Page 109 of Alpha’s Possession

"Rhen’s right. You don't deserve to be Alpha—not anymore," Leon snarls as he gets up and climbs out of the Den. He stomps up the steps. I feel Thane's deadly aura and know Leon is in for it when Thane gets up there. However, I pay no attention, tuning out my surroundings as I go back to sleep.

The sound of the washing machine wakes me a short time later, and his scent, before the sparks rush over my skin. I think it is Leon with him who is touching me, yet when I open my eyes, it is Thane hovering over me.

His hand is on my belly. "You need to eat, if not for you, then for this baby," he tells me before sighing. I can tell he wants to feel the same movement Leon felt earlier, but he is touching the wrong spot. His brows pinch together. Rolling my eyes, I grab his hand, and he freezes as I move it to the right place and press down on his hand.

He chuffs. "You need to eat, Harlow. Don't punish this baby for your mistakes," he says. I ignore him, reaching for my pillow. Thane growls and rises to his feet.

"You have an ultrasound next week," he tells me. I turn my head to look at him. That means I get to leave this place.

"Eat, please. I'll make you whatever you want," Thane says before climbing out of my Den. He climbs the stairs as the wheels turn in my head over the ways I can work this to my advantage. I am mostly excited for fresh air and light, real light. He leaves and shuts the door. I wonder if he means what he said about me being able to pick my own food. Testing that theory, I climb up, searching for my pen. I have to tear a piece of the cardboard box off to write on.

I scribble on it; I have been craving pancakes and Allen's candy snakes. And that pasta thing he made once, but I don't know what it is called. So, I write pasta spirals with the white sauce. Climbing the stairs, I stuff it under the door before I hear someone pick it up.

I try to peer under the gap, wondering if I will get anything off the list. I know better than to get my hopes up. It’s probably just a trick to make me get up. Sniffing myself, I realize how terrible I smell, so I wander back down the stairs and head to the shower. I wash my hair and it takes me half an hour before I get all the tangles out.

Hearing the door open, I step out of the bathroom in my towel to see Thane carrying a tray down. Sniffing the air, my mouth waters. He sets the tray on the table before turning to pull the stuff out of the dryer.

Before I realize it, I follow my nose to find everything I asked for on the tray. I inhale my food, not even caring that I am eating pancakes and pasta simultaneously. To me, it tastes good. Better than the crap he's been making me eat. Thane raises an eyebrow at me and goes to grab the basket off the table as I finish. When his hand moves toward my empty plate, I snatch the bag of suckers off the tray before he takes them.

"I was going to leave them; I’m not taking them from you," he says at the savage snarl that I don't expect to escape from my lips. I clutch my suckers to my chest, intending to savor and ration them, in case he doesn't give me any more. I’ve had a wicked sweet tooth lately, and I never get anything sweet, other than the horrible green apples he recently added to my breakfasts. Although they are more sour than sweet.

I take my suckers, hiding them in my Den, but not before taking a blue one from the bag. Covered in sauce and pancake syrup, I nestle back under my blankets, naked. I bite the snake’s head and sigh. For once, the cravings will not drive me mad all night.

Chapter Eighty-Three

ONE WEEK LATER

~Harlow~

My life is nothing but repetition, except for this week, when I have the ultrasound. The doctor came here to the Den. That was my breaking point, when I lost all hope that Thane is ever going to come to his senses and let me out of here.

He told me about the ultrasound last week. I was so excited to be leaving the Den; I was almost bouncing on my feet as I waited by the stairs for him to come get me. Only when the door opened did I realize he was bringing the ultrasound to me.

The doctor uses a portable device, and I try to tune out what he says to Thane. I no longer care. This is not my baby; I am merely its incubator. He’s made that perfectly clear.

“Have you booked her in for regular midwife appointments?” the doctor asks him. I pretend not to listen, staring at the screen full of moving limbs. A stupid smile on my face as I watch my growing bump from a new perspective. One that makes the movements inside of me so much more real.

“No, she will be birthing at home; Raidon’s parents will help with the delivery,” Thane tells him, and my head turns to look at him.

He expects me to give birth in the Den? With a woman who has made it very clear she wants me dead as soon as the baby is born? What about pain relief? What if something goes wrong?

“Oh, well, she is in competent hands then. Do you want to know the gender?” he asks Thane, who nods his head. The doctor moves the device around, pressing harder and making me want to pee, before he declares, “It’s a girl!”

The doctor is beaming happily. Thane huffs, but I don’t miss the ghost of a smile on his lips. I am surprised at his excitement. Most Alphas want boys to carry on their name.

“Okay, you have her birth plan sorted, but what about afterward? Harlow will need a six-week check-up after delivery. Or will Elaine handle that too?’

“We are unsure as of yet. If not, the rotation facility may handle it,” Thane tells him. The doctor’s brows furrow in confusion, and my head turns to stare at Thane in horror.

“Mr. Keller?” he asks, glancing down at the mark on my neck. It doesn’t go unnoticed that the doctor never once addresses me. This is typical with Omegas; the doctors always speak to their Alpha, not them. This is hierarchy at its finest.

“Once the baby is born, we will be rejecting her, and she can either go into rotation or face the consequences of her actions,” Thane says, looking at me pointedly. I don’t know which option is worse—death or being forced into rotation.

“Her actions?” the doctor asks, glancing down at me suddenly, as if I am some crazed criminal.

“That is none of your concern, Doc. Pack business, and I am free to do as I please with my Omega,” Thane says, while I just blink at how insensitive he is being. I am the mother of his child, and those are the only two options he is offering me? I shake the thoughts away, my arms wrapping instinctively around my belly.

I listened to them argue and fight all week. Rhen and Thane fight constantly now.