Page 19 of The Alpha’s Forced Omega (Alaska Alpha Wolves #1)

The guilt building up inside me is too strong to ignore, gnawing on my conscience, especially when I’m alone in the cabin.

I stare at my palms forlornly, wondering how I could possibly get my powers under control and harness them in a way that won’t cause destruction. I’ve been struggling to make sense of my gifts, but it’s not the only thing I’ve been mentally tussling with.

I’m pregnant.

A dry laugh escapes my lips when I don’t have any need to hide what I’m feeling, followed by tears that roll down my cheeks uncontrollably.

“What am I supposed to do?!” I wail, dropping my face between my hands as I sob when I finally let my walls down. I’m only able to do this because Elias isn’t here, and the sanctuary of his empty cabin permits me to open the floodgates.

I hadn’t even realized how emotional I could be, dropping onto my side and hugging a pillow to my chest for comfort. It catches all my tears until I’m only sniffling when there aren’t tears left to cry, and the torrent of emotions becomes a chasm of all the thoughts I’ve been trying to avoid.

What am I supposed to do now that I’m pregnant? Not only am I tied to the alpha through the mating bond, but now I have his child growing inside me.

If I was confused before, I’m a befuddled mess now.

I hadn’t even decided if I was going to stick around or leave for good. Perhaps some part of me hoped that practicing my skills as a witch would allow me to escape safely, but now that I’m pregnant, there’s no way I can leave.

Elias will track me down. It’s his child, after all.

As a hand slithers to my belly, I rub a wide circle over it, contemplating my life’s choices. It’s not like I have many, and all I have now is this child growing inside me—a child that needs to be protected from the likes of the demon.

Though it hasn’t made a move in a while, and no attacks have been reported ever since the night I faced off with the demon, it still lurks out there. Waiting. Calculating. Biding its time before it can find me again.

Elias is convinced that it wants me specifically for my powers. Now that I carry an Alpha’s child, the demon is a danger to both me and my baby.

I can’t put my baby at risk, even if I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.

It’s not like I can be content with being Alpha Elias’s mate and living with him. He’d forced me into the mate bond with him, for his own gain, and now I’m stuck here.

Sure, the prophecy he claims I had the night we shared our bodies turned out to be true when we discovered my pregnancy the other night, but it doesn’t change anything.

Logic can’t change my feelings or lack thereof. I’d walled myself up to ever being hurt by the alpha, or anyone for that matter. I won’t let myself get caught up in his web of lies or trust him again, only to get hurt.

Not happening!

Even if I can’t leave the pack, I should find something to keep me busy instead of wallowing in my sorrows. It will do me no good, and it’s not healthy for the baby whom I suddenly feel compelled to take care of, to protect it from all the dangers lurking out there.

Perhaps it’s my innate maternal instincts that nudge me, and I find the strength to stop worrying for a moment and leave the bedroom after taking a quick shower. With Elias out for the day, I have some time to gather my senses instead of being consumed by his presence.

It isn’t easy sleeping in the same bed with the man who’s shown me he isn’t attracted to me in that way. The only thing he cares about is his duty, like the one he swore he wished to fulfill by protecting me and his growing baby.

He has no inclination toward me, and I shouldn’t be surprised. But when I find myself in the kitchen, my mind wanders to the day I woke up in his cabin.

Elias had spoken about his parents and shared an intimate detail about how things were between his mom and dad. An idea lights up like a bulb in my head when I’m staring at the kitchen table, a thoughtful smile growing on my lips.

If I’m going to remain here in Girdwood amongst the Snehvolk Pack as the alpha’s mate, the least I can do is make things somewhat amicable between us.

I may not be able to fully trust him or open up to him, but I can make our situation livable.

That way, our child can grow up in a home with fond memories just like its father has of his parents.

I scan the room and decide that the only way to match the cozy furnishings would be to pick up some decor and pot plants to liven the place up a little.

Because it had been abandoned for so long while Elias lived in his parents’ home, the log cabin is missing the touch of homeliness it desperately needs.

Perhaps if I made it more comfortable and suitable to my tastes, I’d feel better about being stuck in Girdwood. At the same time, I’d be making amends with Elias, making up for burning down the main house.

It might not be an anniversary, but there is a cause for celebration. Finding out that we’re pregnant should be celebrated, not felt like a looming dread hanging over our heads like a dark cloud.

I wouldn’t have to go far to get the supplies I need, since it’s Sunday, and Girdwood is abuzz with activity in the town square.

The local Sunday market is meant for the Snehvolk people to mingle and gather resources and supplies that have been brought by some of the working-class pack members from Hope.

It was something I avidly avoided before, not wanting to mingle with others or have to deal with them.

This time around, I’m the luna of the pack—something I remind myself of as I head out of the cabin, feeling the cool, crisp air kiss my cheeks for the first time in days.

I have no reason to be scared. Elias only begged me not to leave Girdwood, warning me about the danger that I’d already experienced in the forest.

But there are other dangers he forgot to mention, dangers that exist inside the small town.

