CHAPTER ONE

The nurse came in carrying a file which she held against her chest – her face warm and responsive.

"Miss Annie we have your results", she reported. Annie felt tension take hold of her but she put on a smile. “Please tell me it’s not cancer,” she begged. 

“You’re pregnant” 

The nurse said, her words a sharp pain to the twenty-three-year-old Annie’s heart. Annie’s face went to confusion. “What do you mean I’m pregnant?. The nurse nodded gently. “You’re about a month along."

“That’s impossible” Annie cried out, very much at a loss. “I haven’t been with a man in over a year and a half. Are you sure this is my result? She asked, her voice breaking. The nurse went over the file and checked the info again. “Yes, these are for you. Your HCG levels are what you’d see in the early stages of pregnancy. Here take a look” she said, passing the file to Annie. Before the nurse could hand it over, Annie snatched it from her and began to scan the pages. As her eyes went over the results, disbelief settled in that there was no mistake.

“But I swear I haven’t had any sexual contact with anyone! How is this even possible? She protested, still trying to come to terms with the news. The nurse looked at her, taking in the weight of the moment. The nurse stood shocked but gave a sympathetic smile which said to Annie that she was just another in a long list of careless girls. “You’re pregnant. The test results are definite.

Annie went to sit on the bed, bewildered. She suddenly felt a whisper inside her, 

“Hi, mommy.”

She jumped up, her eyes searching the room. “Did you hear that?”

The nurse looked surprised. “Hear what?”

“It sounded like a baby’s voice.”

“Miss Annie, please sit down. I’ll fetch you some cold water to help you relax.”

“Mommy, don’t be scared.” The baby inside Annie was speaking to her, and she felt like she was the only one who could hear it.

“Can’t you hear it?” Annie pressed her trembling hand against her flat belly. Her heart raced as she took a step back, her eyes wide with realisation; she knew she had heard it clearly coming from within her. “The baby… It’s talking to me.”

“Annie, please sit down. You look really pale. I’ll call the doctor to check on you,” the nurse said, worried that Annie might be hallucinating. 

“Mommy, they are coming. You have to protect me.” This time the voice is clearer, sweeter, and smaller.

Annie staggered pressing her stomach, knocking over a tray of medical instruments. 

"The voice…it's coming from my womb. I think the baby is talking to me.” Annie is terrified. 

The nurse became concerned. “What voice?” The nurse kept trying to calm her and talking to her but all Annie could hear was the voice of the baby calling out to her from within her.

Annie screamed. 

 Annie kept screaming. She ran outside like she had seen a ghost.

Lightning struck across the sky, followed by heavy downpour.

Annie stood in front of the hospital, completely soaked and confused about what was happening to her. She sat on the ground, confused like never before. The city was lively, people hurried in the rain with umbrellas while cars honked impatiently.

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

Not everywhere—only where she sat. Above her, a sleek black umbrella covering her from the rain, held by a man in an elegant black suit. Tall, broad-shouldered, with eyes that seemed to pierce right through her. He was Killian Zerok, a billionaire Alpha werewolf.

“Annie Morales, get into the car,” he commanded, as a black SUV pulled up next to them.

Annie stared at him, an unsettling feeling creeping over her. “Who are you?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“I am the father of the child you’re carrying," he replied.

Fear gripping in Annie’s eyes, followed by disbelief. She laughed nervously “What is wrong with everyone today? I don’t even know you,” 

“You don’t need to know who I am, you just need to survive. The fact that you’re carrying my child makes you a target.”

Staring at him, she felt paralysed, but managed to push the umbrella aside and stood up. “Stay away from me. I won’t go anywhere with you,” she said, taking a step back.

He felt offended, and for an instant, his eyes shined with an unnatural green light. “You have no idea what’s growing inside you,” he warned. He signalled to an SUV, from which two hefty looking men came out, dressed in black suits. They seized Annie by both wrists.

“Take her to the villa where she’ll be safe... for now.” With that, he turned and strode into the hospital, leaving her in shock.

“Let go of me,” she argued as they carried her into the car. 

Killian, at the hospital door, almost as if his eyes were about to shoot lasers. " There better be some reasonable explanations for this, or I'm going to kill him," he said to himself. He dashed through the hallway. His blood was boiling with rage. He reached doctor Owen" 's office, he didn't knock, he just burst the door open with his boot.

Doctor Owen, who was just doing some work on his laptop, barely even had time to look up before the Alpha grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall. “What did you do?” 

Fifty-five-year-old doctor Owen struggled for breath with the Alpha's hand tightened on his neck. “You.. you said you needed an heir. I had to do it.” 

“You risked a girl's life. You put her in danger. I never asked for any of this. You ignored my instructions.” the Alpha growled and removed his hand from the doctor's neck.