Maeve POV

The first thing I felt when I woke up was the most splitting headache of my life.

Second, was an uncomfortable and unfamiliar soreness… down there. Resisting a groan, I knew I’d have some trouble walking.

And lastly, I was in a bed that was not my own in a room I didn't recognize.

What happened last night…?

A light snore suddenly broke the silence in the hotel room and, for a moment, I froze with alarm. Cautiously, I peered over at the sleeping body next to mine and met the handsome face.

And then the details of last night came flashing back to me.

I slept with a stranger. My mind whirled.

I stifled an abrupt yawn. Admittedly, I hadn’t gotten much sleep—most of the night was spent as we both worked out our primal urges very… very thoroughly. I could still feel the graze of his lips against my skin, pressing kisses over every inch of my body that he could reach… the weight of his muscular, hot body on top of my small frame as he pounded into me…

My face grew hot.

Despite mistaking me for an omega, he displayed the utmost kindness and respect and was willing to help me in my moment of need without a second thought.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest.

I wouldn’t have needed his help at all if Sarah hadn’t forced that drugged drink down my throat. Why did she do it…?

What a predicament I was in. I sighed, glancing towards the window at the far side of the room, fully expecting to still see the pitch-black of night but instead saw a muted blue begin to stretch across the sky.

Panic rose within me—it was almost sunrise!

My father is going to be so mad at me.

I sprung out of bed with no time to waste and hastily threw my clothes on. Digging through my skirt pockets, I was desperate to find any amount of money to afford a trip back to Moonstone. I needed to get home before my family woke up and discovered I’d been out all night. With an ecstatic grin, I finally pulled out a few dollar bills and some change—just enough for me to take the bus.

Money in hand, I raced to the door as quickly and quietly as possible. The second my fingers touched the knob, however, I paused.

I… never got to thank him for saving me…

With a heavy heart, I couldn’t help but look back at his peacefully sleeping face before disappearing with the waning moon.

It was almost six in the morning by the time I returned to Moonstone. With the sun having barely risen and the morning dew still covering the earth, it was much too early for my family to wake up. Usually, this was when the omega servants began to prepare the packhouse for the events of the day.

Nothing that Alphas or Lunas needed to bother themselves with.

Quietly, I slid in through the front door and pushed it closed with a triumphant sigh. Finally, I was—

“Look who finally decided to come home.”

A cold chill crept up my spine. That was a voice that should not have been awake yet. A thick hand wrapped around my arm and twisted me to face its owner. In front of me stood my livid father, with my sly sister right behind him, and Victoria seated on one of the armchairs wearing a tight scowl.

I was caught and there was nowhere to hide.

“Where the hell were you all night?” Father demanded.

I sealed my lips. Nothing good would come from telling him the truth.

“I told you, Daddy!” Sarah latched onto his arm. “She ran off to play around with strange men! Oh, I said you’d be so displeased if she didn’t come home but she wouldn’t listen!”

What a lying, little brat!

Trembling, my fists balled at my sides. “That’s not what—”

Father grabbed me harshly by my jaw, forcing me to look at him. With a quivering gasp, I froze—I couldn’t move… I didn’t dare to even breathe in his presence. And for a few moments, he just stood there, staring at me intently… sniffing me, before he suddenly released me with a sharp recoil.

“It’s true,” he mumbled, initially looking mortified but quickly growing more furious with every passing second, and I couldn’t help but cower silently where I stood. “I smell another wolf all over you.”

In the background, I heard startled sounds of delight.

“But—”

“You—” Father pointed his finger, cold and accusatory at me. He was red with rage, something I’d never seen on him before. “You have disgraced the entire pack with your shameless actions!”

I paled, lowering my gaze. Maybe none of this would’ve happened if I’d taken the time to shower, bathe—whatever I had to do to wash off that scent before coming home. “I… I didn’t mean for—”

“We can’t let her ruin Moonstone with this disgusting scandal,” Sarah insisted, her eyes radiating a sinister, dark glow. “She should be banished forever and exposed as the slut she is. A true Alpha’s daughter would never behave like this.”

Despite the tension and my dignity being at risk, Sarah’s words perked me up a bit.

Banishment from the pack—it sounded like a bittersweet dream come true! This might be my chance to finally escape this nightmare of a house. For once, I eagerly awaited what my father had to say.

Instead, he shook his head firmly. “Out of the question,” he said in a tone that left no room for debate, shocking the whole room, including myself. “We cannot let this information leave this household.”

“B-But—how?” Sarah sputtered. “How is that not grounds for banishment?”

“I have put blood, sweat, and tears towards building the honor of this pack. All it takes is a scandal to burn it all to the ground… and thanks to your brazen big sister, we now have two to worry about—her little nightly escapade in the capital and her illegitimacy,” he paused with a glare directed at me. “To protect this family, she can never be allowed to roam free as long as I am Alpha.”

