CHAPTER TWO - THE SECRET

“This can’t be.” A heavy taught weighed me down as I straightened on the floor, looking at the broken glass bottles on the floor.

“I can’t tell him. He’ll never want this child.” I whispered to myself as my hands trembled.

I gave in a heavy thought. “He won’t believe me. He’ll think it’s just a way to get back to him.”

My wolf blend. But it’s his child.

My lips trembled. “No… it’s also mine. My baby. And I’ll protect it, even if it costs me everything.”

I stood up suddenly, walking back and forth in my room. “I’ll flee. Tonight. I’ll not take a thing but only what I can transport. He’ll never hear  of this.”

I heard a knock at the door. “Leah, are you in there?” It was Maren, my neighbor.

I swallowed hard. “Yes, I’m in here.” As I walked towards the door and let her in.

“You look pale. Are you feeling ill again?”

“I’m fine,” i lied. “Just… tired.”

“Hmm. You’ve been ‘tired’ for weeks, you need to give yourself a rest. Don’t let the Alpha discover you’re loosen. He shows to mercy to Omegas.”

My chest tightened. “Don’t worry. He won’t notice me at all.”

When Maren went away, i gathered my few belongings, my mother’s shawl, a tiny purse of coins barely enough for bread, and a piece of paper with my late father’s friend’s address in a distant town far from my hometown.

“Another life,” i whispered to myself. “A life far away from him is the best option for both I and the golden child in my womb.”

⸻

The next dawn, i boarded a low shabby box with few belongings as I move quickly to the border. The driver, an old wolf with gray whiskers, raised a brow. “Traveling alone?”

“Yes,” i said quickly. Turning my heads both ways.

The old man said. “It looks like you’re running away from something.” Staring at me like I’d just lie.

My breath caught. “I’m running toward something.”

“Hmph. Then I hope it’s worth it.”

“Definitely.” I said with my body shivering inside, my eyes moving left and right, waiting for the car to set off.

⸻

Mornings turned slowly into nights. The distance was long, and the coin I had became smaller in quantity. In a small town, where the bus stopped for a while, a store keeper squeezed at me in displeasure as i stretched out my arm through the window for bread.

“That’s all I can afford,” i said, giving her two coin pieces.

“That’s half the price ma,” the woman said and smiled in a mocking manner. “You want to steal from my children’s mouths?”

“I… I’m sorry. Please. I have barely eaten anything since morning.” I stuttered

“Not my trouble. Pay or leave.”

A man in bus said under his breath, “Pathetic Omegas, always begging.”

My cheeks burned. I dropped the bread, muttering, “Drop it back. I don’t want it again”

Outside, my stomach made a harsh disturbing sound. I pressed a hand against it, whispering, “I’m sorry, little one. I’ll do better tomorrow. I assure you.”

Felt dizzy and weak had to sleep off for a while as the bus took off.

⸻

“Hey madam….. Hey madam…” the old man called out to me as I opened my eyes tired, seeing I was the only one on bus.

“You’ve gotten to your destination” he said looking at me strangely with pitiful eyes. I got down the bus with my belongings, looked around as everywhere seems new and different.

“Can you please show me a direction to this address,” I said showing him the copied address of my father’s friend living in the city I boarded.

He gave me directions and  helped me pull up my belongings in the side road. “Take care madam… and stay strong,” he said as he waved at me.

I got to the address and knocked, “knock, knock, is anyone home?” I shouted gasping for breath.

An old woman came out looking at me helplessly. “how can I help you woman?” She asked.

“Greetings, sorry…” I paused trying to catch some breath. “I am looking for someone, I was told this is his address.” I said giving her a small sheet of paper containing my father’s friend’s address and his name.

She threw the paper away and said in a rude manner. “I don’t know this person, I moved in few months ago.” She said banging the door closed on my face.

I left in embarrassment as I roamed around till I saw a small abandoned hut.

“Let me relax here for tonight … I’ll search for a place to stay by dawn tomorrow.” I said to myself as I dropped my belongings and set a corner to rest.

______

Few weeks passed, in the city i had chosen, i found a small room to live in and a work scrubbing tavern floors. The innkeeper barked, “Do that quick, girl. If you can’t keep up, don’t bother coming back.”

“I’ll keep up,” i said, forcing strength into my voice.

A drunk customer smirked from the corner, “Look at her. Definitely someone’s rejected mate. That hollow look never dim.”

I straightened, but said nothing. My wolf whimpered inside.

Another worker, a young maid, murmured as they brushed side by side, “Why do you take it? Why let them humiliate you?”

I forced a smile. “Because I have something worth surviving for.”

⸻

Months went by. My belly grew rounder. People stared. Whispers followed me in the market.

One woman sighed, “No ring, no mate, yet a child? Shameful.”

Another spat at my feet. “A disgrace.”

I clenched her fists but lifted my chin. “Say what you like. I might take the blame but my child is innocent.”

My wolf whispered, Strong, Leah. You’re not weak.

⸻

One evening, the wind was strong, the clouds were heavy, rain dropped as the thunder strikes, i returned home late, soaked from the rain. The landlord obstructed my way in.

“Rent’s due.” She said.

“I just need three more days,” i pleaded.

“No more days. Pay or pack your belongings.”

I dug in my pouch. Only a single coin. My voice stuttered. “Please…. Ma… I have nowhere else.”

She sneered. “Then sleep on the street.”

My eyes widened in anger. “Fine. Keep your room.” I brushed past her, holding my belly tight. “I don’t need your pity.”

That night, i slept in the storeroom at my workplace, struggle between crates, whispering to my unborn child, “It’s just you and me. Always you and me.” I teared as I slept off.

⸻

Nine months passed. The pain came suddenly, sharper than anything i had imagined. I rolled over in the marketplace, gasping.

“Help!” I cried, holding my stomach in pains. “Please, someone!”

A passerby called out. “She’s going into labor!”

Another whispered, “Why should we help her? She’s not from here.”

My screams echoed through the square. Finally, a guard carried me to a nearby hospital.

Inside, nurses rushed me onto a stretcher. “Get her into delivery!”

My vision blurred. “Please… save my baby.” I said in grief.

The doctor’s voice was stern. “The child’s position is wrong. We need to operate.”

I held his sleeve tight. “Then do it!”

He shook his head. “The surgery is costly. Without payment, we can’t proceed.”

My eyes widened. “Whats the cost of the surgery?” I said in pains.

He wrote hurriedly a figure on the chart. My mouth fell open. “That’s… that’s more than I’ve seen in my life.” I stammered.

“Without it,” the doctor said in a low tune.

“you’ll have to make a choice. We can only save you… or attempt to save the child and risk your life. Either way, without surgery, both lives hang by a thread.”

My breath came in ragged sobs. “No… Goddess, no. I can’t lose this baby. Not after everything.”

The nurse tried to calm me. “Calm down, miss. There may be… another way.”

My nails dug into the bed. “Another way?”

The doctor sighed. “Unless a patron pays the f*e now, you must decide. Your life or the child’s.”

My eyes teared. My wolf howled in my mind, Protect the pup. Protect the pup.

Tears rolled down my face. I gasped, “I can’t choose… I can’t… not after everything.”

The doctor’s tone hardened. “Decide, Madam. Do you want to live without your child? Or die trying to save it?”

My scream echoed through the sterile room, shattering every wall i had built to be strong.

And as the shadows of unconsciousness closed in, my trembling voice whispered the question that would haunt the night……

“Should I lose my child… or will someone come to save us both?”