Alpha’s Little Plaything
She pulled me into her arms, and we stayed that way, clinging to each other as if time itself had stopped.
Later, we sat in the living room, and she showed me baby pictures on her phone — grainy photos of a tiny red-haired baby with my eyes. She told me about her pregnancies, her losses, and finally, about me.
“You were a miracle, Loriah,” she said, her voice trembling. “I had miscarriage after miscarriage. I thought I was cursed — that something was wrong with me. Until one day, I kept my pregnancy a secret. I told your father I wanted to travel through Europe for a year. Only he knew the truth, and miraculously, everything went smoothly. When we returned, you were already a month old. Many