A chill forced its way into my hopeful heart, and my world came crashing down. His words rang in my ears like a cruel bell. Now I understood why he always refused to meet with me or have any discussion about my freedom.

He was never going to let me go…

I would always be their prisoner.

And, for the first time in a long time, a lone tear dropped down my cheek in front of my family.

Father continued to speak, either painfully oblivious to my sorrow or he simply didn’t care. With all my broken heart, I believed the latter. “Maeve is to be confined to her room until the day of Sarah’s birthday party. Effective immediately.”

Silence.

“Is that understood?”

My mouth quivered. “Y-Yes, sir…”

He turned to my sister, who fumed quietly in her seat. “And you, Sarah?”

“...Yes, Daddy.”

And just like that, I was dismissed.

The walk to my room seemed especially long this time around. What was normally a safe haven quickly transformed into a foreboding space and I stood in front of the entryway for the longest time, feeling an all-consuming dread. The moment I opened that door and crossed the threshold, I said goodbye to the rest of my life.

Inhale…

One foot entered the room, followed by the other. I shut the door behind me.

Exhale.

Like the flip of a switch, I was overcome by tears as they cascaded down my face and I threw myself onto my bed, lost in my misery. I blindly reached under my pillow for a little cotton satchel, gently pulling out a purple crystal pendant that lay protected within. Father had forbidden me from ever wearing it, so I’d hidden it.

The last and only reminder I had of my real mother.

I wasn’t sure where she’d gone or why she’d abandoned me, but I felt the truth in my heart as clear as day—any life with her would’ve been a dream compared to what I endured here.

“Had fun last night?”

I jerked my head towards the door and saw Sarah, for once with a blank expression. My immediate reaction was fury—I didn’t have the patience for her little games. “Why did you do it? I’ve never done a thing to you.”

“Don’t you dare play the victim with me, you filthy mutt,” she spat as she jabbed her finger at me. “I am a pureblood daughter of the great Alpha Burton and his Luna. Why should you—his bastard child—get the same treatment as I? You don’t deserve nice dresses, you don’t deserve to meet the prince, and you certainly don’t deserve Father’s love.”

“What?”

“I know what I see—you desire his approval so badly that it pains you. He should’ve just tossed you out. I can’t understand why he didn’t.”

Her logic only exasperated me even further. All of this burning jealousy she harbored toward me was completely unfounded. I had no place in our parents’ hearts and I wanted nothing of hers.

Thanks to Sarah, everything I ever wanted had been painfully torn away from me. I closed myself off to her.

There was nothing left to say.

Having gotten no further response, she let out a bored huff. “At least Father completely loathes you after what happened, and that’s enough for me.”

Before leaving my room, she paused and lingered by the door. “Things could still be worse. After all, you might end up pregnant.” Upon hearing those haunting words, my eyes immediately snapped to hers in alarm. She gave me a sly smile in response and shut the door behind her.

Pregnant? Suddenly, it was all I could think about.

That’s impossible, I tried to reason, frantic for any sort of consolation. That would only make sense if we didn’t use protec—

And the sinking realization hit me. I couldn’t remember if we used any sort of protection.

Xaden POV

“Wake up, Your Highness.”

That voice… I recognized that voice… and it was one I was not ready to hear. Frowning, I rolled onto my stomach, burrowing as deep into the bed as possible. It was none other than Burke, my Prime Beta—diligent and reliable as ever, having served alongside me for as long as I could remember and who faithfully helped handle my various royal affairs.

He was my most trusted attendant… and currently an unwelcome guest.

I silently willed him to just—go away.

This time, a resounding knock broke the silence, making me wince. “Prince Xaden, it is time to get up.”

I groaned. Evidently, the man was terrible at reading the room. I blindly reached for the other side of the bed, expecting to touch her… seeking her soothing warmth… but my hand fell flat on the cold mattress.

Huh… did my Beta's presence scare her?

Still half-asleep, I pushed myself onto my elbows and slowly scanned the room through bleary eyes. There was a chance she was still here, hiding somewhere within reach. Maybe she was also in shock after last night’s events.

Nothing sat at the foot of the bed.

No one was by the window.

The bathroom door was wide open, with the inside shrouded in darkness. And her scent, which had been so rich and powerful last night, was reduced to nothing more than a few wisps floating through the air.

So… she left, after all…

With a heavy sigh, I resigned myself to get up and prepare to leave, ignoring the dull ache in my chest. I sloppily threw on my clothes and strode to the bathroom to make myself a bit more presentable. Upon glancing at myself in the vanity mirror, however, I saw distinct markings scattered along the juncture between my neck and shoulder and all over my collarbone… angry, red little indentations.

Bruises? Possible, but… no. No, these were something else.

That little minx, I mused with a smile, lightly touching the bite marks. By the looks of things, they’d not been deep enough to draw blood, but no woman had ever dared to mark me like this before.

