The Unwanted Heir

Alex’s POV

The morning after the heat felt heavier than I expected. I sat at the small table in the suite, picking at the breakfast that had been brought in. My body still carried the marks of the night with Marcus. Every movement reminded me of how completely I had given in. The scent of him lingered on my skin, mixed with my own in a way that felt far too intimate. I hated it. I hated how right it felt.

Marcus sat across from me, calm and in control as always. He watched me with that intense gaze that made it hard to think straight. I set my fork down and met his eyes directly.

“This was necessary,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “The heat is over now. I appreciate your help, but I need to return to my own matters. I will stay a few more days until I am fully stable, then I will leave.”

Marcus leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanging. “No.”

I frowned. “What do you mean, no? I am not your prisoner, Marcus.”

“You are not safe out there yet,” he replied. “Your body is still adjusting. Nathan is moving fast in the Sterling Empire, and rivals like Graves will see any weakness as an opportunity. You stay here where I can protect you.”

I stood up, ignoring the slight dizziness that hit me. “I did not survive a second differentiation just to hide in your mansion. I have a company to fight for. A position to reclaim. I will not let Nathan keep what is mine.”

Marcus rose as well, towering over me. “And I will not let you walk out of here while you remain vulnerable. You carry my scent now, Alex. That makes you a target. You stay.”

The argument continued for several minutes. I pushed back with every point I could think of, but Marcus remained unyielding. His possessiveness was already showing, dark and absolute. Part of me wanted to fight harder, to walk out the door just to prove I could. Another part, the exhausted new part of me, knew he had a point. The world outside had turned hostile overnight.

Before I could press further, a wave of nausea rolled through me. I gripped the back of the chair, breathing slowly. It passed after a moment, but the fatigue remained. My body felt drained in a way that went beyond the aftermath of the heat.

Marcus noticed immediately. “You are not well.”

“It is nothing,” I insisted.

He was already reaching for his phone. “Dr. Sophia will check on you again. No arguments.”

I wanted to protest, but another mild wave of nausea made me sit back down. Fine. A quick examination and then I could continue this battle.

Dr. Sophia arrived within the hour. Marcus stepped out of the room to give us privacy, though I knew he would stay close. She performed a more thorough set of tests this time, drawing more blood and running scans. I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to stay composed.

When she finished, Dr. Sophia looked at the results on her tablet, her expression changing slightly. She glanced at me with careful gentleness.

“Mr. Sterling… Alex. There is something you need to know.”

I tensed. “What is it?”

She turned the tablet toward me. Two clear lines showed on the test. “You are pregnant. Very early, but the hormone levels are definitive.”

The words hit me like a freight train. I stared at the test, my mind refusing to accept what I was seeing. Pregnant. Me. A man. An Alpha who had only become an Omega days ago.

“That is impossible,” I said, voice rising. “Men do not get pregnant. I was an Alpha. How the hell can I be pregnant?”

Dr. Sophia sat down beside me, her tone calm and professional. “In normal circumstances, it would be extremely rare. But your second differentiation changed everything. Your body underwent a complete restructuring of its reproductive system. The new Omega physiology is fully functional. Combined with the ninety-eight percent compatibility match with Marcus, your system was highly receptive. One heat was enough. This is biology at work in our world, Alex. It happens to Omegas, even those who transitioned later in life.”

I stood up and paced the room, one hand pressed to my stomach. Shock made my thoughts spin wildly. “This cannot be real. One night and now I am carrying a child? What kind of joke is this body playing on me?”

Dr. Sophia watched me with understanding. “I know this is overwhelming. Especially after everything you have already lost. But the child is there, and it is healthy so far. Your body is protecting it despite the recent changes.”

A thousand emotions crashed over me. Disbelief. Anger at my own body for betraying me again in the worst possible way. Fear of what this would mean for my shattered life and position. But beneath all of it, something fierce and protective stirred deep inside. This child was mine. No matter how it had come to be, I already felt the instinct to shield it.

I turned back to Dr. Sophia. “Do not tell Marcus yet. I need time to process this. Please.”

She nodded. “Of course. I will keep this between us for now. But you must be careful. This pregnancy will be delicate. Rest, avoid stress, and I will monitor you closely. I will prescribe some safe supplements as well.”

She left after giving me instructions and information. I sat down heavily on the bed, mind still reeling. Pregnant. With Marcus Blackthorn’s child. The proud Alpha heir who had stood at the head of boardroom tables was now carrying life inside him. The thought felt surreal and terrifying.

One of Marcus’s aides rushed into the suite with news, breaking me out of my thoughts. Nathan had released a public statement expressing deep concern for my health after my sudden second differentiation. The statement was carefully worded to sound supportive, but it painted me as unstable and unfit. News outlets had picked it up immediately. Speculation about the Sterling Empire’s future spread like wildfire.

Marcus entered the room, his face dark with anger. “Your brother is playing a dangerous game.”

I felt another surge of nausea, stronger this time. The stress was making everything worse. I needed air.

“I need air.” I told Marcus.

I wanted to walk in the mansion gardens to clear my head. He reluctantly agreed but assigned two guards to accompany me at a distance.

The gardens were beautifully maintained, with high walls and security everywhere. I walked slowly along the paths, trying to process everything. The pregnancy. Nathan’s betrayal. My lost position. The weight of it all pressed down on me.

I turned a corner near a shaded area, momentarily out of the guards’ direct line of sight for just a few seconds when a hand clamped over my mouth from behind. A sharp prick hit the side of my neck and my vision blurred almost instantly as the sedative flooded my system. I struggled hard, pride and raw fear giving me a burst of strength. I elbowed backward and heard a grunt, but my changed body was too weak to break free.

“Target secured,” one of the masked men said into a comm device. “Move fast.”

They dragged me toward a waiting van hidden just beyond the garden wall through a service gate that should have been locked. I tried to shout for the guards, but the drug made my voice weak and my limbs heavy. The last thing I saw before darkness took me was the high walls of the Blackthorn estate fading behind me.

—————————————————————————

I woke up in a cold, eerie room. Bright lights shone down on me and thick restraints held my arms and legs to a medical table. The air smelled of chemicals and something metallic. Several figures in white coats moved around me, speaking in low, clinical tones.

One of them approached, holding a syringe. “Welcome back, Subject Zero. You are the first successful case of second differentiation. We have been searching for someone like you for years.”

I pulled against the restraints, heart pounding. “Let me go. You have no right.”

The man smiled thinly. “On the contrary. You are exactly what we need. We will take samples now. Blood, tissue, fluid.”

They worked efficiently. A needle pierced my arm for blood. Another drew fluid from my abdomen area with careful precision. I winced at the violation of it.

One of the technicians suddenly paused while reviewing a portable scanner. “Interesting,” he said. “Subject Zero is pregnant. Early stage, but viable.”

The lead doctor turned sharply. “Confirm that.”

Panic surged through me as they clustered around the results. They had not known about the pregnancy before taking me. Now they did. And they looked far too pleased about it.

“The child could be the next evolution,” the lead doctor murmured. “We will need more tests immediately.”

I fought harder against the restraints, but it was useless. I was no longer Alex Sterling, the proud heir. In this place I was simply Subject Zero. An experiment. A vessel. And now my unborn child had become part of their twisted plans.

As the drugs began to pull me under again, one terrifying thought repeated in my mind.

Marcus. Where was Marcus?