AGAIN MY HEART: Her Alphas Regret

HOW MUCH FOR WHAT?

LEILANI

My hands trembled as I stared at the test result Aunt Nina had shoved against my chest after beating the flu out of me.

Every part of my body ached now, but for different reasons. The minute she dragged me down by my hair, all I could do was wail and beg for mercy as she stomped and hit me everywhere she could.

I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong, didn’t know what my offence was, but now the answers were glaring at me in red letters.

I was pregnant.

I felt my whole world sink as I read those angry red letters out loud.

Pregnant.

I was pregnant.

The pack nurse kept saying he was sorry, but how was this his fault? I should’ve known, shouldn’t I? I wasn’t stupid, naive maybe, but I should’ve known better than to have unprotected s*x with my mate. The same Alpha who has now ghosted me for two whole months.

“Get up!” Aunt Nina muttered. “Get the f**k up!” She barked as I seemed to move slower than she wanted, and I scrambled up. “I am only going to ask you this one last time. Who did you spread your dirty legs for? Who was the wolf foolish enough to dip his d**k into something as dirty as you?”

I cast my head down in shame at her words. Was I wrong for having s*x with my mate? He was my mate, who else would I have gotten with if not him? I shook my head. “It was—,” would she believe me? “I don’t…. It was dark in the barn. I didn’t get to see his face,” I lied because what else was I supposed to say? That my mate was the Alpha King and I’d let him f**k me multiple times without a care because I was desperate to have any part of him?

Aunt Nina made a sound of disgust, and then she sighed. “Get out of my house.”

My head snapped up at her order. “Aunty…” I began, but she cut me off.

“Out Now! I will not house you and your bastard child. If you’re big enough to open those dirty legs for just anyone, then you are big enough to take care of it.”

“Please, mum wouldn’t have…”

“Get the hell out of my house, Leilani. Now!” She snarled as she shoved me towards the door and out of the only place I called home without even letting me grab a pair of extra clothes.

***

I clung to the pregnancy result in my hand like it was my only lifeline. Perhaps it was. It was the only thing I had with me, the only object Aunt Nina let me take out of the house. Even as I sat outside, crying and begging for her to let me get my bag, she refused. All the money I’d saved up since I was fourteen was in that room, and I had no access to it.

I’ve survived the last six days on berries and mangoes, sleeping in a cave close to the outskirts of the pack, and now I’m here. I was overjoyed when I found out the Alpha King didn’t live in the capital, because I wouldn’t have been granted access into the capital without an ID, unless I was with Lady Malcolm for work.

The door to the office and a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties eyed me sceptically. “Are you the one with a message for the Alpha King?” She asked, and I nodded.

I had lied that Master Malcolm had sent me to deliver a personal message to His Highness. It was a game of chance because I wasn’t sure if they would believe me. But I remember my first encounter with him, and Lady Malcolm had addressed him as if that wasn’t their first time meeting. Of course, Master Malcolm once served the kingdom as a soldier, so I took a bet to see if his name would get me in, and it did.

“Go on in then, His Highness is ready to see you.” She eyed me with scepticism as I walked past her and opened the door.

I was assaulted with that sweet spiciness of my mate's scent the minute the door closed behind and I inhaled sharply before letting out a shaky breath. The urge to go to him and curl up in his arms was intense as I stepped further into his office, but there was something different, something missing from his pheromones. That faint scent of burnt iris wasn’t there, not like all the times he’s sought me out.

He seemed engrossed in his work, and without raising his head, he began speaking. “What does Malcolm have…” He paused, his forehead creasing as he sniffed the air.

I watched as his face contorted into that of pure disgust as he slowly raised his head, and his eyes landed on me.

The Alpha King frowned, craning his head to the side. “Malcolm didn’t send you, did he?” He asked, and I shook my head. “What are you doing here? How did you even find me?”

I stared at him for a minute, wondering if that was all he had to say for himself after disappearing on me for two months. “You never came back,” I mumbled.

“Came back?” He frowned, looking genuinely confused. “Came back for what?”

“Seriously? Are you really going to pretend the past four months weren’t real? All the times you, we… You should’ve at least said something if you knew you weren’t coming back. Instead of leaving me like that. That wasn’t nice.” I retorted, suddenly becoming irritated at the thought of him trying to feign innocence.

Silence stretched between us for a few minutes before he sighed and shook his head. “I’m not sure if you hit your head on your way here. Perhaps you’re on drugs. Whatever it is you’re going on about, I don’t care for the theatrics. Tell me why you lied to see me, and it better be worth my time.”

I couldn’t even describe the emotions crashing through me as I stared at him. Was he really going to act like this? I swallowed my retort and walked over to his desk and pushed the test results towards him. If he wants to feign ignorance, I bet this will refresh his memory.

Eyeing me as he grabbed the paper, he shook his head before casting his gaze down. I watched his face contort as he read it. “What am I looking at? What’s this?” He waved the test result in the air like he couldn’t be bothered by the contents.

“Do you not know how to read?” I asked indignantly.

