Chapter 5 Chapter five

Chapter Five

Sophia’s POV

I had spent the entire morning going completely out of my mind.

I didn't care about his money. I didn't care about his shiny reputation, his draft prospects, or his stupid pack politics that Mia kept yapping about. And I sure as hell didn't want to play happy family with a guy who treated me like garbage in the hallway.

But this baby had a right to exist. It had a right to know who its father was, even if that father was an arrogant prick.

He'd taken off earlier after looking at me like he'd seen a ghost. So here I was, coming to him instead.

I waited in the dim corridor outside the private varsity locker rooms until the thumping of skate bags and loud locker-room banter finally died down.

When the last player walked out, laughing with a sports drink in his hand, I slipped through the door.

Alexander was sitting alone on the center wooden bench.

He was still in his black workout compression shirt and gray sweatpants, his forearms resting on his knees, his dark hair damp from the shower. His head was down, staring at the rubber floor tiles like the weight of the entire building was sitting on his shoulders.

He didn't look like the golden boy, and he sure as hell didn't look like the untouchable campus god.

He looked exhausted, tense. Almost... terrified.

I took a deep breath, clutching the straps of my backpack until my fingers went numb, and stepped forward.

"Alexander."

His head snapped up instantly.

Those dark, intense eyes locked onto mine, and for a second, the heat in his gaze made my knees want to buckle. I expected him to sneer at me or maybe ask me to leave before anyone sees. But he just stood up slowly, towering over me in the quiet room.

"I need to tell you something," I said, forcing my voice to stay level. "About that night. About....."

"How far along are you?" he interrupted.

The words hit me like a slap to the face.

I froze, the breath completely catching in my dry throat. My mind went blank.

I hadn't said the word pregnant. I hadn't even touched my stomach. I was wearing an oversized hoodie that hid every single curve of my body.

"What?" I choked out, taking half a step back. "How... how do you know that?"

Alexander didn't answer.

Instead, he took two slow, predatory steps toward me, closing the distance between us until I was trapped against the cool metal of the lockers.

The air in the room shifted. It grew thick, and boiling hot, smelling overwhelmingly of dark cedarwood and unbridled energy.

Then his eyes changed.

The dark brown iris dissolved, swirling into a bright, glowing, molten amber that practically burned in the dim light. A deep, inhuman vibration rumbled in his chest.....a wild animal rising right to the surface of his skin.

I gasped, my hands flying up to brace against his broad chest to push him away.

The second my palms made contact with his warm skin, something violently snapped inside me.

A electric shock ripped through my veins, traveling straight down into my chest.

And then... the pain stopped.

The dull ache that had lived inside my ribs for years vanished into thin air. The erratic, fluttering rhythm of my failing heart settled instantly, beating steadily.

It was the first time in my whole life that breathing didn't feel like a battle.

I stared up at him in disbelief, my lips trembling as tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

Alexander leaned down, his forehead almost touching mine, his breath warm against my cheek.

"You're my mate," he whispered, his voice was deep, gravelly, and shaking with awe.

"No," I breathed, panic clawing at my throat as I tried to shove him off. "No, you're crazy. Back off, Alexander....."

The locker room doors slammed open with a loud crash that rang off the high ceiling.

I jumped, stumbling back against the lockers.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with silver-streaked dark hair and a tailored black wool coat walked in. He had the exact same jawline and ruthless aura as Alexander, radiating a crushing authority that made the room feel twenty degrees colder.

Two guards in black suits flanked him, their hands resting over their concealed weapons.

Alexander stepped directly in front of me, his body tensing into a defensive wall, a low snarl ripping from his throat.

"Father," Alexander called warningly, his voice dangerous.

The older man didn't look at Alexander. His cold gray eyes swept over the room, locking directly onto me.

Then his gaze dropped down, pinning straight to my stomach.

I felt so exposed. It was horrifying.....like he didn't even need an ultrasound or a doctor's chart. He could feel the tiny soul growing inside me just like Alexander had, sensing the shift in the air with chilling accuracy.

The man’s harsh expression shattered into stunned shock.

His eyes widened, his hands tightening around the silver handle of his cane until the leather creaked.

“That's impossible, Alex,” the man said, unpleasantness blazing in his eyes. “She's pregnant and it's yours. That makes no sense.”

What?

Alexander was supposedly infertile? Then how did I —?

“What, ruined your plans on disowning and replacing me?” Alexander shot bitterly.

What the….

In less than three seconds, the atmosphere in the room shifted from cold family hostility to something infinitely more dangerous.

I wasn't just a broke college student on a scholarship anymore. I wasn't just a cleaner who had made a desperate mistake on a random night.

I wasn't stupid to not know now that I was carrying the most powerful, and most important heir in the entire territory.

Alexander's father took a slow step forward, his shock hardening into a ruthless greed.

He turned his head slightly toward the two armed guards stationed at the entrance.

"Nobody lets that girl leave this campus," he commanded, his voice echoing like a death sentence.

My blood ran cold. They couldn't trap me here just because I was pregnant…

My hands began to shake violently, my heart trying to break into a panic again, only kept steady by Alexander's stupidly close proximity.

Alexander bared his fangs, his fists clenching at his sides. "Touch her and I will tear your throat out."

His father didn't even blink. He simply l

ooked at his son, his voice dropping into a flat, fucking order.

"Marry her if you have to. Nothing happens to that baby.”