A part of me had hoped Alpha Damon would refuse, that he’d let me keep the child on my own terms. But he agreed, almost as if he felt obligated, like it was his duty and nothing more. And soon, we were bound together, not by love or choice.
The first few days in our new home, I tried to make it work. I prepared breakfast each morning, hoping he’d join me. But Alpha Damon had a way of drifting past me as if I was an air.
One night, I dared to talk to him. “Alpha… can we… t-talk?”
“About what? About how you locked me up in this damn marriage? I was free Kierra. You took my freedom away from me.”
I flinched, his words like daggers“I… didn’t do this to trap you, Alpha… but you agreed so I thought…”
He laughed, a cold, hollow sound. “You think I wanted this? Think again, Kierra.”
Every day after that, he grew colder, more distant. Each word he spoke felt like a calculated strike, designed to remind me of what he’d lost. I did my best to shield myself, to remind myself that I had to stay strong for our child. But inside, I felt myself breaking, each time he looked at me with that empty stare.
Then one morning, just as I was preparing breakfast, a knock echoed through the mansion. I opened the door to find a woman standing there. I immediately recognized her.
“Georgina?” I breathed, my voice barely a whisper.
She smiled, a perfect, practiced smile that seemed to mock me. “Kierra, isn’t it? Alpha Damon’s wife.”
Alpha Damon appeared, and for the first time in weeks, I saw a flicker of warmth in his eyes. But it wasn’t directed at me. It was for her.
“Georgina,” he greeted, his voice soft. I’d never heard him speak that way to me.
The way he looked at her, like she was a treasure he’d lost and suddenly found again, tore at me. I tried to swallow my jealousy, but my voice betrayed me.
“Uhm… d-do you two know each other?” I asked.
He glanced at me, his expression hardening. “She’s… someone important to me,” he said, and I could see the pain in his eyes, the memories he’d tried to bury.
“Someone important?” I repeated, my voice shaking.
Georgina placed a hand on his arm, a possessive gesture that made my stomach twist. “Don’t worry, Kierra,” she said, her tone saccharine. “I’m just an old friend.”
Friend. I knew better. The way they looked at each other, the quiet smiles and unspoken words, it was painfully clear she was much more than that.