Alpha's Baby: A Secret Baby Romance

by Lauren Landish

  Trust me, it was better for us both for us to relieve tension that way instead of fucking every chance we got. It was far less risky and it allowed me to control my raging hormones so that I could think clearly. And Bella was cool with it too.

  Even still, it was difficult. All I could ever think about was how she sucked me off in the pool. Whenever I thought about it, I got an instant hard-on.

  One day, I would pay Bella back for all the torment she had put me through with her naughty antics.

  I was helping Dad move a new chair into his office one evening when another warning arrived. Evelyn was gone from the house and Bella was off doing some chore her mom had for her.

  My dad hadn’t stopped pampering Evelyn with the dinner the night the theater was completed. He had continued to splurge on Evelyn, giving her vouchers to massage parlors and beauty spas.

  Evelyn, it seemed, was enjoying every minute of it.

  I grunted as we set down the new leather chair exactly where my father wanted it.

  “Thanks, Stefan,” my dad huffed, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Don’t know how I'd have done it without you.”

  “Pay the movers,” I supplied jokingly.

  My dad chuckled. “Yep, you’re right. Good thing you came back from school, huh?”

  If my dad only knew the real reason.

  “I guess.”

  “You don’t sound too enthused.” My dad walked over to his desk and sat down. Then he glanced around as if looking for something. “Hey Stefan, why don’t you go check and see if the mail came today? Usually, one of you three has a stack on my desk right about now.”

  A shock went through me. I had forgotten all about checking the mail before work today.

  “Sure thing, Dad,” I said quickly. I walked out of his office and made my way through the house. Once outside, I broke into a sprint to the mailbox. I snatched it open and breathed a sigh of relief.

  The mail was still inside.

  I took it out and then froze when I saw it—a package just like the one that had contained the sex tape. I wanted to throw it away, but I knew I had to see what was in it.

  My heart pumping, I stuck the other stack of mail in the crook of my arm and ripped open the package. The only thing that was inside was a folded piece of paper.

  The message read:

  TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR YOU BOTH.

  Rage ran through me as I stared at the words. It pissed me off because I felt so helpless about the situation. The entire time, I said I would protect Bella, but how could I protect her against a faceless enemy?

  On top of that, what the blackmailer wanted us to do was a paradox. If Bella and I told everyone the truth, it was almost like everyone seeing our sex video anyway.

  So what was the point?

  After staring at the letter long enough, I folded it up and stuffed it into my pocket. I walked back in the house and delivered my father’s stack of mail onto his desk.

  “Are you all right, Son?” my dad asked, gazing at me with concern. “You look a little pale.”

  “I think I’m a little tired,” I replied. “Been up all night.”

  “Get some rest, Son. You’ve worked hard enough and deserve it. Matter of fact, I’ll let you take the entire next week off.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said. “I owe you one.”

  I left his office and headed up to my room. My immediate impulse was to tell Bella about the new note, but I figured she didn't need any more stress.

  No, if I wanted the threats and letters to stop, I had to do something. I had to go to the source.

  I quickly changed into dark sweats and a dark hoodie and then left the house.

  Firing up my car, I pulled out of the driveway and made my way to NSU.

  It was time to pay someone a little visit.

  Under a full moon and a clear, starry sky, I waited behind a bush, biding my time. Back when I was in Alpha, I had jogged with Jace on several occasions late at night, so I was well aware of his routine.

  I knew that he jogged by the same sorority house every weeknight around the same time. He had a couple of girls who sometimes invited him in for a workout that had nothing to do with jogging. With him distracted by potential pussy, this was a perfect time to confront him about the threatening notes and the sex tape.

  Sure enough, Jace came jogging by the bush I was waiting behind, his feet lightly hitting the pavement. I waited, and as soon as he got near, I jumped out in front of him. “Surprise, motherfucker.”

  Upon seeing me, Jace ran onto the opposite lawn, but he tripped several steps in. By the time I got to him, he was already on his feet, but it didn’t matter. I collided into him with a grunt, knocking him onto the lawn.

  We rolled around in the grass, grunting and growling at each other. Jace managed to get several glancing blows to my right cheek and break free.

  I shrugged off the blows and caught him before he could run off, knocking him face-first into the grass. I jumped on his back and grabbed ahold of his right hand, twisting it behind his back and eliciting a sharp cry of pain.

  “Get the fuck off me,” Jace growled, struggling against my grip as I used my weight to hold him in place.

  “No,” I snapped back.

  Jace tried to maneuver his body out from under mine, but I twisted his arm again, causing him to howl out in pain.

  “The fuck do you want, man?” he cried.

  “I want to know why you sick fucks recorded the Sacrifice between me and Bella.”

  Jace stopped struggling, trying to turn his face to look up at me. “Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

  I debated on whether I should release Jace. I didn’t want to continue struggling with him and possibly wind up in a fight on the campus lawn.

  Besides, I needed to see Jace’s face when I accused him of trying to blackmail Bella and me.

  I braced myself for an attack and released my hold on Jace. Jace immediately jumped to his feet and glared at me with hatred.

