My Alpha Forced Me to Carry His Gamma’s Baby

The morning sun filtered through the curtains as I picked at my breakfast, nausea rolling through me in waves. Three days had passed since I'd overheard Caden's plans to "dispose" of me after the baby was born. Three days of pretending everything was normal while my world collapsed around me.

"Elizabeth." Nina's voice cut through the dining hall like a blade. "Caden asked me to help organize your old room since you won't be needing it anymore."

I looked up to see her gliding toward our table, a folder tucked under her arm. Her golden hair caught the light, making her appear almost angelic—a cruel joke considering the darkness beneath.

"My room?" I kept my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands. "I still use it for storage."

"Not anymore." She smiled, all teeth and no warmth. "I found something interesting while organizing."

Caden emerged from his office, drawn by Nina's voice. "What is it?"

Nina placed the folder on the table with theatrical precision. "Communication logs between Elizabeth and the Rogue packs along the northern border."

The room fell silent. I stared at the papers—documents I'd never seen before, bearing my signature and the Moonstone Pack seal.

"These are forged," I whispered, but my protest sounded weak even to my own ears.

Caden's eyes darkened as he flipped through the pages. "Explain yourself, Elizabeth."

"I can't explain something I didn't do." My voice cracked. "Nina planted those."

"Am I supposed to believe that?" Caden's laugh was cold. "The woman who's been nothing but trouble since she arrived?"

---

"Bring her," Caden ordered as we prepared to leave. "Let her see what happens to traitors."

I stood frozen as Beta Marcus approached with a black hood. "Alpha, is this necessary?"

"Do you question me?" Caden's voice dropped dangerously low.

Marcus backed away immediately. The hood came down over my head, plunging me into darkness as they led me outside.

The journey was a blur of movement and voices until we stopped. The hood was yanked off, and I blinked in the harsh daylight.

The Moonstone Pack grounds sprawled before us—or what remained of them. Dilapidated buildings, a few dozen wolves milling about with hollow eyes. My childhood home reduced to poverty and despair.

"Grandmother!" I cried out when I spotted her standing at the gate, her frail body somehow still regal despite everything.

"Elizabeth." Her voice carried despite her age. "You shouldn't have brought her, Alpha Bishop."

"Search the premises," Caden ordered his warriors. "Find evidence of their conspiracy."

As warriors stormed the small compound, my grandmother stood her ground. Even as Caden approached, his Alpha aura pulsing with power, she didn't waver.

"Kneel," he commanded, his Alpha Voice washing over us like a physical force.

I dropped to my knees instantly, my wolf whimpering in submission. But my grandmother remained standing, her eyes locked with Caden's.

"I will not kneel to a tyrant," she declared, her voice steady despite the pressure of his command.

Caden's eyes flashed red. "KNEEL!"

The force of his Alpha Voice hit her like a physical blow. She staggered but remained upright, protecting the younger wolves behind her.

"You will submit to your Alpha!" Caden roared.

My grandmother's face contorted in pain as she fought against his command. Then, with horrifying suddenness, she collapsed.

"Grandmother!" I screamed, crawling toward her fallen form.

Her eyes found mine as I reached her side. "Elizabeth," she whispered, her voice fading. "Remember who you are."

A flood of images rushed into my mind—coordinates, documents, proof of Caden's illegal dealings with Rogues hidden in a cave beyond the northern cliffs.

Her hand squeezed mine once before going limp.

---

I sat motionless on my bed that night, grief numbing me to everything around me. The door opened silently, and Ashton slipped inside, disabling the cameras with practiced efficiency.

"Elizabeth." His voice was barely audible. "You need to listen to me."

I didn't look up. "They're all gone now."

"Not all." He knelt before me, forcing me to meet his eyes. "You're still here. And so is our child."

"Our child." The words felt hollow after everything that had happened.

"You have to die," he said bluntly. "To survive."

I blinked, processing his words. "What?"

"If you stay, Caden will kill you once the baby is born. Nina won't allow you to live either." His hands gripped mine. "But if Elizabeth Morrison dies in a Rogue attack, you can escape."

"How?" My voice was a whisper.

"The northern border cliffs." His eyes held mine. "The currents are too strong to recover a body. We'll stage an attack, make it look real."

I stared at him, seeing the determination in his eyes. "And then?"

"Then we run. Far from here." His thumb brushed over my knuckles. "I know what Caden did to you—to us. Let me make it right."

For the first time in days, I felt something other than despair—a flicker of determination, of fight.

"For the baby," I said finally.

Ashton nodded, his eyes flashing gold in the dim light. "For our future."

As our hands remained clasped between us, I felt the first stirrings of something I thought had died with my grandmother—hope.