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“Mom never told me,” I said, surprised.

“She was trapped in the middle of the ocean with four alphas who could think of nothing but rutting her,” said Grandma. My stomach twisted, and I suddenly remembered how I was violated when I was sixteen. The innocence that was taken away from me in one horrible night. “She didn’t have a choice but to accept, or else she would die.”

My head spun thinking of my poor mother lost and trapped on a ship. Clutching her stomach in pain from her heat. She would have understood me if I had confided in her instead of running away from home as a teen. Tears sprung to my eyes at how distant I treated her.

“I need to see Mom,” I said, filled with an overwhelming desire to hug her.

“The point I’m trying to make is that you need to be prepared for anything that life throws at you,” said Grandma. “Buy yourself a pregnancy test and take the rest of the day off, Alana. I will stay at the shop until closing.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ve run your shop for many days now, have I not?” she asked, winking at me.

“Of course, you did an amazing job taking care of the shop. See you later then, Grandma.”

“Let’s hope to moons you’re not pregnant, or else things could get a lot more complicated,” she said ominously.

Chapter 19

Alana

Isatonthetoilet, holding the pregnancy test between my fingers.

Waiting and waiting.

My heart pounded harder with each minute passing. I couldn’t believe I was even in this position at all. I was starting to regret the fateful day I went off to the beach after the barbeque, which was the last normal day in my life. I desperately stared at the pink strip in my hand, willing it to declare that I wasn’t pregnant after all. I couldn’t imagine being pregnant and having to run after a baby while running my shop. But if it was a vampire baby…

A word flashed across the screen, and my heart stopped. It said:Pregnant.

Fuck my life.

Breathing hard, I dropped the test in the trash and pulled up my underwear and jeans. I washed my hands in a trance-like state. This couldn’t be happening to me. Not like this. Would the baby grow up without a father?

Leaving the bathroom, I walked down my grandma’s hallway and into my room. My room was simple- a bed in the middle draped covered in blue sheets and a white fur rug on the ground. After closing the door behind me, I kicked off my sneakers and flopped onto the bed, lying on my side. I placed a hand on my belly, imagining the life growing within me. My heart hadn’t stopped racing, and I tried to take deep calming breaths.

I would figure something out. I had to.

I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until I heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I said groggily, rubbing my eyes. I looked at the clock, which said eight p.m. I couldn’t believe I had slept for so long, but I was up at seven in the morning to work, which explained my tiredness.

I sat up in the bed, and upon seeing Grandma walk into the room, the memory of the test came to my mind. Dread filled my entire being, unable to believe I’d come to this point. I was such a disappointment of a granddaughter.

She sat on the bed beside me, still wearing her purple apron from the shop.

“So what did the test say?” she asked eagerly, clasping her hands on her lap.

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?!” she squealed, her hands on her face in shock.

“Yes,” I said, shaking my head. “Sorry, Grandma.”

“Listen,” she said, grasping my hands. “There’s nothing you can do about this now but to accept it. Your baby will be loved, and there’s a whole family waiting for the baby. You don’t need a traditional alpha pack to care for you.”

“But there’s something else,” I said, my throat closing from emotion. “The baby might not be from Lio and his pack.”

“What are you saying?”