The Hope

Maya's POV

I lost control of the breakfast plate and it fell to the floor of the kitchen.

"Maya!" Sarah ran over and stepped around the broken pieces. "What's wrong?" It looks like you saw a ghost.

I was unable to speak. I stood there and looked at the mess. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it might burst. I felt sick when I smelled bacon, and I had to hold on to the counter to avoid falling.

I said in a whisper, "I think I'm going to get sick."

Sarah brought me a glass of water and helped me sit down. "When was the last time you ate?"

"I don't know. Yesterday maybe?" Everything felt fuzzy. For the past week, I'd been too excited to eat, too happy to sleep. Drake had been coming to see me almost every night, and each time felt like a dream.

"Maya, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

I looked at my best friend, the only person in the pack who treated me like I mattered. Sarah worked in the pack hospital, so she knew things other people didn't. Smart things. Medical things.

"Sarah," I said quietly, "what does it mean when you can't eat and everything smells weird?"

Her eyes went wide. "Oh no. Maya, please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

But I was. The thought had been growing in my head for days, getting bigger and scary. I'd been trying to ignore it, but I couldn't anymore.

"I might be pregnant," I whispered.

Sarah's face went pale. She grabbed my hand so tight it hurt.

"With the Alpha's baby?"

I nodded, tears starting to fall. "What am I going to do? What if he doesn't want it? What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

"Maya, slow down. First, we need to find out for sure. I can test you right now if you want."

Five minutes later, we both stared at the little white stick in Sarah's hand. Two pink lines. Positive.

I was having Drake's baby.

"Oh my God," I breathed. "Oh my God, oh my God."

Sarah pulled me into a hug, but I could feel how stressed she was. "It's going to be okay," she said, but her voice didn't sound sure.

"Is it? Really?" I pulled back to look at her. "Sarah, tell me the truth. What happens now?"

My friend was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft but serious.

"Maya, I need to ask you something, and I need you to really think about your answer. What do you think Drake is going to do when you tell him?"

"He'll be happy," I said quickly. "He loves me. I know he does."

"Does he? Has he told you that?"

I opened my mouth to say yes, then stopped. Had he ever actually said the words? He brought me gifts. He couldn't stay away from me. He saved me from pack bullies. That was love, wasn't it?

"He shows me," I said finally. "Every night, the way he looks at me, the way he touches me. He's never been with the same woman twice, but he keeps coming back to me. That has to mean something."

Sarah's face was full of worry. "Maya, honey, I love you, but I have to say this. Alphas don't marry omegas. They just don't. It's not how our world works."

"Drake is different," I said strongly. "He doesn't care about stupid pack rules."

"Are you sure about that? Because his wedding to Lila Cross is in three days."

The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. "What?"

"You didn't know? The pack council announced it this morning. They moved the date up because Alpha Cross wants to complete their alliance before the full moon. "

Three days. Drake was marrying another woman in three days, and I was carrying his kid.

"That doesn't matter," I said, but my voice shook. "When I tell him about the baby, everything will change. He'll call off the wedding."

Sarah knelt down in front of my chair and took my hands. "Maya, listen to me. I've worked in the pack hospital for five years. I've seen what happens to omegas who get pregnant by Alphas. It never ends well."

"You don't understand," I insisted. "Drake and I are different. We have something special."

"Do you? Or do you have something convenient for him?"

Her words stung, but I pushed the pain away. Sarah didn't see what I saw. She didn't know about the nights when Drake held me close and whispered my name like a prayer. She didn't know about the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"I have to tell him," I said, standing up. "Right now. Before someone else does."

"Maya, wait—"

But I was already running out the door. I had to find Drake. I had to tell him about our baby before it was too late.

The pack house was busy with activity. People were preparing for the wedding, hanging flowers and setting up tables. Every ribbon and bow felt like a knife in my heart, but I pushed through the crowd.

I found Drake in his study with three pack elders. They were looking at papers spread across his desk, possibly wedding stuff. When I burst through the door, all four men looked up in surprise.

"Maya?" Drake's voice was confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," I said, breathing hard from running. "It's important."

Elder Morrison frowned. "Girl, can't you see the Alpha is busy? We have a wedding to plan."

"This can't wait," I said, looking straight at Drake. "Please."

For a moment, our eyes met, and I saw something flash across his face. Worry? Fear? I couldn't tell.

"Whatever it is can wait," he said coldly. "I have responsibilities."

The change in his voice shocked me. This wasn't the Drake who whispered sweet things in my ear. This was the Alpha, remote and hard.

"Drake, yes. Just five minutes." "I said not now." His voice was sharp enough to cut. "Don't make me tell you again."

Heat rushed to my face. The elders were looking at me like I was some bug that had crawled in from outside. But I couldn't leave. Not without telling him.

"I'm pregnant," I blurted out.

The room went dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop.

Drake's face went through so many feelings I couldn't keep track. Shock, fear, anger, and something else I couldn't name.

"That's impossible," he said eventually.

"It's not impossible. It's true. I'm having your baby."

Elder Morrison cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should discuss this privately—"

"There's nothing to discuss," Drake cut him off, his voice like ice. "I'm marrying Lila Cross in three days. This... situation... doesn't change anything."

Situation. He called our baby a situation.

"This is your child," I said, tears starting to fall. "Your son or daughter. How can you say it doesn't matter?"

"Because it doesn't." Drake stood up, and suddenly he seemed ten feet tall. "An Alpha does what's best for the pack. Always. You knew what this was, Maya."

The words felt like a slap. "What this was? What was it, Drake? What was I to you?"

He didn't answer, but his silence said everything.

I had been so stupid. So dumb. Sarah was right. Alphas didn't marry omegas. They used them and threw them away.

"I see," I whispered. "I understand now."

I turned to leave, but Drake's voice stopped me.

"Maya, wait."

I spun around, hope burning in my chest. Maybe he would fight for us after all.

But when I looked at his face, I saw something that made my blood freeze.

It wasn't love. It wasn't sorrow.

It was fear.

And behind him, Elder Morrison was smiling like he'd just won a prize.

"Actually," the old man said slowly, "maybe this situation is exactly what we need."