chapter 2: Aftermath
1163 Words
Chapter Two — Aftermath
Who knew a single night could destroy a lifetime of certainty?
I woke with a violent ache drilling through my skull. My head throbbed as I forced my eyes open, squinting against harsh sunlight spilling through unfamiliar windows. The heavy curtains, the unfamiliar scent in the air, the massive bed beneath me, none of it belonged to me.
This was not my room.
Reality crashed over me in slow, terrifying waves.
I jerked upright, heart pounding, eyes darting wildly around the room. Polished floors. Tall windows. Thick comforters scented faintly of something… masculine. My stomach dropped, panic slithering through me.
I hadn’t gone home last night.
The last clear memory I had was Sophia dragging me into a black luxury car, laughing too loudly, smelling of alcohol and perfume, insisting we celebrate my coming of age early. Two months to awakening, she’d said. Two months until I would step into my destiny as the next Alpha.
Of course, I would never have gone on my own. I hated parties. Hated crowds. Hated alcohol.
But she had persuaded me.
She said meeting the next-in-line Alphas would be good for my future. She said I would need allies when my father eventually handed over leadership of the pack. She said it was time I stopped living like a frightened child.
So I went.
And somewhere between being pushed drinks by strangers and spun across a glowing dance floor surrounded by men I didn’t know, everything after that… disappeared.
I groaned, pressing a hand to my forehead, trying to piece myself together. My body felt wrong, too heavy, too sore. A dull ache radiated through my lower back and between my legs.
Then I felt it.
A weight around my waist.
Something warm.
Alive.
Frozen, I slowly turned my head to the side.
A man lay sleeping beside me.
Naked.
Not my sister. Not someone familiar.
A stranger.
A scream rose in my throat, but I swallowed it, clamping my hand over my mouth before terror gave me away. My eyes dropped to my own body, and horror crashed through me.
I was naked too.
And I didn’t need anyone to explain what the soreness meant.
I had lost my virginity.
To a man I didn’t even know.
A sob clawed at my chest, but I choked it back. Panic crashed through me in dizzy waves. Shame followed hard behind it.
What had I done?
My phone screen lit up beside the bed.
Mira.
I grabbed it like it was the only anchor to reality.
“M… Mira,” I whispered, turning slightly away from the man beside me.
“Ariana, where are you?” she snapped. “Dad’s been pacing the house like he’s about to tear someone apart! Why didn’t you come home with Sophia last night? You were supposed to attend the pack gathering this morning!”
“I… slow down,” I muttered, trembling. “I was with Sophia… we had drinks. I honestly don’t even know where I am right now.”
A pause.
“Are you okay? Why would you drink when you know your system isn’t built for it?”
“It wasn’t my idea. I promise.”
“I knew it. That sly fox,” Mira hissed. “Why didn’t she bring you home?”
“I don’t know… My head feels like it’s splitting.”
The man beside me shifted in his sleep.
I froze. My breath hitched. I slapped my palm over the speaker.
“Is someone with you?” Mira asked sharply.
“No!” I said too fast. “It’s just… my head. That’s all.”
Another pause.
“Find out where you are,” she finally said. “I’ll send a driver. Come home before Dad loses what little patience he has left.”
“Thank you, Mira. I owe you.”
When the call ended, silence slammed back down around me.
Carefully, I turned to look at the man beside me.
And my breath caught.
He wasn’t just handsome.
He was dangerously beautiful. Broad shoulders. A cut jaw. Golden toned skin. His body looked carved from stone, powerful even in sleep. Everything about him screamed dominance.
An Alpha.
But not mine.
I had never seen him before.
A ghost of memory brushed my mind , blurred fragments of someone guiding me into this room… him asking why I was there… his frustration as he tried to send me away…
And that strange, magnetic pull. The kind that wasn’t supposed to happen before awakening. The kind that felt ancient and terrifying.
I swallowed. Something was very wrong.
Quietly, I slid from the bed, forcing myself into the shiny black dress Sophia had shoved me into before the party. My hands shook as I dragged on my heels and grabbed my bag.
Then I fled.
Outside the room, my limbs trembled as I rushed down the hallway, only to collide with a young man.
“Oh, sorry!” I gasped.
He steadied me easily, eyes studying my face. He wasn’t human. I could tell by scent alone.
Wolf. But not Alpha.
“You were coming from this room,” he said lightly, smiling.
“I—no—I mean—uh—” My cheeks burned.
“It’s my Alpha’s room,” he added casually.
I nearly choked.
Alpha.
“Embarrassed?” He chuckled. “Don’t be. Happens often.”
“W–Well I wasn’t—” I cleared my throat. “I really need to go.”
“I could drop you off.”
“No, thank you. I’ll find my way.”
And I left before I humiliated myself further.
---
Home was worse.
My father’s fury hit me the moment I stepped into the great hall.
“Where have you been?” Alpha Kael Cinderclaw’s voice roared like thunder.
“With Sophia,” I whispered. “I passed out… I must have lost my way.”
“You lie.”
My heart skipped painfully.
“I asked her,” he continued. “She told me you left the party early.”
My hands curled into fists. Of course she did. Like mother. Like daughter.
“I was with her the whole night,” I said.
“Then why didn’t you return together?” His eyes burned, electric blue and unforgiving.
I had no answer.
“Two weeks,” he snapped. “You are grounded.”
I didn’t argue. I didn’t cry. I just went to my room.
---
Weeks passed, and I still couldn’t believe I had lost my virginity to a total stranger. Something felt wrong. Wolves didn’t get sick like this. I didn’t heal. My appetite vanished. Sleep abandoned me. My body felt… wrong.
“Get dressed,” my father finally ordered. “We’re going to the hospital.”
Doctor Smith returned with results, his face grave.
“Alpha Kael,” he said carefully.
Then he looked at me.
“She’s pregnant.”
- Writer