As an Alpha Prince, I, of course, had my fair share of women.

Thus, one-night stands were not uncommon outside palace walls.

But I could safely say… I had never met anyone like Maeve, and never had I felt so alive as I did when I was with her. How was it possible for a seemingly ordinary omega to trigger my heat like that when no Alpha daughter ever came close? To trigger a wolf’s heat was something special—not just anybody could do that.

My gaze shifted over to the empty bed, visible from where I stood. I could still envision her… beautiful, breathless, quivering with pleasure underneath me.

Last night meant something to me. Did she feel the same way?

Determined, I set my jaw. I knew what I needed to do.

Without wasting another moment, I tidied myself up. Ran a damp hand through my hair to make it look a little less bedraggled, tucked my shirt back under my belt, and buttoned up my wrinkled dress shirt… though I decided to leave the top two buttons undone, subtly showcasing my trophies from last night.

“Burke, come here.”

My Beta swiftly entered the hotel room and dipped his head. “Is everything alright, Your Highness?

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Of course.”

“Find the omega girl named Maeve,” I said, loosely looping my tie around my neck. “I must see her again.”

Maeve POV

Fifteen days had passed since that fateful night.

The day of Sarah’s much-anticipated eighteenth birthday party was finally here, and the whole Moonstone estate bubbled with excitement. Not only was this in celebration of our Alpha’s daughter, but it was also the day our pack would find themselves in the presence of the highly esteemed Alpha Prince Xaden for the first time. It wasn’t every day that our second-class pack encountered royalty, so this was sure to be one for the books.

Oh, and what a day it would turn out to be.

Fifteen days had passed and here I was, barricaded in a bathroom stall in our largest banquet hall at the packhouse… with a positive pregnancy test.

How did it come to this?

Well, my monthly visitor had been due to arrive precisely one week after that night… and it never did. Today was my one chance for freedom while everyone was distracted arranging the party in the banquet hall, so I seized my moment after a week of incessant worrying. Hiding underneath a hat and a face mask, I snuck out to buy a pregnancy test from a nearby drugstore and dashed back as fast as I could to lock myself in the bathroom.

T

hree minutes later… and here I was, learning I was going to be a mama.

Admittedly, there had been signs.

Not only was my period late, but, starting two days ago, I noticed a faint bulge in my abdomen that hadn’t been there before. In hindsight, pregnancy should have been the most logical answer… but I didn’t want to believe it could have progressed so quickly. As a matter of fact, it was prominent enough that I worried about how I’d have to explain the abrupt weight gain.

Until Sarah inadvertently saved the day.

Father hadn’t been pleased once he learned that we—no, I had failed to buy a new dress that day in the capital’s shopping district, so, as a result, Sarah had to find something for me from her personal closet. The dress she’d begrudgingly thrown at me was of… subpar quality, to say the least, what with its outdated patterns and off-white coloring that had obviously once been a more pure white. The old, thin fabric also looked pretty tacky, but I couldn’t find it in myself to complain or care.

The dress was already a heck of a lot better than what I usually wore.

Plus, it seemed to hide my small, yet growing baby bump decently enough. This is much sooner than I expected for a werewolf baby!

Those two little lines seemed to mock me as I held the test with trembling hands. Soon, I would have another life to care for, apart from my cruel family. How was I supposed to bring a baby into a household… into a world where I didn’t have a sustainable future?

I wanted to throw up, unsure whether that was due to nerves or morning sickness.

And yet, I found myself strangely anticipating the arrival of this little life. As I touched my belly with gentle curiosity, I wanted to meet the baby that resulted from the most complex night of my existence.

“Maeve?”

Startled, I threw a hand over my mouth to keep quiet. That was Sarah’s voice beyond the stall door. I wasn’t ready to see her—not yet. At the same time, I knew my silence would only confirm to her that I was the one in the stall.

I couldn’t win either way.

“We don’t need your laziness today. Come out now!”

Loud knocks on the door shook the stall. She wasn’t going to stop and I needed to hide that test! In my haste, I hurled the test in the trashcan, praying to anything and everything I could think of that she would just leave it alone.

Reluctantly, I opened the door and there stood Sarah, lavishly dolled up like a true Alpha’s daughter and glaring impatiently at me.

I tried to casually position myself in a way that impeded her view. “Is there something you need?”

She frowned. “What were you doing?”

I took a breath. “I just needed to calm myself before the guests arrived.” It wasn’t a total lie, but the party hadn’t been my main concern at the moment.

“What did you throw in the trash?”

“Nothing, just some tissue—”

But before I could finish, Sarah pushed me aside and forced her way into the stall, zeroing in on the trashcan. Panicked, I fought to pull her away, but she wouldn’t budge. And when she turned around, pregnancy test in hand… I knew I was done for.

“Well, well, well.” She dangled the test in front of me with a taunting laugh. “Looks like I found your little secret, mommy.”