Chapter 3 Pregnant

I woke up the next morning with my head absolutely pounding. Sunlight was streaming through the window like a laser beam, and my whole body ached like I''d been hit by a truck.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, struggling to sit up. When I pulled back the covers, my jaw dropped. Purple hickeys covered my skin like some kind of abstract art project.

Flashes of last night started coming back to me—hot skin, desperate hands, mind-blowing passion.

Oh crap. Who did I hook up with?

I slowly turned my head and nearly had a heart attack. There was some guy passed out next to me, completely naked.

*Holy shit. I slept with a complete stranger?*

"What do you mean stranger?" Ivy snapped in my head. "He''s your mate."

*My mate? Thank God.*

Ivy''s snarky comment made me feel way less guilty about the whole thing.

"Aren''t you gonna check him out?" she prodded.

*Obviously.*

I leaned over to get a better look at my supposed mate.

Damn. The guy was absolutely gorgeous—like, magazine-cover gorgeous. Probably the hottest man I''d ever seen in my life.

His clothes were scattered everywhere, and something caught my eye in the corner. An ID card.

When I read the name, my heart stopped.

"Oh my God, Ivy. I''m screwed!" I smacked my forehead. "I''m so dead."

The guy was Caleb Wright.

The Caleb Wright—Alpha of the Thorn Edge Pack, aka the guy every smart girl avoided like the plague. His reputation was absolutely terrible.

Word was that even the Moon Goddess had given up on him, which was why he''d never been assigned a mate. And the really messed up part? Kids in his pack kept dying young for no reason anyone could figure out. She-wolves had to watch their babies die.

If anyone found out I''d slept with him, my dad would kill me, the whole Silver Ridge Pack would shun me, and my dead mom would probably come back just to lecture me.

I couldn''t even think about the consequences without hyperventilating.

I had to get out of there before anyone saw us together.

"What''s wrong with you?" Ivy huffed. "He''s your mate! You''re supposed to be together!"

"Shut up! I''m not letting Caleb Wright ruin my life!"

Ignoring Ivy''s protests, I threw on my clothes and snuck out like a ninja.

Everything went smoothly. Everyone was still gossiping about yesterday''s wedding, so nobody noticed me. Thank God.

When I got home, Dad and Marley were nowhere to be found—probably off on their honeymoon. Then I heard a worried voice behind me.

"Honey, where have you been? I looked for you all night! I was scared something happened!"

Vicky was giving me the full concerned-mom look.

Guilt hit me like a brick, but there was no way I could tell her the truth. "Sorry, Vicky. I got totally wasted and passed out somewhere."

"Really?" She looked skeptical. "You didn''t try to get revenge on your stepmother last night, did you?"

"What? No way!" I pretended to be offended and changed the subject. "And so what if I did? She was completely out of line. If you hadn''t stopped me, I would''ve shown that woman what''s what."

Vicky just shook her head. She knew there was no point arguing with me. "Well, she''s our Luna now. Try not to cause any drama."

"Fine."

Honestly, I wasn''t planning to mess with Marley. I loved my dad and didn''t want to put him in an impossible position.

Too bad Marley didn''t feel the same way.

The second she became Luna, she started making my life hell.

She was pushing Dad to partner with the Frosty River Pack, claiming it would be amazing for us. But from what I could see, this "partnership" was going to screw us over big time.

Something felt off, so I asked to review the project details, but Marley shut me down completely.

Actually, she refused to let me get involved in any pack business, which made her look even more suspicious.

So I had to convince Dad to let me participate.

During my digging, I discovered that the Frosty River Pack was basically broke. But Marley had doctored the reports to hide that little detail.

Since Dad believed everything Marley said, I couldn''t just blurt out my suspicions. I had to investigate secretly.

Unfortunately, my investigation hit a wall. Marley figured out what I was doing and started blocking me from meetings. She even told the Frosty River Pack to keep me in the dark. I was completely shut out.

One day, I was in a pack meeting trying to find holes in Marley''s plans when Dad suddenly sent someone to get me.

On my way to see him, I felt sick to my stomach and wanted to puke.

"Are you feeling nauseous again?" Vicky rubbed my back. "What''s going on with you? Haven''t you gotten your test results back yet? It''s been days."

"No, not yet. I''m confused too. I''ve been feeling sick for a while now, but I have no idea what''s wrong."

But when I walked into Dad''s study, he threw some papers at me with pure rage in his eyes.

"Debra, you''ve really done it this time!" His face was a mix of fury and disappointment. "Look what you''ve done!"

I''d never seen Dad this angry before. It scared the hell out of me.

I took a shaky breath and picked up the papers.

The next second, my eyes went wide as dinner plates.

The report said I was pregnant.

I nearly fainted on the spot.