Chapter 6

Olivia was sitting at her desk, trying to concentrate on her work. It was almost time for Thanksgiving, which meant she would have a few days off and could relax at her family home in the pack. She needed that more than she could say. Since the night of the Halloween party, things had been different. People who had been friendly before had stopped speaking to her, while others she had never spoken to now wanted to be her friends. She kept getting glances and stares as she worked, and whispers seemed to follow her through the hallways. Even Nicholas had changed the way he acted around her. Before, he had worked closely with her daily. They spoke often and were physically close daily. Now, she might catch a glance of him once a week, and he never came to her office as he had.

She sighed as she pulled her planner from her bag under her desk. She wanted to call her mom and see if she had specific plans for things she wanted them to do as a family while everyone was home for the holiday. But, as she flipped through the calendar to find the correct week, she stopped. She saw a date with a small x and nothing else. She felt her heart drop. That had to be wrong.

She glanced up at the wall clock above her door. It was almost noon. Instead of having lunch, she would run to the store a couple of blocks away and get what she needed. She fought tears as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. One drunken night and now her life could be over.

-

Olivia sat on the closed toilet in her private bathroom, watching her phone timer tick down. She felt like she was watching a time bomb ticking down, and when it went off, someone would be hurt. But she knew in her heart that no matter what, she was the one who it would be. She stared at the screen as it hit zero, shutting off the alarm before it sounded.

She raised her eyes to focus on the small plastic wand on the edge of the sink. She had to look at it. She had to know whether her plans and goals had all changed or not. She took a deep breath and held it as she stood and stepped to the sink. She flipped the wand over and felt the color drain from her face. Two blue lines. She was pregnant.

She was shaking as she stepped back and sat on the toilet lid again. She thought about Halloween night and tried to calm herself. It was Nick. Alpha and CEO Nicholas Williams. He was her friend and told her he wanted to take a chosen Luna and mate. She was carrying his child, his heir. He would take care of her and the baby.

Her eyes welled with tears. No matter what she told herself, she couldn’t help thinking about all the things she knew she would have to give up. She had wanted to travel and take photos of the desert southwest, Alaska, the swamps in Louisiana, and so many other places. A baby would change that. Being Luna would change that.

The first thing she had to do was compose herself and tell Nick. That was the only way she would see how much her life was about to change.

Olivia stepped out of the elevator on the top floor where Nicholas’ office was located. She pulled herself as tall as she could as she walked to his office. She paused at the door and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm herself. She opened the door and stepped in to see Gretchen sitting at her desk.

“Hi, Gretchen,” Olivia said with a polite nod of her head.

“Well, hello, stranger. I was beginning to worry about you. Is everything OK?” Gretchen asked. She and Jake had been the only ones who had not changed the way they treated Olivia after what had happened on Halloween.

“I’m fine. Is Nicholas in? I need to speak to him about something.”

“He is. I will let him know you’re here.” Gretchen picked up her phone and called into Nicholas’ office. “Olivia is here and would like to speak with you.” After a brief reply, Gretchen hung up the phone. “Go on in, Olivia.”

Olivia gave her a nod and a slight smile as she went in, closing the door behind her. She braced herself for a conversation that she was not ready for.

“Olivia, what can I do for you?” Nicholas asked without looking up from his work.

“Nick, we have something that we need to talk about,” she told him, her voice shaking the same as her body.

“What?” Nicholas asked, looking up at her for the first time. “Olivia? Why are you upset? Did something happen?”

“Sort of.”

“Sit down and talk to me. I know things have been different since that night, but we are still friends. You can talk to me about anything.”

Olivia sat in the chair across from him, trying to think of what to say. She was looking down at the floor as her heart raced.

“Liv, what is wrong?”

Olivia whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Nicholas beamed, “Congratulations! Who’s the lucky guy?”

Olivia looked at him in disbelief. He read her hurt expression, and it slowly dawned on him.

