Chapter 13

Elena pov

As I walked into the hospital, the doctors and nurses welcomed me warmly.

Of course, I was here under Alpha Horace; they basically had no choice.

I also noticed the murmurs. The whispers.

People are trying to make guesses about the status of our relationship.

But I didn’t care. Let them guess and talk.

Nothing had been confirmed publicly yet. But if they wanted to gossip, who was I to stop them?

Ethan and I spent a few hours at the hospital as the doctors ran multiple tests on him to confirm my suspicions.

I had bragged about my certainty of his condition and now had to prove they were true.

After the tests were carried out, I instructed the doctor to send the results via email before walking out. Just in time to meet him in the hallway.

“Daddy,” Ethan shouted happily, rushing down my body to go hug his father.

Horace joined him halfway.

“Hey, buddy.” He said, picking him gently off the ground. The sight was a wonder to witness.

We walked out together, looking like a close-knit family, which I guess only raised more questions in the hearts of the viewers.

“How did it go?” Horace asked, sliding a hand on top of mine in the car.

I stiffened. His warm hand made me feel especially hot.

As I moved to take it off, Ethan stretched, adding his hand to the pile.

“Me too.” He said, chuckling in that baby way that made my heart melt.

“You like mama and papa hands together, buddy,” Horace asked.

“Yessss.” He bellowed.

I caught Horace’s eye on me, saying, “See.”

“Fine.” I looked away. Trying to hide the growing smile on my lips.

“You can smile at me, you know. I don’t bite.”

He teased.

I flicked him a look, “I wasn’t smiling.” I lied.

“Really? Could have sworn I saw a smile line your lips.” He added. Unrelenting.

“Well, you would have been dead wrong, Alpha Horace.”

I replied, our eyes locking for a moment. A moment too long.

My eyes travelled, landing on his lips.

His big hands brushed against mine on the center console, another attempt to tease me that I was lying to myself.

I quickly pulled away. Feeling instantly hot all over.

To calm my nerves, I hold onto Ethan’s hands, an attempt to make light of the situation.

From my side eye, I noticed the wide smirk on his lips, just as we pulled into the mansion’s driveway.

Later that night, I was in Ethan’s room, reading him his favorite book.

Thought I was exhausted from the day's work, but the kid didn’t seem one bit tired, so I had to keep up.

We flipped the pages together,

“See this.” He said, pointing whenever he saw familiar objects.

We kept at this for the next hour until his voice seized.

I looked at him and noticed he had fallen calmly asleep. Finally showing the weight of the day's stress in the gentle sounds that left his nose.

I tucked him in, pulling the covers over him.

But when I tried to leave, he held me back in his sleep, unwilling to let go of my arm.

No other option, I decided to stay back.

And though I tried to stay awake, ultimately, I fell deep into my own slumber.

Only to be awoken hours later by a heavy body that dipped into the bed, behind me.

An intoxicating manly scent travelled through my nose, drawing unexpected sensations from my body.

Still deep in my sleepy state, I pulled it closer, enjoying the warmth and comfort it provided.

Until I felt something behind me. Strong and rigid.

Then, my brain ticked at what it could be.

My eyes widened. I tried to get up quickly, but the weight behind me was pressed against me so tightly, I could barely move. And because I didn’t want to wake Ethan, I decided to do it gently.

As I tried to wiggle my way out of Horace’s hold, his voice came out calmly.

“Please stay. Just for tonight.” He said, holding onto my robe.

I turned to look at him, and he was fast asleep, looking peaceful.

With no other choice, I lay down, cursing myself for wearing the disgusting little excuse of a robe again.

I couldn’t believe what situation I had found myself in with that same robe on.

I tried to stay awake, afraid something bigger than me might happen to me if I slept, but who was I kidding?

Being in his arms, those big and sturdy arms were the safest I had felt in a long time. And though I knew I shouldn’t have allowed it, I let myself enjoy the moment, leaving all worries for the next morning.

In no time, my body succumbed. My eyes shut tightly, drifting into the comfort the darkness provided.

When I woke up the next morning, he had gone.

The whole thing blurred, as if he was never there to begin with.

And sure enough, the morning came with the worries I had expected.

My mind beat me up, reminding me of how stupid I was to have let myself into such a situation.

I was back in my room, flipping through the magazine in my hand. Though my mind was far from the contents in it, it kept replaying the scene from the previous night. How comfortable and normal the whole thing felt.

The feelings. The longing. The desires that left my body feeling hot in familiar places.

It made no sense. It wasn’t supposed to happen.

I was still deep in my thoughts when I received a message on my phone.

I checked to see who it was, and it was an email from the hospital.

I picked it up immediately, half hopeful, half scared.

Knowing that if the message didn’t come out the way I predicted, I could lose everything to my enemies.

My respect, my license, and worst of all, my dignity.

I clicked the message and…my heart stopped