Malik's POV

I'm a second away from completely losing my mind. For fuck's sake, I don't even understand how any of this happened, but one thing is certain-Nathaniel is pregnant. I wasn't sure when I rushed him over here, thinking it was my own heart racing.

But looking at him now, softly breathing on the healer's bed, I can clearly hear the second heartbeat. The one inside him. Agatha softly moved around, doing one thing or the other. She'd brought down his fever but hadn't said a single word to me.

"Are you planning on speaking to me, Aggie? Maybe telling me what the fuck is going on with Nathaniel, right now?" I knew how disrespectful I sounded, but I couldn't see anything past my own rage.

"I know you're not talking to me like that," she said, her voice dropping coldly. "You might be the big bad Malice out there in the woods, but in here, you're just Malik. So you need to lower your damn voice before you wake my patient."

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper, forcing the feral growl rising in my chest back down where it belonged. "Is he pregnant?" I asked spitefully, forcing the words past my lips.

I got my answer when Agatha immediately broke eye contact. I couldn't stop the dark chuckle that came out.

"Of course." I let out a harsh laugh. "Of fucking course."

I shook my head and looked away.

"He spends years chasing Brandon and the second I leave, he gets knocked up. Guess he finally got his fairy tale after all."

Despite my tough words, I could feel my heart shattering. It already hurt that the man I've always wanted had loved someone else who didn't deserve him. And now I had to watch them get to be together, when that was all I ever dreamed of.

It had always been Brandon. No matter how hard I tried, Nathaniel had never looked at me the way he looked at him.

"Don't say that, Malik. You know he needs you," Agatha said softly.

That was the last fucking thing I needed to hear. "He needs me!? He didn't need me when he was fucking Brandon. He didn't even have the common sense to use a fucking condom. I've loved him my entire life, Agatha!!"

"I know," she whispered. Her admission made something in me break, and tears escaped before I could stop them.

"Nathaniel doesn't need me. He never did. Just tell him I wish them all the fucking best."

I turned to leave but her next words instantly made me freeze. "Brandon rejected the pup. He told Nathaniel to abort it."

The pain in my chest instantly turned to rage. "That fucking bastard did what?"

"You heard me, Malik. I'm not telling you this to make you mad or so you'll target Brandon. I'm telling you this so you'll understand Nathaniel. He's always thought Brandon was the one for him. Getting abandoned like this broke him. You are his best friend-"

My bitter scoff broke her speech. "I want to be more than Nathaniel's friend."

"So, show him that," she finishes before turning to her table full of herbs and busying herself once more.

I rubbed my palms across my face as I released a deep sigh. 'What the fuck have I gotten myself into?'

>>>•>>>•>>>

Nathaniel's POV

Pain was the first thing that greeted me as I dragged myself back to consciousness. A dull, heavy ache pulsed through every single inch of my body, making even breathing hurt.

My head throbbed in time with my racing heart, and my throat felt like sandpaper.

But just as the discomfort threatened to pull me back into sleep, a rich, spicy leather scent flooded my senses. It was familiar, warm, and deeply comforting.

It couldn't possibly be-

I forced my heavy eyelids open, turning my head slowly to the side.

Standing by the window, silhouetted against the dim light, was Malik Banks. It was impossible not to stare, even when it felt like I was dying.

Malik was a god wrapped in dark skin, his gorgeous locs framing a face that could make any person drop to their knees. He was built broad and thick, a towering wall of muscle and effortless sexiness that filled the room without him even trying. He was the kind of man who commanded attention just by existing.

I swallowed hard, the sight of him making my chest tighten, and forced myself to look away.

My thoughts instantly began to race. Why was I in Agatha's clinic? Was something wrong with me? Or worse, with my-

Panic gripped me, and my hand instinctively flew to my flat stomach.

"Were you even going to tell me, Nathaniel?"

Malik's voice was cold, cutting through the quiet room. I winced, a knot forming in my throat. He only ever called me Nathaniel when I had messed up big time. To him, I was always Nat.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and murmured, "Tell you what, Miko?"

He let out a dark, humorless chuckle and stood up from the window, his intense eyes locking onto mine as he walked toward the bed. "Don't call me that if you're going to keep lying, Nathaniel."

My courage failed, and my eyes darted away from his suffocating gaze. "I... I don't know what I did, Ma-"

"You're pregnant!" Malik spat, the words exploding from him, raw and full of rage.

My stomach dropped the second he said it, and my eyes instantly filled with hot tears. The dam broke, and I started sobbing, the terror and misery of the last few weeks finally spilling over.

"I didn't know what to do, Malik! I didn't want to drag you into my mess," I choked out between heavy sobs, the words rushing out of me in a desperate panic. "They'll say I'm just a loose Omega. And I'm going to lose my house. Mr. Harlan gave me three days, and I can't even work here with Agatha anymore because the smell of the herbs keeps making me so sick. I don't have anything, Malik. I have nowhere to go."

I buried my face in my hands, crying so hard my chest heaved.

Malik closed his eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath to rein in his fury. I heard his heavy footsteps close the distance between us, and a second later, he was sitting on the edge of the mattress, pulling me into a tight hug.

"You haven't been eating, and you've been living in that shitty house, yet you couldn't tell me," Malik muttered into my hair, his grip almost bruising. "Does being your best friend mean nothing?"

The sting of his words made me pull back, rising up slightly to look at him. "No! It-I just didn't want to bother you, Malik." Unable to hold his gaze, I looked down at the sheets.

Malik reached out, his fingers firm under my chin as he raised my jaw, forcing my eyes back to his. He searched my face, his expression tight. "No one is allowed to send me letters when I'm out on a mission except you, Nat. I wait almost every single day to hear from you, and you barely send me three a week."

I stared into his eyes, completely paralyzed. For some reason, in all the years we had spent together, I had never realized just how mesmerizingly gorgeous his eyes actually were. Trapped in his hold, I suddenly became hyper-aware of our proximity.

We were so close. Our breath mingled in the space between us, and it would be so incredibly easy for Malik to lean down and slam his perfect lips against mine.

As the realization hit, a sudden warmth flared deep in my core, and my face flushed a brilliant crimson.

What the hell am I thinking?!

Malik was my best friend. Disgusted with my own fleeting thoughts, I carried my eyes away in shame. "I just didn't want to bother you," I whispered, repeating the only defense I had.

Malik let out a long sigh and let go of my chin, standing up to his full, imposing height. He pointed at a tray of food resting on the table beside the bed.

"Eat the food," he commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I already have my men packing your things from that shithole, and I've settled your previous rent. You're moving in with me."

My heart stopped. I instantly objected. "I can't do that!"

Malik's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Why can't you?" he asked, his voice dropping to a deadly, quiet cold.

"Because..." I hesitated, my hand trembling over my stomach as I thought about the baby. "People... they'll think... they'll think it's yours," I whispered, the sheer shame of the situation making my eyes divert to the floor.

I knew how powerful Malik was. People aren't going to like it if a rumor spreads that he impregnated a useless orphaned Omega. And what about Brandon who'd told me to abort it...?

Before I could sink further into my despair, Malik stepped closer.

"Never bow your head to anyone again," he said, his voice ringing with absolute authority. He waited until I looked up, his gaze fiercer than I had ever seen it. "And from today onwards, that pup growing in your belly is mine."