the Mating Ceremony. The night everyone turned eighteen and waited for the Moon Goddess to snap the golden thread of fate into place. I wasn't waiting. My hand drifted to my stomach, resting over the flat curve beneath the rough fabric. I already knew. One night. That’s all it took. Thirty days ago. The Heat Run. God, it was a mess. A blur of mud and pheromones so thick you could taste them on your tongue like copper. I hadn't seen his face in the pitch black of the forest. I just knew the scent—Cedar. Rain. I knew the weight of his body, the terrifying power that forced my wolf to roll over and bare her throat. I didn't know it was Marcus then. I was just a body in the dark. But now... there was a second heartbeat fluttering inside me. A secret. A time bomb. "Alphas and Betas to the front!" The voice boomed, rattling the floorboards. Marcus Thorne. I peeked around the pillar. He stood on the raised dais, bathed in the warm glow of the chandeliers. He looked... unfair. That’s the only word for it. Too tall, too broad, hair like spun gold. He was wearing a tuxedo that probably cost more than the shed I slept in. He looked like a King. And I looked like something the cat dragged in and forgot to eat. My wolf woke up. She was usually a dormant, frightened thing, but now she was pacing in my skull, scratching at the back of my eyes. MATE, she whined. MINE. Marcus scanned the crowd. He looked bored. Impatient. Then, he stopped. His eyes locked onto the pillar. Onto me. The air left the room. The bond didn't "click" into place. It slammed into me. A physical hook in my navel, yanking me forward. The scent hit me from fifty feet away—Cedar. Rain. My stomach dropped. Him. The stranger in the dark. The father. I took a step forward. My legs felt like jelly. A stupid, fragile hope bloomed in my chest, tight and painful. Maybe... maybe biology was stronger than rank? Maybe he would smell the baby? "Elena Vance." His voice was flat. Cold as the rain outside. He didn't come down. He didn't smile. He looked at me like I was a stain on his carpet that he’d been meaning to clean. The crowd parted. The silence was heavy, suffocating. "Come forward, Omega." I walked. I had to. It felt like walking to the gallows. I could hear the whispers, sharp and stinging. "Her?" "The runt?" "Is he joking?" I reached the bottom of the steps and looked up. My neck hurt from the angle. Please, I thought, projecting it as hard as I could. Please don't do this. Marcus looked at me. His nostrils flared slightly. He smelled it. He felt the pull. For a second, I saw something in his eyes. Recognition? But then it was gone. Replaced by golden, hard indifference. "I, Marcus Thorne, Alpha of the Black Ridge Pack..." He paused. He let the silence stretch until it hurt. He reached out. Not to me. To Tanya. The Beta's daughter. She was standing there in a red dress that looked like it was painted on, smirking down at me like I was a bug she was about to step on. Marcus took Tanya’s hand. He interlaced their fingers. Then he looked back at me. Dead in the eye. "...I reject you, Elena Vance, as my mate." SNAP. It wasn't a sound. It was a physical sensation. Like a rubber band snapping against raw skin, but deep inside my chest. The pain blinded me. It felt like someone had reached into my ribs and twisted everything sideways. I hit the floor. My knees cracked against the stone. "No..." The word was just a wheeze. I clutched my chest, gasping. "Marcus... please..." "You are weak," Marcus said. He sounded bored. "You have no wolf. No family. You are nothing." He squeezed Tanya’s hand. "My pack needs a Luna. Not a charity case." Tanya laughed. It was a pretty sound, light and tinkling, which made it worse. "Poor little mouse," she cooed. "Did you really think the Alpha would want you? You're lucky he lets you breathe his air." The pain was eating me alive. My wolf was howling, curling up to die. But then— Flutter. A tiny, distinct kick. Low in my belly. The baby. He rejected me. But he didn't know. He just rejected his own heir. The realization hit me harder than the pain. If he knew... or worse, if she knew... They wouldn't just kick me out. They would kill me. A runt mother raising an Alpha heir? Tanya would never allow it. The pain was still there, but the fear was colder. Sharper. I looked up. I didn't see a mate anymore. I saw a threat. "I accept your rejection," I whispered. My voice cracked, but I got the words out. Marcus blinked. He looked surprised. Maybe he expected me to beg harder. "Good," he grunted. "Get out. You're banished from the Pack House. If I see you here again, I'll have the Enforcers drag you out." I stood up. I don't know how. My legs were shaking so bad I thought they’d snap. I didn't look at the crowd. I didn't look at Tanya's winning smile. I put a hand over my stomach. Sorry, I told the bean-sized thing inside me. I'm so sorry. I turned and ran. Out the doors. Into the rain. It washed the heat from my face, but it couldn't wash away the hole in my chest. Fine. He didn't want me. But he would never get his hands on his son.