ARIA’S POV
I walked back to the family house in a daze, with my feet moving on their own while my mind remained trapped in that moment at the coronation.
Zane’s voice kept echoing in my head, calling out Aurora’s name and the pack cheering, Aurora smiling triumphantly and the bond, that shimmering bond that tied them together, that ripped my heer out of my chest.
I made it to my room
And locked the door behind me, and then I broke.
I collapsed on my bed and let the tears fall, hot and relentlessly, crying for everything I had lost, for the man I had given myself to, for the secret I was crying.
I touched my stomach and whispered to myself, trying to process that I was carrying his pup.
The Alpha prince’s pup.
My sister’s mate pup.
How could this have happened?
How could everything have gone so wrong at once?
I wanted to scream, but I had to stay quiet, because I could not let anyone hear me.
I could not let anyone know.
My phone buzzed which interrupted my crying and it was Mira.
I hesitated for a moment, but I needed to hear her voice.
I needed someone to ground me.
Then I answered in a broken voice.
“Hello?”
“Aria, are you okay?” Mira’s voice was filled with worry.
“I saw everything at the coronation.
What happened?
You look like you saw a ghost.”
I inhaled shakily and croaked, “Mira, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?
You are scaring me.”
“The Alpha Prince,” I said in a trembling voice.
“The man they crowned today.
He is the same man I met at the bar that night.
The one I told you about.”
Mira was silent for a moment.
Then, “Aria, that is not possible.”
“It is true,” I said.
“I did not know who he was.
I did not know he was the Alpha Prince.
I did not know he was going to be bound to Aurora.”
Mira gasped.
“Wait, wait, wait.
So the guy you had sex with some nights ago is now your sister’s mate?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“And now I do not know what to do.”
Mira was quiet for a long moment.
Then she said, “Aria, this is….this is so strange.
How is this even possible?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“But it is the truth. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
And I am so scared, Mira.
I do not know what to do.”
“Okay, okay,” Mira said, trying to calm herself.
“Just breathe.
We will figure it out.
But first, tell me, are you okay?
How are you feeling?”
I hesitated with the words stuck in my throat, but I knew I had to tell her.
“That is the thing, Mira.
I am not okay.
I have been feeling strange lately.”
“Strange how?”
“Nauseous,” I admitted.
“I have been feeling sick every morning.
And I have not seen my period in weeks.
I thought it was just stress from everything, but now I am not so sure.”
Mira was silent for a moment.
Then she laughed shakily.
“Aria, this is impossible.
You can not be pregnant.
I mean, the first time you are having sex in your life and you are ending up pregnant?
That cannot be right.”
“I do not know,” I said, my voice breaking.
“But I am scared, Mira.
What if I am?
What am I going to do?”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Mira said sharply.
“Did you guys use protection?”
I tried to remember, but everything from that night was a blur.
The whiskey, the pain, the way Zane made me feel alive for the first time in years.
I could not remember anything clearly.
“I do not remember,” I admitted.
“Everything was blur after that moment.
I was so drunk and so broken and I just….I did not think.”
Mira gasped.
“Aria!
Did you at least take any contraceptive?”
I blinked.
“What is that?”
“Aria!” Mira screamed, and I pulled the phone away from my ear.
“You do not even know what contraceptive is?!”
“I do not know,” I said weakly.
“I have never had to think about these things before.”
Mira was silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was much calmer, but still filled with disbelief.
“Okay, okay. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Let us calm down.
First thing first, we need to get a pregnancy test strip and confirm if you are actually pregnant or not.
It might just be stress.
Stress can do strange things to the body.”
I nodded, even though she could not see me.
“But how am I going to get one?
I cannot just walk into a store and buy one.
Someone might see me.
Someone might tell my mother or Aurora.”
Mira was quiet for a moment.
Then said breathlessly, “you are right.
That would be too risky.”
I thought hard, trying to come up with a solution.
And then I remembered, “Aurora is sexually active,” I said slowly.
“She might have one in her room.”
Mira gasped in shock and said quickly, “Aria, you can not go into her room!
What if she catches you?”
“She is still at the pack event,” I said.
“Everyone is still celebrating, so her room will be empty.
This is my only chance.”
Mira sighed in resignation and said with worry in her voice.
“Okay, but be careful.
And call me as soon as you have it.”
I ended the call and tiptoed out of my room.
The house was quiet and empty, and I walked quickly to Aurora’s room with my heart pounding in my chest.
I pushed the door open and slipped inside with shaking hands.
I searched her bathroom quickly, opening drawers and cabinets until I found a pack of test strips hidden in the back of a drawer.
I grabbed one and hurried back to my room, locking the door behind me.
Then I stared at the test strip in my hands with trembling hands.
This was it.
This would tell me the truth.
I took the test with shaking hands and waited, with my heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe.
I watched as the lines appeared slowly on the strip, praying, hoping and begging that it would be negative.
But it was not.
There was two bright red lines.
Positive.
I was pregnant.
I stared at the test strip with tears in eyes with the words echoing in my mind over and over again.
I am pregnant with my sister’s mate pup.
My hands shook and the test strip slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor.
I sank to my knees and sobbed bitterly, muffling the sound with my hand.
I was carrying his pup.
The Alpha prince’s pup.
My sister’s mate pup, and there was nothing I could do to change it.