Three

D'Angelo 

"You fucked her, didn't you?" Leo's accusatory voice echoed behind me.

Ignoring him, I walked away and sought a semblance of normalcy. Leo's questions were becoming increasingly pushy. As my beta, he was coming from a place of concern, but what if I couldn't provide answers or bring myself to reveal that the girl was my mate—a secret too dangerous to share?

What if I was lost in a sea of confusion?

Faint music and muffled laughter drifted up as I made my way to the wine bar. A hundred shots of tequila could never dull the suffocating fear that threatened to consume me. I reached for a bottle, poured and gulped down the amber liquid with reckless speed. 

The tequila burned my throat. I threw back shot after shot, annoyed that alcohol couldn't numb my senses.

"What were you thinking, D'Angelo, shoving your thing into..."

"Can you stop it?" I snapped back. "Did you catch me in the act?"

Leo dragged a hand across his face. "I'm telling it like I saw it."

"I didn't... I wouldn't ever think of having sex with an Omega."

The moment the words tumbled out of my mouth, my wolf almost threatened to claw out my heart like a frantic prisoner. But I swallowed the lump of pain and forced myself to remain still.

"Then why did you leave the party? Everyone's out there celebrating you, dressed to impress. And why was an omega wearing your shirt?" 

He pointed at the window as joyful cheers and shouts filled the air among my people. "Can you hear that? Everyone is happy for you, D'Angelo.”

My joy had turned to misery. My mate's scent lingered in my nostrils, overpowering every fucking scent in this house. Her sad, cornflower-blue eyes still haunted me and pierced into my soul.

The Moon Goddess had dealt me a cruel hand.

"Are you trying to drown in alcohol?" Leo asked, eyeing my refilled glass.

"Leo, leave me the fuck alone. I don't need a babysitter" 

My icy tone and sudden mood swing made him blink in confusion. The more I drank, the more the omega’s face was stuck in my head. Her eyes, her curves...

"I just want to be sure that you're fine," he said, then got up to leave.

"What would you do if you found out your mate was an Omega?"

Leo turned sharply. His face went white as a sheet, and his jaw hung open.

"That... that disgusting bitch is your mate?"

While he was speaking, my wolf nearly exploded out of me, begging to strangle him, but I restrained it. If I continued at this rate, I was going to kill everyone because no loved one of mine would watch me mark an omega.

  

The bar stool creaked as Leo settled into it. He lit a cigar, and the acrid tendrils of tobacco filled my nostrils.

"We must get rid of her," he said, taking a long drag and letting out a thick, creamy puff. "No one must find out about this. Imagine what the council members will say."

I controlled myself by swirling my glass and taking time before speaking. "It's easier said because you're not in my shoes. Would you let your fated mate go if you were in my position?"

The cigar rotated slowly in Leo's fingers, and he stared at the glowing ember. "I know exactly how you feel.“

I slammed my glass on the counter and spat out a sharp "You don't! You fucking don't, or else you would realize that getting my heart broken might kill me. Everyone in the pack understands how delicate the mating bond is. It's loyalty or damnation forever."

Leo let out a heavy sigh. "My wife isn't an Omega, or I wouldn't have marked her. As harsh as it is, we need to face the truth. There must be a solution, and we need to find it fast.”

"Oh, please, do enlighten me,” I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. "I've never been so clueless in my entire life. Please, wise one, share the solution; I beg of you.”

He noted my sarcasm and leaned forward, locking his gaze on mine. "As your voice of reason, I understand that this is not what you want to hear right now, but you're the Alpha of one of the largest packs in the South. You can't mark a mere Omega. It's pack law, and you must lead by example."

His words hit hard. I didn't want to hear them or acknowledge the harsh reality that breaking the bond was the only solution to my problem. It would leave me a mess. 

"We'll get through this together," Leo said sadly. "I'll do whatever you want, no matter how tough it gets."

Then his lips curled into a smile, and I wondered what he found amusing.

"So I happened to overhear my wife and your girlfriend..."

"Alexis is not my girlfriend!" I exclaimed in a sharp tone. Maybe I was overreacting now that I'd found my mate. It was wild that I couldn't picture myself with anyone else.

"Copy that. Not your girlfriend. Let me rephrase. I overheard my wife gossiping with Alexis. Turns out Alexis is carrying a little something extra—your baby, to be exact.”

"What?!”

Leo winked at me. "You're a sharpshooter, Alpha. Just one night, and boom, you're a daddy.”

"No! Don't you see the irony here?” I yelled at Leo. “Alexis is a spoiled, entitled brat. If what you're saying is true, why hasn't she told me about the pregnancy?”

“She plans to share the news with you tonight. She found out two weeks ago and wanted to surprise you after the coronation.”

My mind reeled in shock. Leo expected me to be thrilled, but how could I be? My dad had just been buried, I'd met my omega mate, and now Alexis—a woman I'd hooked up with on the night I got drunk after my dad's passing, thanks to Leo and his wife's matchmaking efforts—was carrying my child. What else could go wrong?!

“This is messed up,” I said to Leo with a devastated tone. “I don't love Alexis. I don't want to marry her.”

"Are you going to make her get an abortion? If that's what you want-”

"No way," I cut in. "It's too risky. Alpha babies can't be terminated without consequences."

Leo's gaze locked onto mine, and he shot me a sympathetic stare. "Maybe this pregnancy is a sign you should settle down with Alexis. She's got strong beta genes, so chances are high you'll have an alpha baby. She's stunning, smart, and a bit spoiled, but sweet. She'd make the perfect Luna. Get rid of the omega.” 

Leo's words were a jumbled mess in my mind and impossible to process.

"The omega mentioned something about her mom's ill health. Find out the truth and make sure her mother receives the care she requires. Take the girl and her mom to the lake house until I decide what to do." 

"But-" 

"Don't fucking argue

with me. Just do as I say and not say a word to anyone, especially not your loud-mouthed wife.”