Coming face-to-face with that particular danger just as I’m about to take the corner behind a fresh fruit stand, I’m stopped abruptly by two towering figures who probably belong in the types of magazines found on the streets of Hope.

“Aurora Sinclair…” the chiseled-faced blonde drawls. We used to attend classes together when we were children, but I’ve forgotten her name now.

I do remember her derisive nature, always belittling me and getting me into trouble with false accusations.

The brunette friend was new, though I’d seen her in the pack’s cafeteria serving dinner a few times. Delilah. Her name I do remember, but not because we were close.

“Would you look at that, D?” the blonde asks as she prods Delilah’s ribs with a manicured finger. “It’s the new Luna of the Snehvolk Pack.”

Her scornful chuckle echoes all around, buzzing through my ears and sending a cold shiver down my spine.

I try to remain as unfazed as possible, lifting a defiant chin as I remind myself of my position in the pack. It’s not just a term to be loosely thrown around, but it should give me sovereignty amongst the rest of the pack members.

Not only am I the alpha’s mate, but I’m bearing his child. It must count for something, so I reach deep within to find the strength and courage to face these she-wolves.

Delilah snorts. “Oh, Sandy, you mean the fat pig turned luna!” she laughs condescendingly, and I frown.

I didn’t remember her being so mean. Unless I just wasn’t paying attention.

“Exactly!” The blonde rolls her eyes, stepping forward with a deliberate clink of her heeled boot on the paved floor. “She only thinks she’s the luna, but I bet Alpha Elias is only using her.”

Narrowing my eyes to hide the dread slithering down my spine, I gulp, not knowing how to dismiss that claim when that’s been my own suspicion from the get-go. But all I’ve witnessed since then is the alpha’s kindness and care toward me, so I cling to it.

“Did you forget that the alpha and I participated in an official ceremony?” I argue measuredly, raising a brow despite the anxiety skittering through me.

Delilah scoffs and steps in. “It’s all a cover-up. We all know you’re the reason why the demon dog is after our pack.”

“Yeah, you’re the bad omen, Aurora Sinclair,” the one named Sandy adds with a scoff. “That’s probably why the alpha is using you. He’s gonna get rid of you and save us all.”

I take a deep, calculated breath, my eyes flicking over Delilah’s shoulder at the surroundings of the market, not wanting to make a scene. But the two women have already stirred my nerves enough. It takes mustering up every ounce of courage to say, “The alpha isn’t using me.”

Hardly believing that myself, the two she-wolves roar with laughter, their eyes glowing with mockery.

“Of course he is!”

“How else would you explain the alpha of this pack being mated to a loser like you?!” Sandy bellows, taking another step forward to prod my chest with a finger. “That’s all you are, Aurora. A fat loser! You’re nothing!”

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” a stern male voice roars from behind me, followed by marching footsteps drawing closer.

Sandy and Delilah exchange distressed looks, then fall back and plaster smiles on their faces.

“Oh, Alpha Brooks!” Sandy sweetly chimes. “We were just greeting Alpha Elias’s Luna.”

“That’s not what it looked like,” Brooks grunts as he steps beside me, his tall figure blocking out the faint morning sunlight. “I heard enough. Get out of here. And leave Aurora alone.”

Without hesitation, the women spin on their heels and rush off, disappearing behind the vinyl sheet covering the side of the fruit stall.

Relief washes over me, prompting me to turn and politely dip my head.

“Thank you, Alpha Brooks. You didn’t need to—”

Just as I’m about to say that I could have easily handled the she-wolves myself—a lie, but Brooks doesn’t need to know that—he lifts a dismissive hand in front of my face.

“Save it, Aurora. I didn’t need to do anything, I know.

” He turns disdainful, cold gray eyes on me, grimacing as if he regrets his actions.

“I was only doing it for Elias.” One corner of his lips peels back in a sinister, derisive smirk.

”I agree with everyone else. It’s not like you’ve proven yourself worthy of being this pack’s luna. ”

“What the hell is going on here?!” another frighteningly powerful voice roars from the side, drawing my attention toward it with both its intensity and familiarity.

My eyes widen with shock when I see Elias stomping forward, eyes taking on a menacingly dark glint, his fists curled at his sides.

He doesn’t look at me, his glare fixed on his subordinate until he’s close enough to grab the man by his collar and shove him against the steel pole of the stall’s frame.

I shriek in surprise as I witness the tense showdown between the alphas.

“I told you not to lay a finger on Aurora…” Elias growls in Brooks’s face.

What would have repulsed me strangely ignites a fire buried deep within my being. Witnessing Elias’s possessiveness does something to stir my insides, the same way they were stirred the first time my heat emerged.

Why am I suddenly turned on by Elias’s actions? His display of possessiveness over me is thrilling, and I find myself wanting him as much as I did the first time he kissed me.

The only trouble is that this is a misunderstanding—one I should step between, but I’m too caught up in imagining all the ways I want the leading alpha of the pack.

As sweat beads on my forehead and I break out in a feverish heat, the alpha appears as if he’s ready to break Brooks.

Oh, no…

I need to act fast, if I can fight through the raging hormones rendering me immobile.