PREGNANT AND CLAIMED BY THE WRONG ALPHA

Alaric Storm stood in the center of his private chamber, the polished stone cold beneath his boots. He ran his hands through his long hair, his green eyes following his Beta as he hurriedly left the room with a pile of documents in his hands. The same documents he had been attending to for weeks. The same documents that had interrupted his meeting with his mate. Finally free from the pressure of urgent pack matters, he let out an exhale, took his seat and folded his arms, his eyebrows immediately furrowing. As the Alpha King of the Storm Pack he had always been burdened by responsibilities. Dozens of them. But none of them had ever felt as heavy as the one he faced the second he locked gazes with his mate. The pack sorcerer was right. He had a mate. Stranded in another pack and deluding herself with dreams of getting married to another man. She was right when she told him to head to the woods and search for her himself. But what he didn’t expect was to find her after barely twent

“Oh, it’s so lovely to finally meet you! Guards, fetch the maids so our guest can escorted to her chambers and allowed rest!” The dowager Luna’s voice pierced through the air, forcing Eliza to meet her gaze. She blinked in confusion, the old woman’s cheerfulness almost unsettling as it was a stark contrast to rest of the audience. “I’m Dowager Luna Pamela Storm,” she belatedly introduced herself then turned to the woman next to her. “And she is the Luna of the Storm Pack. Rebecca Storm.” Eliza bowed her head in response, the confusion still flooding her veins. It still didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. “I-“ Pamela didn’t wait for an extra second before turning around to leave, her black shiny hair dancing around her shoulders as she spun. Her expression didn’t falter for a second as she left, slowly increasing her pace to match Alaric’s as he also walked into the palace. “Your highness,” Eliza’s thoughts were interrupted by a maid’s arrival. She watched the young girl

A week had passed.Seven days of the same routine.Eliza would leave her room everyday only when summoned for meals. Every morning and night, she sat quietly at the long dining table, barely touching the food in front of her while Pamela tried—gently, persistently—to draw her into conversation.And Rebecca on the other hand, never tried. She only watched Eliza with that same unreadable, cold gaze that made Eliza feel like she was being measured and found lacking every single time. She stood by the window now, her arms wrapped loosely around herself as she stared out at the vast palace grounds. The sky was clear, the sun high, everything bright and alive in a way that felt almost mocking. She had grown exhausted of the routine. Her life at the Storm pack was very different to her old life and though her meals were more frequent and her bed was softer, she was tired of it. The emptiness that managed to linger during her days in the Grey pack was still present and this time, there was

Breakfast with Alaric present at the table always felt different. The maids would always roll in more dishes, making sure the table was filled to the brim. Every meal that perfectly suited his palate would be prepared, only to have him randomly pick at most two dishes and call it a day. That morning was no different, the maids filling the table the moment Alaric took his seat. His mother sat opposite him, Rebecca taking the seat next to him as she always did as Luna. It was their usual seating arrangements but for the first time, it felt odd to Alaric. “Where’s Eliza?” Alaric asked, his question directed to no one in particular. “Why isn’t she at the table?”“She is probably sleeping in,” Rebecca replied him before Pamela could beat her to it. “You don’t have to worry. She’ll come out soon enough. And if she doesn’t-” Her words were interrupted abruptly by a sight that immediately made her let out a gasp. She watched in horror as a maid walked in with a tray in her hand, containi

Eliza felt like her legs might give out any moment soon. But the second she heard loud voices calling out her name, she knew better than to allow herself even a second rest. “Shit, shit. Shit!” Everything was going well. Perfectly well. What had suddenly gone wrong? Her entire movements had gone according to plan. She had chosen to sneak out of the palace by dawn and she had dawn exactly that. Following the shortcut Rebecca had shown her, she successfully made it out of the palace and found herself in the woods. The first hour was spent trying to figure out exactly where she was. After going in circles so many times she eventually lost count, she finally figured a clear different path. But even with it, she still found herself at a dead end more often than not. At a point, she wanted to give up. Maybe allowing herself starve to death in the woods wouldn’t be so bad but the thought of Harold managed to get her to continue. He might have been waiting for her. He must be waiting