“Do you realise whose office you’re standing in?” He asked in a sharp voice, his gaze slowly turned dark.

I wanted to yell and curse at him that he didn’t care about his status as a king when he was having s*x with me in random places, but all of a sudden, it mattered. “The words are written there and quite easy to understand,” I responded, biting back my tongue.

“So? What does that have to do with me? I don’t know you enough to care about this.”

“You don’t know me enough? I am pregnant,” I retorted loudly.

“And so? How is that my business?” He asked, his voice laced with confusion.

I gaped at him. Was he really going to play this game of innocence and confusion till the end?

“It has everything to do with you. You’re the one who got me pregnant. Of course, it has everything to do with you, and you need to take responsibility. I’ve been cast out of the house by my aunt, I have nowhere else to go, and it’s all your fault. I’ve been living on berries and mangoes for the past six days. You can’t just feign ignorance now and think you can get away with it. All those times you came to me, claiming every part of my body like it was yours, you never bothered about your status. You didn’t care when you had me pinned against barn sheds or bathroom walls and store rooms just to get your pleasure. You vanished for two months, and I was willing to move on, accept that it was just a fluke, and you only cared about my body. Only for me to end up pregnant. I am an orphan. I have no one. You don’t get to back out of this after using me. The child is yours, Your Highness.” I was out of breath by the time I finished lashing at him.

I get that he’s the Alpha King, and I should fear him. I do, but am I supposed to watch him act like I don’t matter?

He stared at me in utter silence for what felt like eternity before bursting out in a fit of boisterous laughter. The sound of it filled the office, and I wondered what was so funny to him. “How many times did you practice that speech in the mirror before coming?” He asked, still laughing.

A frown crossed my face as I watched him. “Practice? I just told you I am carrying your child, and I’m homeless, and you think this is something I practised?”

“Yes. And I also think you were dropped on your head as a child. What do you take me for, a fool?”

“Why would I take you for a fool? I am pregnant with your child.”

“My child?” He sneered as he stood from his seat. “What makes you think someone like you is worthy of carrying my child?” He walked around the desk, approaching me with a darkened gaze.

“If you didn’t think I was worthy, why did you have s*x with me? Why take my virginity if you thought I was so unworthy of you?” I took several steps back as he closed in on me, and he didn’t stop until he had me backed into the wall.

“You really must be beyond delusional if you came up with this lie and are so hell-bent on selling it. I wouldn’t stoop so low to f**k or create a child with a nobody. I am not a hormonal Alpha desperate for a f**k, and even if I was, a market street harlot is a far better option.” He snarled with disdain.

“You would compare me to a market street harlot?” I asked shakily as tears filled my eyes.

“No. I said a market street harlot is far more worthy of my c**k, than you will ever be.” I felt the slow pinch of pain in my chest at his words. How could he think so low of me?

“Yet, you came to me, took from me, and now that you’ve had your fill, you think me lower than a w***e? Why? Is it because I am an orphan, a common omega? Or because I am not Eitbjorn born?” I asked with my pain lacing my voice.

He scoffed as he stepped away from me. “I do not have to explain myself to a lowly omega like you. I do not know the riffraff you opened your leg for, and I do not care. I am guessing you probably don’t know who the father is either, from your account, you’ll open your legs for anybody, anywhere they find you. I am not sure why you think I would believe such nonsense…”

“You are my mate, why would I open my legs for anyone else? It was you.” I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

“Ah, so you thought I’d be blinded by the mate bond?” He snorted, shaking his head as he walked back to his desk. “I’ll have you know the mate bond means nothing to me. Now, if you are done with your theatrics, get out of my office,” he muttered, throwing the test result my way.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious. Pick up that stupid result and get the hell out of my office. And make sure I never see you again because I won’t be so nice next time.” He warned before taking his seat.

My feet remained glued to the floor as I stared at him. “Where do you want me to go? I have nowhere else to go,” I mumbled, as tears rolled down my cheeks. My heart constricted painfully as he raised his head to look at me with a hollow, uncaring gaze. “I told you, I am an orphan. I am supposed to survive alone?”

“I do not care, Omega. Get out.” He growled, and I flinched. He can’t just cast me away like this. It’s unfair, this is so f*****g unfair.

“What will the royal council say when they find out you’ve chosen to desert your mate? What will they do when they find out I am carrying Eitbjorn’s heir?” I asked in a steel voice. I needed him to take me seriously, and I may not know much about him, but from all the findings I did this week, I know the royal council do not like him.

“Did you just try to threaten me?”

“You gave me no choice. If you won’t take responsibility, then I’ll go to the people who will make you. I refuse to suffer alone. I didn’t get myself pregnant, you did.”

He stared at me silently, but I could see the fire blazing in his eyes, and I could hear the deep growls rumbling low in his chest. A few minutes passed before he nodded and grabbed a booklet from the side of his desk.

“How much?” He asked, suddenly.

“How much for what?” I asked, frowning.

“How much do I need to pay you to get rid of the bastard you’re carrying, and for me to never see your face again? Because I guarantee that if I have to see you again, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”