Pregnant

Amelia couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the two lines on the pregnancy test in her hand. Her period was two months late, and she had been noticing strange changes in her body—things she could neither ignore nor explain away.

Her hands trembled as she stared at those two red lines. She immediately grabbed her phone and called her boyfriend, Alpha Lucas. But even after several rings, he still wasn’t answering.

  “Why won’t you pick up, Lucas?” Amelia whispered, unable to stop the nervous flutter in her chest. Still, the joy inside her was far stronger. At last—finally—their love had borne fruit.

  She and Lucas had been together for years. Even before he was chosen as the Alpha of the The Crescent Moon Pack, they were already a couple. They grew up together, childhood friends who were inseparable. Lucas had been her only friend back then; as a sickly Lycan child, no one else wanted to play with her.

  Lucas courted her when she turned fifteen while he was eighteen. She said yes a year later. Now that Amelia was nineteen, she still couldn’t believe she would be a mother so soon—starting a family with the man she loved most.

  Amelia had always been an obedient, sweet daughter. She lost her mother young and grew up under her father’s care, but that never stopped her from doing her best.

  When she was seventeen, her father Antonio remarried. He brought his chosen mate, Solana, and Solana’s daughter, Olivia, into their home. From then on, Amelia was no longer alone whenever her father left on missions.

  Amelia was genuinely happy for her father. She wanted him to grow old with someone at his side. Solana and Olivia treated her well—at least whenever Antonio was around. There were times she felt Solana never truly saw her as a daughter, but Amelia was content simply having someone she could call “mom.”

  So Amelia didn’t hesitate to tell them the news. She rushed down the stairs and found her stepmother and stepsister sitting in the living room, opening new shopping bags scattered around.

  “Mom! I have something wonderful to share with you,” Amelia said brightly. The two looked up, irritation flickering on their faces.

  Olivia couldn’t hide her annoyance—she was still busy admiring the new clothes they bought with Antonio’s credit card.

  “What is it, Amelia?” Solana asked, forcing a smile.

  Amelia immediately showed them the pregnancy test. Solana’s eyes narrowed when she saw the two red lines. She shot to her feet, stunned.

  Amelia kept smiling, waiting for the congratulations she expected from her stepmom and stepsister. But instead of joy, their faces twisted with shock—and something like disappointment.

  “Is—Is Alpha Lucas the father of that baby?” Olivia asked.

  Amelia nodded happily, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

  Solana stepped closer, gripping Amelia’s shoulders tightly and looking straight into her eyes. “But he hasn’t marked you yet, has he? You’re not officially Alpha Lucas’s chosen mate, right?”

  Amelia blinked, surprised by the question. She slowly nodded.

  “Yes, mom… he hasn’t marked me yet. But once he finds out I’m carrying our child, I know he’ll make me his chosen mate.” She said this with confidence—they had discussed it many times.

  “But he still hasn’t found his fated mate, sis. What if he chooses her over you? What about your child?” Olivia crossed her arms and glared at her.

  Amelia looked down, because she knew that possibility existed. Still, she wanted to trust Lucas.

  “Lucas would never leave me. I trust him.” Amelia smiled at her sister, and Olivia only shrugged before heading to the kitchen to get her medicine.

  “Well, you two have been together a long time. I’m sure nothing can break you apart,” Olivia said as she handed over the pills.

  Amelia smiled, trusting them completely. She took the maintenance drug without hesitation.

  She had a strange illness that weakened her body—a condition that prevented her from using her full Lycan potential. Her wolf still hadn’t awakened, which was why she remained ranked as an omega, unlike her father who was a gamma and once a beta.

  “I’ll go find Lucas. I want to tell him in person,” Amelia said cheerfully, waving as she left.

  “Be careful, okay? Be back before dinner,” Solana reminded.

  But the moment Amelia was gone, their smiles vanished—replaced by irritation and simmering anger.

  “How did that happen, Mom? How did she get pregnant when we’ve been poisoning her? When is that woman going to die?” Olivia hissed, chewing her nail anxiously.

