Kai's POV
The whiskey glass broke against the wall, sending sharp pieces flying across Kai's office. His hands shook as he stared at the broken glass, wishing he could break his own stupid heart just as easily.
Maya was pregnant. With his baby.
The words kept spinning in his head like a broken record. Three hours had passed since she told him, and he still couldn't think straight. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face when he walked out of her room. The way her hope died. The way her love turned to hate.
He was the worst person in the world.
"Alpha?" His Beta Marcus knocked on the door. "The Cross family is here. They want to talk wedding plans."
Kai wanted to scream. He wanted to tell Marcus to send them all away, to stop the engagement, to let him run back to Maya and beg her to forgive him. But instead, he straightened his tie and tried to look like a boss.
"Send them in," he said, his voice sounding dead even to his own ears.
Victoria entered first, beautiful and cold as always. Her father, Alpha Cross, followed with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. These people didn't care about love or happiness. They only cared about power.
"Kai, darling," Victoria kissed his cheek. "You look tired. I hope you're not having second thoughts about our wedding."
If only she knew. "Just pack business," Kai lied.
Alpha Cross sat down without being asked. "Good. Because we need to talk some things. My spies tell me there's an omega girl claiming to carry your child."
Kai's blood turned to ice. "What?"
"Maya Rose," Victoria said softly, but her eyes were like knives. "Such a pretty little thing. It would be terrible if something happened to her."
"You stay away from her," Kai growled, his Alpha power filling the room. "Maya has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, but she does," Alpha Cross smiled coldly. "You see, we can't have rumors growing about our future son-in-law having bastard children with omega trash. It's bad for business."
"Don't call her trash," Kai's voice was deadly quiet.
Victoria laughed. "Protective, are we? How sweet. But Kai, you need to choose. You can have your political marriage and keep both our packs safe, or you can chase after some nobody girl and watch people die in the war that will follow."
Kai felt stuck like a wild animal in a cage. "What do you want me to do?"
"Reject her," Alpha Cross said simply. "Publicly. Make it clear that any child she claims to carry isn't yours. Destroy her name so thoroughly that no one will believe her lies."
"She's not lying," Kai said through tight teeth.
"Then make everyone think she is," Victoria snapped. "Unless you want to see your precious omega and her unborn baby disappear permanently."
The threat hung in the air like poison. Kai understood exactly what they meant. If he didn't reject Maya openly, they would kill her and his child.
"You wouldn't dare," Kai whispered.
"Try me," Alpha Cross smiled. "I've made stronger people than her disappear for much less."
Kai's world collapsed around him. He had two choices: save Maya and his baby by destroying her image, or refuse and watch them both die. Either way, he lost everything that mattered.
"I need time to think," Kai said.
"You have until tomorrow night," Victoria said. "The pack meeting is already planned. Everyone will be there. You'll stand up in front of everyone and reject Maya Rose totally. You'll say the child isn't yours and that she's lying for attention."
After they left, Kai slumped into his chair and put his head in his hands. How had his life become such a mess? Six months ago, he was a recognized Alpha with everything under control. Then Maya turned eighteen, and his whole world changed.
He remembered the first night he went to her. Her smell had changed, become something that called to every part of his wolf. He told himself it would be just one night, like with all the others. But Maya was different. She didn't throw herself at him or try to impress him. She was nervous and sweet and real.
One night became two. Then three. Then every night for three months. Kai had never experienced anything like it. With Maya, he wasn't the tough Alpha everyone feared. He was just Kai, a man who laughed at her silly jokes and held her close when she had bad dreams.
But he was also a leader with duties. When the Cross Pack feared war, Kai knew he had no choice but to marry Victoria. It was his job to keep his people safe, even if it meant giving up his own happiness.
He never meant for Maya to get pregnant. He never meant to fall in love with her. He never meant to create this impossible situation where he had to choose between the woman he loved and the lives of hundreds of harmless people.
Now Maya hated him, and he couldn't even blame her. He had walked away when she needed him most. He had chosen duty over love, and it was killing him inside.
Kai grabbed his phone and dialed the number he'd remembered but never called.
"Hello?" Maya's voice was hoarse from crying.
"Maya, it's me."
"I told you not to come back," she said coldly.
"I know. But I need you to listen to me. The Cross family knows about the baby. They're threatening to hurt you if I don't reject you openly."
Silence.
"Maya? Are you there?"
"So you're calling to warn me that you're about to humiliate me in front of the entire pack?" Her voice was bitter. "How thoughtful."
"I'm trying to keep you safe," Kai said desperately. "If I don't do this, they'll kill you and our baby."
"And if you do this, you'll destroy any chance our child has of a normal life," Maya shot back. "Either way, you're choosing them over us."
"I don't know what else to do," Kai whispered. "I'm stuck, Maya. I can't save everyone."
"Then save the people who actually love you," Maya said softly. "Save your family."
The line went dead.
Kai looked at his phone, his heart breaking all over again. Tomorrow night, he would stand in front of his pack and destroy the only good thing in his life. He would call the mother of his child a lie and reject his own baby to save their lives.
But as he sat alone in his office, Kai made a quiet promise. Somehow, some way, he would find an answer. He would keep Maya and his child safe, even if it cost him everything.
He just hoped it wouldn't be too late.
Outside his window, a black car pulled up to the pack house. Victoria stepped out, her phone pressed to her ear.
"Yes, I understand," she said to whoever was on the other end. "Tomorrow night, after the rejection ceremony. Make sure it looks like an accident."
Kai's blood ran cold as he realized the truth. Victoria had been lying. Even if he rejected Maya openly, they were still planning to kill her.
He had fallen right into their trap.