Chapter 4 Am I pregnant?

Ilaria's POV 

“You need to take care of yourself, Ilaria. Don’t work too hard.”

“I’m fine, Mom. I promise.”

But outside her room, the truth hit me again. I had no real home anymore. For days, I drifted between cheap motels and hard benches until I finally settled in a small park near the hospital. A crooked tree and a worn bench became my place to sleep.

To keep us afloat, I found work at a nearby pastry shop. The pay was little, but steady. My hands picked up the rhythm fast, measuring sugar, folding dough, piping cream. The scent of butter and bread clung to me even after I left.

Still, exhaustion clung tighter. My head spun at random, waves of nausea rising with the smell of sugar or even on the walk back to the hospital. At first, I told myself it was stress, too many nights without sleep. But when my period didn’t come, the thought I’d been trying to avoid forced its way in.

Maybe I was pregnant. But I couldn't process it right then, so I pushed the thought aside for later. 

A month passed. On payday, I collected my envelope. The shop owner’s eyes slid over me as he handed it across.

“You’ve been working hard,” he said, his gaze crawling over me. “Maybe I can give you a bonus… if you’re willing to be flexible.”

Before I could step back, his hand clamped around my wrist. I twisted, but he yanked me forward, trapping me against him. 

“I've been wanting to do this for a long time. Just relax.”

His breath hit my cheek, and then his mouth pressed against my neck.

Revulsion shot through me. I shoved at his chest, but he only held tighter. His lips dragged lower, and then he froze.

His whole body jerked like he’d been burned. He ripped himself away, eyes wide, pupils blown with fear. He sniffed once, and stumbled back.

“You… you’ve been with an Alpha,” he whispered, almost to himself. His voice cracked, muttering again and again under his breath—“An Alpha… a ruthless Alpha…”—like the words alone terrified him.

He shoved the envelope at me with shaking hands, his face pale. “Take it. Don’t ever come back.” Without waiting for an answer, he bolted for the back door, still muttering, his steps uneven with panic.

I stood frozen, my skin crawling, my heart slamming in my chest. What just happened? Why would the scent of an Alpha terrify him like that?

Before I could make sense of it, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was from the hospital.

I answered with trembling fingers. A nurse’s voice spilled through, rushed and urgent. “Your mother’s condition has turned critical. You need to come immediately.”

And my world tilted.

With the paycheck, I went straight to the hospital. My mother was asleep, and a nurse led me to the doctor’s office.

“Her condition has worsened,” he said grimly. “The wolf poison is spreading, attacking her organs.”

“Can’t you do anything?”

“She needs surgery immediately. But…” He paused. “Her injuries weren’t an accident. The poison was used by someone on purpose.”

I didn’t need to ask who was behind it. Calista’s mother had finally gone too far.

The doctor cleared his throat. “The cost is substantial. Do you have the funds?”

I looked down at the envelope in my hand. It wasn’t even close.

“No,” I whispered.

“Then I’m sorry. Without payment, we’ll have to discharge her.”

I walked back to my mother’s room in a daze. She was still asleep, her face pale. I sat beside her, with the weight of the deadline pressing down on me.

I had no idea how to save her, and the weight of it pressed down until I thought I’d shatter.

I called Bill again, pacing outside the hospital in the heavy heat. The call went straight to voicemail. A sharp curse rose in my throat. He really had blocked me.

My chest caved in. That was it, no money, no help, nothing left. My vision blurred as I pressed a fist to my mouth, trying to hold the panic down. It didn’t work. The tears broke free anyway, sliding down my face as I sank against the wall. If I couldn’t pay, they’d send Mom home to die.

I walked back inside, wiping my face so no one would know I’d been crying. I needed a cup of water to calm down. Then his name carried across the room from the TV in the waiting area, and I froze.

“Alpha Reed Ashbourne spoke earlier today in his election interview at Ravencrest Tower.” The newscaster said.

The screen shifted, and there he was.

My breath caught. He stood at the podium towering above everyone else. His suit hugged him in a way that left no doubt about his strength. His dark hair was sharp against the lights, and his eyes seemed to cut right through the camera.

He looked too good and too untouchable.

I hated that my chest clenched at the sight of him, that part of me still remembered the way his eyes had burned gold when he held me. 

The world said he was ruthless. My body whispered something else. And that war inside me made it even harder to breathe. It was foolish, and dangerous, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away.

Now, with Mom’s life slipping through my fingers, he was the only thread left to hold on to.

The anchor’s voice rose again: “Live from Ravencrest Tower, campaign headquarters for Alpha Reed Ashbourne.”

That's ten blocks away.

My stomach knotted. My legs moved before fear could stop me.

The building was glass and stone, tall and imposing, its lobby adorned with quiet wealth. I stepped inside, nerves tight, and approached the receptionist’s desk.

“I need to see Alpha Reed,” I said, keeping my voice low.

The receptionist looked me over from head to toe, her eyes lingering on my worn shoes and threadbare sleeves. A smirk tugged at her mouth. 

“Do you really think someone like you can walk in here and demand to see him?” she said loudly, her tone loud enough for others in the lobby to hear. A few heads turned. Heat rushed up my neck, burning my cheeks.

I opened my mouth to explain, but nothing came out. The receptionist leaned back in her chair, clearly enjoying my humiliation.

“How dare you humiliate my guest?”

Reid's presence filled the room in a flash.