  “Tsk. I don’t know how it happened either. But don’t worry—Alpha Lucas will never end up with her. I’ll make sure that girl dies,” Solana said, picking up her phone.

  “Hello, Aljern? Yes, I need more of that drug. But this time, I need a bigger dosage. Hurry and send it while Antonio isn’t home.” She hung up, a wide smile curling on her lips.

  “I’ll make sure that girl disappears from our path. She will never become the Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack.”

  Amelia, unaware of everything, trusted them completely, not knowing she was being used—her life controlled by hands that wished her gone.

  On her way to the pack house, Amelia ran into Lorcan—the youngest brother of Lucas, and the black sheep of the West family. Lucas and Lorcan shared a mother, but all three West brothers came from different women because their father was infamous for his affairs.

  Lorcan Ashford carried his mother’s surname and had become the Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack, known throughout Frostpeak Vale for its ruthless reputation.

  To Amelia, Lorcan was her lifelong enemy. As children, Lorcan constantly bullied her. Every encounter ended in conflict. Even now, the moment she saw him, her brows knitted automatically.

  But she didn’t expect that after four years, the boy she once hated would grow into a tall, strikingly handsome man.

  Amelia froze, staring up at him. His broad chest and shoulders, sun-kissed skin, black hair, and golden eyes made him impossible to ignore. Her gaze lingered on the long scar near his right eye—proof of battles fought for his pack.

  Her heart began racing uncontrollably. She didn’t understand why she suddenly felt something unfamiliar wash through her body, something that kept her rooted to the spot instead of stepping away.

  His scent hit her next—vanilla mixed with the ocean breeze—warm yet refreshing like standing at a sunlit shoreline.

  “Do you feel it too, Amelia?” Lorcan asked.

  She only raised a brow, confused. Lorcan exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Don’t you feel that we’re fated mates?”

  Amelia was stunned. Lorcan’s ears were red, and he couldn’t meet her eyes—something she had never seen from him before.

  But what shocked her most wasn’t his reaction—it was what he said.

  How could she explain? How could she tell him she was carrying Lucas’s child?

 “Can’t you feel it? I’ve been holding myself back for months from telling you about this, but I couldn’t take it anymore when I saw you today. Amelia, I’m your fated mate.”

 Lorcan’s voice was firm, yet Amelia’s love for Lucas still overshadowed everything.

 Amelia clutched her chest, feeling her heartbeat race and her breathing slow. Even though her wolf hadn’t awakened yet, she could already feel the fated bond between her and Lorcan.

 She couldn’t deny that what Lorcan said was true.

 How did this happen? Why was she only feeling their bond now? Was it because this was the first time they’d seen each other again?

 “I’ve been coming back to the pack house these past days. I kept returning because the moment I saw you, I immediately felt our bond. My wolf reacted to your scent right away… but I also smelled Lucas’s scent all over you,” Lorcan explained, head bowed, unable to look her in the eye.

 Who would’ve thought that the well-known, terrifying Alpha would now be bowing in front of a woman who looked completely defenseless?

 “I didn’t approach you or talk to you because I knew you loved each other. I thought you’d be happy with my brother Lucas, but now that I know what he really plans to do… I’ve decided to take you away from him.”

 Amelia frowned at Lorcan’s words.

 His statement only filled Amelia’s mind with more questions. What was he talking about? What did he mean about her boyfriend?

 Amelia stepped back. She knew Lorcan—knew he never had anything good to say to her. He always picked fights with her and bullied her back then. Lorcan was mischievous and a constant headache for the pack, so she knew he couldn’t be trusted.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I have no intention of believing anything you say. Yes, I feel that you’re my fated mate, but that won’t change how I feel about Lucas,” Amelia answered, turning to walk away—but Lorcan immediately grabbed her wrist.

  Amelia lowered her head, her heart heavy, and rejected him with all the strength she had.

  “I’m sorry… but I reject you as my fated mate, Alpha Lorcan.”