Pregnant For The Alpha I Never Met

Another stranger

Millie-Rose POV

The cloud of red dust Gerald’s car left in its wake was thick and acrid, burning my throat and stinging my eyes. I lay on the sun-baked ground, watching in despair as Gerald drove away, I kept on watching until his taillights shrank and eventually vanished completely.

My lungs screamed for water and for clean air as I forced myself to stand despite my protesting muscles. I couldn’t stay here forever, I had to find a way despite the dull throbbing pain in my head.

Gerald had taken every single dollar I had on me and left me with nothing. The only cash I had left in my purse was a few crumpled pesos.

I was alone and stranded in a God-forsaken patch of Mexican desert, surrounded by nothing but the silent, mocking expanse of the arid landscape and the scorching sun.

The heat was threatening to suffocate me, I could feel my lungs closing in, stealing my strength. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the single brass key Gerald had tossed lying next to me.

“A dumpster? I don’t f*****g deserve this,” I whispered, my eyes brimming with unshed tears.

I spent everything I brought with me here on a building that looked like it wouldn’t survive the first strong wind.

I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been used as a breeding machine without my permission.

Martha’s hatred, Silas’s greed and Alpha Braham’s unwillingness to let me be had driven me to this. My desperation had made me a fool.

I’d panicked after being put on the spot, and I tried to buy my way into invisibility, and had instead paid a scam artist to toss me into a cesspit.

A wave of nausea washed over me, a familiar, unwelcome reminder of the baby I carried. I pressed my palm to my stomach. This wasn't just my life I was risking anymore, I had a baby inside of me to cater for now. I had to pull myself together. I couldn't afford the luxury of despair.

I dragged my feet towards the dilapidated house, the key in my hand. Somehow, the house got a lot worse as I got closer. The rottenness was even more pronounced and the sickly smell of decay filled the air, I had to stop myself from puking.

My only possessions were the clothes on my body and the small purse slung over my shoulder, which contained a half-empty bottle of water, a few pesos, a debit card, and a cheap, ineffective map of Mexico.

The door didn’t need the key. I gingerly pushed it and it moaned as the hinges gave way, revealing an interior that was as bad as the exterior.

I stood in the doorway, momentarily paralyzed. This wasn't shelter; it was a trap.

My focus shifted from the house to the truck. Gerald's truck.

Had he truly driven off, or was he lurking around, waiting for me to settle in before returning to finish the job? The chilling thought of him contacting the police, or worse, someone who might be interested in a reward for a missing American woman, propelled me into action.

I had to move. I couldn't stay here. This dumpster provided zero safety. But I needed a plan before leaving. I had a map and I needed to stay hydrated if I wanted to survive out there in the desert. Those were the only two things that mattered.

I had no idea of where I was heading but I knew that I couldn’t stay here.

I walked for what seemed like hours until I was fortunate to see a rickety car parked along a dusty road.

The water I had was nearly empty. I had maybe three sips left in my bottle.

“Hola,” I called out in adulterated Spanish.

A man’s head butted out of the car. He looked old and weary but his eyes were as sharp as ever.

“Can I help you?” He said in English to my precious surprise.

“I got scammed by someone named Gerald and I’m trying to get out of here,” I answered.

Out here in the desert, he wasn’t under any obligation to help me and I had no money to give him to convince him otherwise.

“Maria!” He yelled and a small woman appeared from behind the car, she smiled warmly at me before engaging in a conversation with him in rapid Spanish.

“Come,” Her accent was heavy but I heard her quite alright.

She ushered me into the back of the car and said nothing else. The man whom I presumed to be her husband started the car and drove off.

I leaned my head against the dusty window of the car, my eyes scanning the horizon, desperate for anything that wasn't dust and scrub brush. And then I saw it. About half a mile off, nestled low against the rolling curve of the earth, was a faint, almost invisible line of slightly greener vegetation. It was a sign, an ancient, universal signal that civilization was nearby.

I slowly, meticulously, slid the cheap map out of my purse. My hands were shaking so badly that I almost dropped it but it was the only way I could plan my next step. I brought it up close to my face and tried to figure out where we were. I could still remember what the town I found myself in was called and I was hoping to find it on the map.

“Where you going, muchacha?” The woman asked, watching me through the rearview mirror.

“A bus station,” I answered.

“You’re a foreigner, no?”

I smiled sweetly at her. “Yes, I am. I fell into the wrong hands during my vacation, I got scammed and I’m trying to go back home.”

“This is my husband, Alejandro, and I’m Maria. Mexico can be a difficult place for new tourists but we’re going to help you.” She said, matching my smile.

“You’re going to take me to a bus station?” I asked, pleasantly surprised but wary.

After my experience with Gerald, I found it hard to trust a stranger anymore.

“Yes, but the bus only comes on some days. You’ll have to spend a couple of days with us if you don’t mind, Alejandro can set up a spare room for you.” Maria said.

“Oh, no. You don’t need to do that. I can stay at a motel and save you the trouble,” I instantly turned down her offer.

Staying at a motel meant I would have to use my card and the implication of that would mean Alpha Braham would be able to trace me through it but I didn’t care.

Taking that risk was better than trusting another stranger here in Mexico.