“Are you trying to tell me that it is mine? Is that why you are telling me this?”

Oliva nodded. That was all she could do. At that moment, she couldn’t form words.

“Are you sure it’s mine?”

“Am I sure? You are the only one I have been with in the last year. I am sure,” she told him as she felt anger building inside her.

“I don’t need this right now,” he growled.

“I thought you were looking to take a chosen mate and settle down?”

Nicholas sighed and leaned back in his chair to look at the ceiling. “Olivia, what I said is true. I just didn’t mean you. You are sweet and talented at what you do, but let’s be honest, you are not Luna material.”

Olivia felt like he had punched her in the chest with those words. “What does that mean?”

“Liv, your family is not ranking blood. On top of that, your wolf has never come forward. I can’t have a Luna that can’t shift and lead a pack run with me. I’m sorry, but I will never be with you like that.”

“And what about your child?” she asked as tears rolled down her face.

“That is up to you. I won’t be a part of it. It will only make things more difficult for the Luna I choose,” Nicholas told her as he returned to his work. “Is there anything else?”

“No,” Olivia whispered.

She turned and moved toward the door. Before her hand touched the knob, the door opened, almost hitting her in the face. Jacob stood in front of her. His eyes moved from her to Nicholas and back.

“Are you alright?” Jake asked her.

“Yeah, I have to go,” she said as she slipped past him and hurried back to her office.

Jake slammed the door behind him and stomped over to Nicholas’ desk. Nick glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow before returning to what he was doing.

“What the hell did you do to her?” Jacob demanded.

Nicholas stopped and stared at his Beta. “How dare you speak to me like that? Have you forgotten who you are addressing?”

“I have not forgotten who I am addressing. I will speak to you in the manner which you deserve. If you want to be respected as an Alpha and CEO, you need to act like that is what you are. So I am asking you again, what did you do to Olivia?”

“She came here to tell me she was pregnant and claimed it was my child.”

“She what?!” Jacob screamed.

“You heard me.”

Jacob ran his fingers through his hair as he turned away from Nicholas to control his anger. Finally, he turned back to face him, his hands still in his hair.

“So when is the ceremony?”

“What ceremony?” Nicholas asked as he opened the laptop on his desk.

“The ceremony where you announce her as your Luna. What other ceremony would there be?”

“There will not be a ceremony because she will not be my Luna.”

Jacob pulled his hands out of his hair and gaped at the Alpha. “Why? Did she refuse?”

“No. I didn’t give her that as an option. She would not be a good Luna. I will choose someone worthy of that rank. Olivia isn’t. That’s all there is to it.”

“So let me get this straight. You have pined over Olivia since the day she first stepped into this office. You followed her around like a lost pup for months and did special little things for her under the guise of friendship. Then you plied her with alcohol until she had no inhibitions and had a one-night stand with her. Now, she comes to you, pregnant with your child, your heir, and you toss her aside because she isn’t good enough. Why?”

“I have my reasons, and if you keep pushing this, you will regret being my Beta,” Nicholas spat at him.

“I already regret being your Beta.”

“Then step down.”

“No.”

Nicholas raised an eyebrow. “No? Why not?”

“Because, as much as I hate you right now, I am one of the very few people who will stand up to you and tell you that you are making the biggest mistake of your life, and it is one that money will not be able to fix if you push her away.”

“You have to understand. I don’t care if I push her away or if she runs away. Olivia and that baby are not my problem.”

Jacob went to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. He opened the door and looked Nicholas in the eye. “Olivia isn’t the problem. You are. You will regret this one,” he said before slamming the door behind him.

Nicholas leaned back in his chair and sighed. What Jacob had said to him struck a nerve. He had always had a list of qualities he wanted in a Luna, and Olivia fit most of them. The only ones that she did not have were her bloodline and wolf. He questioned if he could overlook those and perhaps change his mind. He let out a huff and threw a pen that was on his desk across the room, sticking it into the wall. No, he had that list for a reason and would stay with his choice.

