Chapter 4 The Alpha's Betrayed Mate

Aria's POV.

I woke up that morning with the same twist in my stomach I'd been feeling for days, but this time it was different. It wasn't just nerves or the thought of Vanessa's voice in my ear again. It was something else that I just couldn't explain.

I walked into the bathroom, the old mirror fogged from steam. My hands shook as I held the small stick I had hidden under my mattress. My breath caught in my throat as I stared down at it, waiting, praying, my heart beating so loud I thought the whole pack would hear it.

Two lines.

For a moment I didn't breathe. My knees felt weak, and I had to grab the sink just to keep myself standing.

Two lines and it was clear as the daylight.

Pregnant.

The word felt unreal to me. My chest opened, and everything inside me spilled out in a rush of shock and joy so strong it hurt. Tears blurred my vision. My lips parted, a broken laugh escaping me as I pressed my hand to my stomach, flat and small but suddenly sacred.

"I can't believe it," I whispered, my voice trembling. "All this while, I had thought it was nerves but it was you all along."

I slid down to the cold tiled floor, both arms wrapped around my middle like I could already shield the tiny life inside me. My tears wet my cheeks, warm against the chill of the room. I pressed my forehead against my knees and laughed and cried at the same time.

Shira, my wolf, stirred with something that felt like approval, a soft hum, a warmth that made me cry harder

'Our pup.' she whispered in my head.

I wanted to run to Zac. I wanted to burst into his room, into his arms, shove the test into his hand, scream the words, 'we're having a baby, Zac, your baby, my love, ours.' I wanted to see his face light up and I wanted him to hold me, to whisper the promises again and again, but this time with more, with forever.

But I decided against it, I would wait till Tonight to surprise him. After the ceremony, after he chose me in front of the entire pack and then I would tell him. No more sneaking into his room at night, no more silence when Vanessa spat at me. Tonight everything would change for the better.

All through the day I walked with a light in my chest. Vanessa shoved past me in the hall, her perfume thick and choking, her laugh laced with cruelty, but I didn't care. Her friends whispered "omega" like it was dirt on their tongues, but I only smiled.

Let them laugh now.

Tonight they would choke on it, tonight Alpha Zac would speak my name and the whole pack would see me not on my knees, but standing at his side.

I pressed my hand to my stomach over and over as if to remind myself it was real. His child. Our child, The very proof of our love.

When the sun began to set, I pulled the dress from its hanger with trembling hands. Blue, soft, shimmering like water. Zac had given it to me for my eighteenth birthday.

The memory came back so clear it felt like yesterday. He had stood in front of me, shoulders heavy with the burden of becoming Alpha after his father's sudden death. His eyes had been red from crying, his voice raw, but when he gave me that dress he smiled.

"You're my gift, Aria," he whispered, pressing it into my arms. "But I wanted to give you something too."

That was the night he promised me, the very night he told me to hold on, that when I turned nineteen nothing and no one could stop us. That was the night I believed with all of me that I was his future.

Now my birthday was only hours away, and I was carrying his child.

I slipped the dress on slowly, my fingers trembling over the smooth fabric. It fit perfectly, hugging my figure, glimmering under the faint light. I stood in front of the mirror, brushing my hair back, and for the first time in so long I felt beautiful. Not just a servant or an orphaned wolf or just an omega but I felt like his.

I touched my stomach again and whispered, "Tonight, little one. Tonight your father will claim us both."

The ceremony hall was alive with voices and music. Wolves in gowns and suits filled every corner, laughter spilling like wine. The lanterns glowed overhead, soft and golden, casting shadows that danced against the walls.

I slipped inside, my heart pounding so loud it drowned the music. My eyes found Zac instantly. He stood tall at the front, his presence filling the room before he even spoke. He wore black sharp and regal suit , his shoulders squared, his jaw strong. My chest ached just looking at him. My love, my alpha, the father of my unborn child.

Vanessa was there too, draped in silver, her hair shining under the lanterns, her lips painted blood red. She laughed too loud, her arm brushing against her friends as if she owned the hall. She looked at Zac with hungry eyes, but I didn't care, I knew the truth. I knew his heart.

Whispers rippled through the crowd as the Winchester Alpha entered, tall and devilish handsome with a commanding aura, his wolves trailing behind him. The she-wolves around me gasped, their voices low and desperate.

"I hope he picks me." "Imagine being chosen." "He's stronger than any Alpha I've seen."

I rolled my eyes, let them dream. My dream was already alive, kicking softly under my ribs, my future stood only but two feet away.

The ceremony moved forward with speeches and dances, but all I heard was the pounding of my heart. All I saw was Zac. My palms were damp, my throat tight. The air grew heavier with every passing minute until finally, finally, the moment came.

The music had stopped hinting that it was time for the main order of the day. The elders stood tall, their faces were serious like they just couldn't wait to get down to business, their eyes on Zac.

Alpha Zac stepped forward.

My stomach was twisted with nerves and excitement; this was it. The moment I had waited for since I was sixteen. The moment I had dreamed of every night I slipped into his room, every time he whispered, "Soon, Aria. Soon."

He raised his chin, while holding his glass of drink. His eyes were beaming with excitement as it landed on me, he was going to pick me. My heart melted at the thought, before he turned away and he said in his loud voice.

"In front of the moon goddess and the elders of the pack," he said, slowly. "I pick Vanessa as my lifelong mate and my Luna."