  I returned his scowl, ready to duke it out if I had to. My face was pulsating where he had struck me, and I was itching to return the favor, knowing that I’d probably have several bruises by the next morning.

  “The video you sent me,” I replied. “What are you going to do with it if we don’t do what you want?”

  Jace’s features twisted into a confused glower. “The fuck are you talking about, Livingston? What video?”

  I studied Jace for a moment, noticing his expression and body language. As far as I could tell, he appeared to be telling the truth, though I knew better than to trust him.

  Taking a deep breath, I quickly told him about the video and the subsequent note.

  Jace was shaking his head as I finished my tale. “I don’t know if Alpha Gamma records Sacrifices, but I can assure you I had nothing to do with any video, nor did I know anything about it.” He laughed. “But when I think about it, I wish I had done it. Then I could totally humiliate you and your brother-loving sister.”

  I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to pound Jace’s face into the ground. It wouldn’t be helpful right now.

  Jace continued. “Still, you're a dick for assuming it was me. I’d much rather duke it out in a fair fight than humiliate you. These pussy ambushes you keep doing are getting old. First, getting your sister to bite my hand, and now, stalking me at night during a jog. What’s next?”

  I ignored his attempt to piss me off and make me lose control. “I know that they record the hazing ceremonies. You showed me a few of those tapes yourself. You know where they moved those videos?”

  “No, I don’t. Todd would know about it more than me, though. But, even if I did know, what makes you think I’d tell you anything after how you betrayed our fraternity?”

  I snorted. “I didn’t betray shit.”

  “Yeah, you did. It’s because of you that we and Kappa are under investigation.”

  “You mean because you couldn’t treat Bella like she was deserving of respect? I
mean, you’re lucky to be alive after what you tried to do to her.”

  “Oh, yeah? And what did I ‘try’ to do to her?”

  “Don’t try to play stupid. You know damn well on the day we left that you were trying to take her back to your place so that you could have your way with her.”

  Just thinking about it made my blood boil, and it was very difficult not to rush Jace and kick his ass again. I knew if I didn’t leave his presence soon, that’s exactly what would happen.

  “Is that what you really think? I just wanted to talk to her and tell her I was sorry about my behavior.”

  What a crock of shit. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”

  I turned to leave, knowing I’d get nothing else out of Jace besides the urge to beat the fuck out of him. Despite my animosity toward him, I actually believed that he was telling the truth.

  But if it wasn’t Jace, then who was it?

  As far as I knew, I had been beloved on campus, even more so after the Sacrifice. Bella, on the other hand, had been hated by a lot of females. The list of possible suspects could be larger than I originally thought.

  The very thought made my blood run cold, and I wondered if I would be better off telling Bella that I had handled the problem and we no longer had anything to worry about.

  Just as I was about to disappear around the corner, Jace called out to me. “Livingston!”

  I was tempted to ignore him, but something in his voice made me turn around. “Yeah?”

  “If I were you, I’d take a look at Kappa. This isn’t the first time some hot freshman’s been run off campus by some of those Kappa bitches. Just sayin’.”

  I nodded and turned, breaking into a jog myself. Maybe Jace was right or maybe he was full of shit, but I thought he was right.

  Guys like the Alphas, when they’ve got beef, come for you to beat your ass. And after the ass-kickings are finished, they tend to let it go unless there’s another reason not to.

  It’s girls who tend to go for this behind the back, mental torture shit.

  Chapter 22

  Bella

  My cravings had spun out of control. I was either always eating something or always thinking about eating something.

  It was the very thing I feared when I found out that I was pregnant—gaining weight. Even Stefan had already made a comment on my weight when I disrobed for him out at the pool. While he still seemed attracted to me, what was he going to think when I went up another ten pounds? What about when I went up twenty?

  These thoughts continuously hounded me, and I feared that Stefan would eventually grow disgusted by the new me. Coupled with the fact that our parents might know the truth by that time if we didn’t find a way to conceal it from them, I was downright terrified.

  Still, even those thoughts couldn't keep me from eating or wanting to eat. I was just too damn hungry. It made me suspect the little one growing inside me was a boy and wanted to grow up to be a powerful athlete like his father.

  Due to my constant cravings, I found myself raiding the fridge for something to eat at one A.M. when I heard the front door open and shut.

  I quickly closed the fridge and spun around as footsteps approached the kitchen doorway.

  It was Stefan, dressed in black sweats and a black hoodie, and he was staring at me.

  “Stefan?” I asked with surprise. “What are you doing out so late?” The last I knew, Stefan had gone to bed hours ago. Immediately, I was hit with suspicions of him going out to clubs to pick up girls . . . until I saw his face.

  A purple bruise shadowed his right jaw and his face looked swollen.

  “And what the hell happened to you?” I gasped with horror.

  Stefan’s eyes flashed down to my flimsy gown and to the curves it barely concealed before going back to my face. “I just got back from NSU.”

  I made a face. “NSU? What in the world for?”

  “To see Jace.”

  I grew silent for a moment, immediately knowing what that meant. “Jace did that to you?” I ventured.

