CHAPTER FOUR
1001 Words
Anna (POV)
Francesco stood in front of me, blocking my way. His eyes moved from my face down to the brown envelope in my hands.
"Anna," he said again, stepping closer. "What are you doing at the clinic?"
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. I tried to hide the envelope behind my back, but it was too late. He had already seen it.
"Nothing," I whispered. "I was just... I felt sick."
"Sick?" he said, studying me like a predator watching prey. "You've been sick for weeks now. Every morning. I've noticed."
Cold fear washed over me. He had been watching me.
"It's just the flu," I said, stepping back. "I should go. I have work…"
His hand grabbed my wrist. “What’s that?” His voice was low. "Let me see that envelope."
"No." I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. "Francesco, please…"
He snatched the envelope from my hand. I watched helplessly as he opened it, his eyes scanned the paper inside. Then his face changed. He smiled. "You're pregnant." He looked up at me, and his eyes gleamed with something dark. "With Alpha Alexandro's baby. Do you know what this means? The Alpha’s child… the heir. His mother is offering ten million dollars for anyone who gives him one. And guess who will get credit for bringing this news to them?”
"Please." Tears burned my eyes. "Please don't tell anyone. I'll do anything…"
"Anything?" Francesco laughed. "Oh, Anna. You've already done enough." He folded the paper carefully and put it in his pocket.
"Give it back," I begged. "Please, Francesco. You don't understand…"
"I understand perfectly." He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "I understand that you're carrying the Alpha's heir. Do you know how much that's worth?" I shook my head, trying to pull away from his grip.
"The Alpha needs to know about this," Francesco said. "He has a right to know he's going to be a father."
"No!”
He'll think I did this on purpose. He already hates me. He called me a... he called me..." I couldn't say the word.
"A w***e?" Francesco smiled wider. "Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you slept with him."
"You drugged me!" The words burst out before I could stop them. "You put something in my drink that night. You took me to his room. You made this happen!"
"Who's going to believe that?" he said softly. "You, a wolfless nobody? Or me, the respected hotel manager?"
He released my chin and stepped back, straightening his jacket.
"I'm going to the Alpha," he announced. "I'm going to tell him about his child. And maybe, just maybe, he'll reward me for bringing him this information."
"Francesco, please…"
"Go home, Anna." He turned and walked away, my test results still in his pocket. "And don't do anything stupid."
I stood there on the sidewalk, shaking. People walked past me, going about their normal lives, while mine was falling apart.
Francesco was going to tell the Alpha. Alpha Alexandro would think I planned this. He would think I was trying to trap him. And I had no way to prove the truth. I walked home in a daze. Each step felt heavy. My hand kept moving to my stomach, to the tiny life growing inside me.
(Alpha Alexandro POV)
I was in my office, trying to drown myself in work, trying to forget the woman I should never have touched when one of the guards rushed in.
“Alpha, Francesco, the hotel manager, is here. He says it’s urgent.”
Of all people, him? “Send him in,” I said, though every muscle in my body tensed.
The door opened, and Francesco slid inside with a fake, practiced smile. He bowed low, too low, like he was desperate to impress me.
“Alpha Alexandro,” he said, his voice sweet like rotten fruit. “I bring… good news.”
“Speak,” I ordered.
He straightened, his eyes gleaming with something I couldn’t name. Pride? Greed?
“It’s about Anna…the hotel cleaner.”
My stomach dropped at the sound of her name, but I kept my face unreadable.
“What about her?”
Francesco smiled wider. “She is pregnant, Alpha.”
Pregnant?
My chest tightened, but I kept my voice steady. “What proof do you have?” I asked.
Francesco held up the envelope. “Her test results.”
“I saw her at the clinic today. The nurse confirmed it.” I snatched the envelope from his hand. He took a small step closer. “She’s carrying your child, Alpha. Your heir.”
My heir.
My mind raced, but Francesco kept talking, proudly, like he had done something worthy.
“Alpha, I came straight to you. I thought you should know first.”
His eyes flashed with greed.
“And the bounty…” he added softly, “I assume it applies to the man who brings you the good news.”
I stared at him. His grin. His eager eyes. His shaking hands trying to hide the truth.
“Get my mother,” I ordered the guard.
Minutes later, my mother, Lucia Romano, entered the office with her elegant gown and cold authority.
”What is this about, Alexandro?” she asked.
I gestured toward him. “He claims a girl from the hotel is pregnant with my child.”
My mother’s eyes lit up instantly hope, fear, relief,all at once.
“Is this true?” she demanded.
“Yes, Luna,” Francesco said, almost bowing again. “I have the test results.”
My mother stepped closer to him. “You did well bringing this information. But before any reward, we must confirm the truth. Bring the girl here.”
Francesco’s face twitched. “Now?”
Francesco opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a new voice cut through the room.
“Alpha, there is something you must see…”
- Writer
