Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #4)

18. Raine

18

Raine

“ Dear Aiden, ” he reads. “ I’m writing to you with regret, as I haven’t been honest with you. Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to find the words to say to tell you the truth, but I find myself unable to do so, for fear of hurting you. That is the last thing I want, however, I know that it’s the right thing to do. As you will be able to see from the test I included, I am pregnant. ”

I’m stunned silent. Not even a single breath escapes me.

He continues to read: “ I confess that before the ball, I found myself pregnant after I slept with one of my alpha’s enforcers. I panicked, not knowing what to do, as he had already made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with it. When the letter for the ball came, I knew I had to make a tough choice. And that, unfortunately, included you. ”

“No,” I mumble.

This isn’t my letter. This isn’t what I wrote to him when I told him I was pregnant with his child. Where did he even get this from?

“ See, I knew my alpha would never accept a bastard child into the pack. I am already considered one myself, as I am the daughter of his former beta, who defected more than eight years ago to another pack with no other explanation than him stating that he hoped we all rotted in hell. ”

My eyes squeeze shut as tears pour down my face.

The only other person who was there the day my father left was Daniel. We’d stood at the border between us and the Southern Lands, begging my father to come back. It had been raining that day, too.

Aiden continues, “ So I knew that the only way I would be able to keep this baby was if it was considered royalty. ”

Bowing my head, I sob at the floor.

Daniel sent this to him. While I was imprisoned, he concocted the ultimate plan to make sure I’d never be able to return to Aiden’s side. I’d never have any claim to the northern Lands’ throne with an heir.

My reputation will burn, just like he always promised me it would.

“ I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you, and that I used our mating bond against you. But I had no choice. I wanted to keep my baby at all costs, even if it meant tricking you into believing that it was yours and the heir to the Northern Lands’ throne. I know you will hate me, and I understand and accept that. But I can’t keep living this lie any longer. It’s eating me up with every letter we send. I have to set you free, Aiden. I’m so sorry. I hope you find your happiness. Yours, Raine. ”

Slowly, I lift my head to look at him.

His eyes are cold as he stares down at me, the pregnancy test clutched tightly in one hand and the letter held up in the other. On the outside, he looks almost indifferent. But his eyes tell a much deeper story.

“It’s not true,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I didn’t write that.”

He doesn’t say anything as he turns the letter around to show me. To my utter dismay, the writing looks almost identical to my own. How in the world Daniel was able to come up with something that looks so similar to mine, I’ll never know.

But it’s not like any of that matters now.

“Please…please, I didn’t write that. The baby is yours,” I sob.

“He told me you’d say that.” Aiden pulls his eyes away from me in order to neatly fold the letter up again, following the exact creases already in it. “He came two weeks ago to give this all to me. He told me that you’ve always been a liar and that you are no better than your father. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. But how could I not? He gave me all this proof.”

“I’m your mate, Aiden.” I tug at the hold the two enforcers have on me, hoping that by some miracle, they’ll let me go. “I would never do that to you. He found out about us and locked me away to keep me from you.”

“That’s funny, considering he said the exact opposite in that he had to force you to confess in this letter because you refused to tell me the truth before that.”

“Please don’t do this. Please don’t listen to him. He’s nothing but a liar.”

“What would he have to gain from this, Raine? What could fabricating any of this do? Merging our packs would be beneficial to him, would it not?”

I suck in a breath, trying to regain control over myself. “I don’t know.”

“Exactly.” His eyes shift to the enforcers holding me. “Leave her at the border and make sure she doesn’t come back in.”

“No!” I wrestle in their hold, even as they lift me back onto my feet. “I’m your mate! Don’t do this!”

His eyes narrow into a glare. “Raine Sutters, I reject our bond.”

The world turns gray, swallowing me whole as pure fire burns inside of my chest. The pain steals the breath from my lungs, making me collapse back onto the floor as my body gives out. I feel our souls ripping apart as the threads that were tenderly twined around my heart snap and fray, breaking into pieces, no longer attaching me to him.

He waves his hand at me, dismissing me. “Take her away.”

“No!” I scream at him in agony. “Aiden!” I shout again, but it falls on deaf ears as I’m dragged out of the mansion.