  Stefan nodded. “It wasn’t much of fight though. He caught me by surprise with a few lucky punches, but I got in a few as well.”

  I turned and began searching through the cabinets. “Let me see if I can find something to put on your bruises.”

  Stefan approached me from behind and pulled my hands away from the cabinet, turning me around to face him.

  “I’ll be fine,” he told me, his voice deep and commanding. “Nobody can hurt me when I’m trying to help you.”

  My pulse began to race and I felt heat from being close to him. I swear that every time he was near, the temperature in the room went up by several degrees.

  I stared at his bruises, wishing I could heal them with a simple touch. “But your face—“

  “I’m fine,” Stefan reiterated firmly. “But I have to tell you something.”

  Judging by the tone of his voice, I knew it was bad. I tensed up, preparing for the worse.

  “Jace didn’t send the video.”

  I gaped, stunned. “If he didn’t, then who did?” I finally managed.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t him? Jace hates your guts so I wouldn’t put it past him to lie.”

  “I’m sure. He’s a douchebag for sure, but he didn’t do it, and he doesn’t think anyone at Alpha did either. He claims that they have never recorded our Sacrifice that he knows of.”

  “What could that mean?”

  Stefan’s gaze made me go cold all over. “That it’s probably someone from Kappa Beta.”

  My mouth opened but no sound came out. How was it possible? I could have totally seen one of the guys from Alpha staging the recording seeing as how it was inside their frat house and it was totally a guy thing to do, but one of the Kappa girls? It seemed highly unlikely.

  “I can’t believe it,” I whispered. “I mean, how would they pull it off?”

  Stefan grabbed ahold of my arms and my body temperature went up by several notches. “I don’t know, probably snuck in for the price of a blowjob, but it’s true. And it makes sense if you think about it, actually. If it were Alpha Gamma that had recorded it, it would have been all over the campus by now. Like Jace said, he’d have started shit with me straight up, and in that, I do believe him. No, this little mind game, stab you in the back bullshit that’s being played on us has female written all over it. I bet you it’s one of those sick bitches at Kappa who hates your guts.”

  I couldn’t take anymore—the pregnancy, the investigation, the blackmail, my mother’s suspicion—it was all just too much. Maybe we should just tell the truth and be done with all this craziness. The thought had crossed my mind more than once, but I always chickened out when I thought about my mother's reaction.

  As the thoughts filled my mind, my vision began to fade and I felt myself falling forward, but strong, loving arms caught me.

  Chapter 23

  Stefan

  I held Bella in my arms, carrying her upstairs. The wooden steps were quite sturdy, built in the last twenty years, but they still managed to let out a creak every other step.

  Cringing, I repositioned Bella in my arms and tried to balance my steps, praying that neither of our parents would be awoken by the noises.

  As I made my way up, I glanced down at Bella. With her long hair flowing out like a banner, delicate features, and sensual lips, she looked like Sleeping Beauty. I wanted to kiss her right there on the steps. But, at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at her current condition. I knew that it was my ranting that had stressed her out, that had probably caused her collapse.

  Being as quiet as possible, I finished making my way up the stairs and brought Bella to her room. Good thing for me, the floorboards didn’t creak when I passed our parents’ room to get to Bella’s. It was bad enough that Evelyn was already suspicious of what Bella and I were up to.

  Inside her room, I gently nudged the door shut with my foot and then carried m
y burden over to the bed. There, I softly laid her down. I stood back up and stared down at her.

  Lying in the bed, she looked even more like Sleeping Beauty now. A lock of her hair had fallen across her face. I reached down and pushed it away, still in awe of how beautiful she was to me.

  What amazed me even more was that I was still in awe of her beauty. Usually, a girl’s looks lasted as long as our last fuck. Not for Bella—every glance at her face was a privilege for me, and it never got old.

  I reached down and gently pressed my fingertips against her lips. Soft velvet caressed my fingers.

  I need to leave, I told myself as burning need clutched my stomach.

  But I couldn’t leave. Despite everything I had told Bella about being careful while we were in our parents’ house, I wanted to be there, in the bed with her.

  Driven by impulse, I bent down and firmly pressed my lips against hers, enjoying their softness.

  Bella’s eyes fluttered open and I reluctantly broke our kiss. “Stefan?” she asked weakly.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry. I just felt like a wall was closing in on me and—”

  I pressed a finger to her lips. “Don't worry. I want you to stop worrying so much. No matter what happens, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. We’re in this shit together, you got me?”

  Bella nodded slowly.

  Now was the perfect time to bid Bella goodnight and head back to my room. But seeing her lying there, looking all vulnerable, made me want her so badly that I couldn't help myself.

  I bent down and locked lips with her again, this time more forcefully. Her soft lips were a delight to experience, and I think I tasted a cherry lip gloss, something I hadn’t tasted when I first kissed her.

  Still, it wasn’t bad, and it actually enhanced the experience. I parted my lips and demanded entry to Bella’s mouth with my tongue. She let me in eagerly, and our tongues mated, melding together. I ran my hands up and down her curvaceous body, feeling her heated flesh.

  After a moment, Bella broke away, sparking disappointment.