WITH THE ALPHA

Part 5 ; Not True To Yourself

I stirred, quietly opening my eyes, greeted by a blinding light that momentarily stole my sight.
I quickly realized I was in the pack hospital. The sterile white walls, soft blue curtains, and pale cream floor tiles were unmistakably clinical. Outside, the summer sun blazed with usual intensity, amplifying the glare that stung my eyes.
"Don't move too much," a firm voice instructed.
I turned my head to face Nurse Gladis.
"Dev," she started, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "You suddenly passed out in the pack lounge, and Cassandra brought you here in a hurry. She said you were overheating, drenched in sweat, and your heart was beating frantically. Your friends were terrified."
I remained silent, the hazy memories of my reckless choices rushing back to fill the quiet room.
"We ran tests," Gladis continued, placing a gentle, sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "We found cocaine in your system... and you're pregnant. Deviana, you have to stop this."
I didn't offer a response. Reaching down, I yanked the thin blanket off my legs and swung my feet over the side of the bed. "I'm going home."
Gladis didn't try to stop me.
When I finally returned to my quarters, I turned the handle and stepped inside—only to freeze in my tracks. Derick was sitting on the edge of my bed, his face pale and completely ashen. A suffocating, dangerous aura heavy in the air. For the first time, a sharp spike of genuine fear pierced my chest, though I forced my expression to remain perfectly calm.
"Derick?"
"Get in and close the door." His tone was dangerously low.
Sweat ran down my spine as I stepped backward, hearing the heavy click of the latch shutting behind me. "Wh—"
"Shut up." The words were forced, strained with a terrifying restraint.
He whipped an official envelope down at my feet. I looked at him, but his eyes refused to meet mine. Bending down, I picked it up. Inside were the lab results detailing my drug use and positive pregnancy, stamped with the pack hospital's official seal.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" he yelled, his anger finally breaking through his quiet fury. "I'm the Beta, for fuck's sake! Everything goes through me!"
"Seriously? Drug use, Deviana?"
My breath caught in my throat at the sound of Damian's voice. Heavy footsteps echoed from my bathroom as the Alpha emerged, holding the empty pregnancy test box in his hand. He stopped next to my dresser, where the leftover white powder sat beside my credit card. Slicing a finger through the dust, he rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger before wiping it carelessly onto his dress pants.
"Where did you get this?" Damian demanded.
When I hesitated, a low, lethal growl vibrated in his chest, rising by the second.
"I got it from humans!" I confessed abruptly, the words tumbling out.
Damian took slow, deliberate strides toward me, his Alpha aura swelling until it felt physically insufferable. His presence was a direct threat. It was the first time I felt truly terrified around him, though I refused to let my face betray my panic.
"Since you slept with both of us," Damian asked softly, his golden eyes narrowing, "who do you think is the father?"
"What?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
Without warning, his fist exploded past my ear, slamming into the wall behind me. I stared wide-eyed as the rush of displaced air swished past my cheek.
"Alpha, I—" I swallowed hard. "I don't know."
Damian let out a long sigh, turning his back on me to face his brother. "I think we should send her to the pack outskirts to live there."
"What? No!" I gasped.
"Shut up, female," Damian growled, casting a cold sideways glance over his shoulder.
"Yes, Alpha," I murmured, anger burning beneath my forced submission.
"She uses narcotics," Damian stated coldly to Derick. "It's best to isolate her while providing everything necessary for the pregnancy. After she gives birth, we'll see how our wolves react. If our wolves don't accept her pups, then..."
An odd, grim silence settled between the brothers. Derick stared at the floor, struggling to process the dark path unfolding before them.
"Even if we do a DNA test, won't it just come back positive for both of us?" Derick asked, his voice strained. "We're identical twins."
"Yes," Damian agreed. "The only ones with technology advanced enough to differentiate our DNA are the humans, and I'll be damned before I ask them for help. We'll wait until they're born. That way, our instincts will tell us whose pups they are."
Damian turned fully toward me, his golden eyes swirling as his inner wolf stared down at me with cold authority. "You will live in the cottage on the outskirts for the remainder of your pregnancy. This is an order."
Weeks passed in agonizing isolation.
"You are definitely progressing well!" the pack doctor smiled at me today, handing over a fresh assortment of prenatal medications and supplements. "The standard gestation period for a she-wolf is three months, but because these pups carry Alpha blood, your pregnancy will likely take five."
She chattered endlessly, her cheerful demeanor grating on my raw nerves.
"Alright then. I'll be back in two weeks to check on your progress," she said, gathering her medical bag and finally leaving through the front door.
Bitter resentment consumed me. I had been trapped in this desolate, isolated house for what felt like an eternity, losing count of the days and nights bleeding together. Neither Derick nor Damian had come to see me since the day they banished me here.
How did my plans get so ruined?
It was this damn pregnancy. I had been so close to securing Damian, so close to seizing the life I wanted—and my own foolish carelessness had destroyed it all.
I clawed at my hair in frustration, watching through the window as the doctor's car pulled away down the dirt road.
Maybe I still have a chance, I thought desperately, a wild spark of hope igniting in my chest. Maybe Damian was just blinded by anger at the time. If I can just get a chance to see him, to talk to him... maybe he'll let me come back to the pack house.
I had built a real foundation for myself. I had graduated college, earned my credentials, and was on the verge of being appointed the official Manager of Pack Affairs. Everything I worked for had toppled in a single day.
I had to get to Damian. I had to explain myself.
I couldn't let my life end like this. This could not be my fate.