-

Olivia heard a soft knock on her open office door. She looked up to see Jacob standing in the doorway. He saw her shoulders slump and walked in uninvited, closing the door behind him. He walked around her desk, pulled her to her feet, and hugged her warmly.

“I’m so sorry he is doing this,” he said softly, rubbing her back. “Is there anything I can do?”

Olivia pulled away and dropped back into her chair. She shook her head. “Not that I can think of right now. I just found out, and silly me, I thought it would be a good idea to tell the father so we could work some things out.”

“Nick told me what he said,” Jacob told her as he sat down in a chair in front of her desk. “I told him he was an idiot, and I regret being his Beta right now.”

“Jake, no. Don’t let this screw things up for you. I am an adult, and I did a stupid thing. It just so happens the stupid thing I did was my Alpha, and now I am pregnant with his child that he doesn’t want.”

“Liv, give it a little time. Nicholas is in shock. I think we all are. But, please, don’t do anything that you can’t undo,” Jacob pleaded with her.

“I won’t. I have already decided I will raise the baby on my own.”

“Alone? Are you kidding? You will be lucky if you are ever alone,” Jacob laughed. “As soon as your family finds out, they will be doting on you day and night. After the little guy is born, don’t be surprised if you have to fight just for a chance to hold your own baby. The kid will never learn to walk because someone will always be holding it.”

“The thing is, Jake, I don’t know if I will stay here or tell anyone about it. At least for right now.”

“Why? Where would you go?”

“Why is the easy part. I know you haven’t missed the looks I have been getting—the little jabs and whispers when I walk into a room. I will forever be the stupid girl who got knocked up by the Alpha and tossed aside like garbage. I don’t want to deal with that every day for the rest of my life, and I especially don’t want my child to go through that.”

“Alright. I can understand that and will support your decision to leave. Now, what about the where?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Olivia admitted. “I am thinking about the Pacific Northwest but also the Bayous on the Gulf Coast. I have always wanted to visit both places and photograph their coasts, forests, swamps, and mountains. Then again, the desert southwest is so beautiful. Maybe I’ll go there. Maybe now is the right time. I know I can make money from my photography, plus almost everything I made here I tucked away in savings, so I will be fine for quite a while even if I don’t work right now.”

“It sounds like you have this planned out already.”

“I guess I started thinking about leaving right after I did that stupid thing,” Olivia confessed with a hint of a smile. “I have felt unwelcome here since that night, and I wasn’t expecting the little gift I now have to go along with things.”

“I’m glad you have things worked out. Is there anything you need help with?”

“Not that I know of. If I think of something, I will let you know.” Olivia paused for a moment and looked at him with her mouth twisted. “I do have a favor to ask of you.”

“Name it.”

“You can’t tell anyone any of this. Not about the baby, Nick, my plans, or where I might be going. Nothing. Can you do that?”

Jacob rubbed his hands over his face several times before pulling them down and holding them on his face from the nose down. “You know, I feel like I need to apologize to Eric.”

“Why do you need to apologize to my brother?”

“Because, being an only child, I had no idea how hard it is to be a big brother. Is it always this hard, or are you just doing this to me to be mean?”

“Are you kidding?” Olivia laughed. “Compared to what my sisters put Eric through, you are getting off easy.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” Jacob chuckled. “Liv, I promise you your secrets are safe with me.”

“Thank you,” Olivia said with a sigh, then smiled. “Now, get out of my office so I can plan my escape.”

“You got it,” Jacob said as he stood. “And if there is anything I can do to help you, let me know. I mean that.”

Olivia gave him a sad grin and nodded. She sighed as he went out the door. Jacob was the only thing that she would miss about Dark Moon Industries. He really was like a big brother to her. She sighed again as she turned back to her computer.

She mumbled to herself, “Alright, time to get started.”