Chapter 5 The beginning of scandals

BRAHAM'S POV

"Millie-Rose..."

I heard myself murmur her name as I stirred from unconsciousness. My voice was hoarse, cracked, like I'd clawed it out of a dream I didn't want to leave.

I touched her side of the bed and she wasn't there, the feeling of emptiness filled me with fear and I immediately opened my eyes to see she really wasn't there.

Then it hit me.

She was gone.

First things first, I was a fucking idiot.

I blinked once. Twice. The bed beside me was cold. Empty.

A deep, soul-cringing humiliation festered in my chest. My stomach turned. My skin itched with regret. Rage.

What the hell had I done?

Why did I bring her to a hotel?

Why did I make love to her like a man possessed...like I was drunk on her, desperate for her?

Oh, that's right. Because I was.

Drunk as shit. Out of my goddamn mind.

But booze wasn't the only reason. No, that'd be too convenient.

I wanted her.

She wasn't just a warm body to fuck and forget. She was a storm I had willingly walked into... no raincoat, no armor.

The sex wasn't empty. It was... blistering. Addictive. We didn't just connect; we combusted. Her moans still echoed in my ears like a fucking curse. The scratch marks on my back were still fresh... physical proof that it wasn't some fever dream.

And now, she was gone.

I sat up abruptly, my heart thundering. Her scent had vanished from the room. No perfume. No lipstick stains on the glass. No hair on the pillow. Just... nothing.

Like she had never existed.

Maybe she was in the bathroom.

I pushed off the sheets and strode across the suite, flinging the bathroom door open and froze.

Empty. Cold. Clean. Not a single sign of her presence.

My jaw clenched.

"Vorn," my wolf whined inside me.

He felt it too. The loss. The confusion. The insult.

No.

She left.

No note. No goodbye. Just vanished.

I grabbed the hotel's landline and jabbed the call button.

"Good morning, Alpha Braham. How may I help you?" chirped the receptionist.

Her cheery tone made me want to punch something.

"The girl," I growled. "Did anyone see her leave?"

"Which girl, Sir?"

"The one I checked in with," I snapped, my patience running thin.

"Oh! You mean the slut from last night?"

I Snapped.

The growl that tore out of my throat was instant, primal.

"She's not a slut," I said through clenched teeth. "And yes. That girl. Millie-Rose."

"I didn't see her, Sir," she said, clearly unbothered. "But I'll ask around. If anyone saw her leave, I'll let you know."

I slammed the receiver down and ran a hand through my hair, breathing hard.

A fucking mess. That's what I was.

I stumbled into the bathroom, turned the shower knob to cold, and stood beneath the freezing spray.

The water hit me like knives. Sharp. Unforgiving.

I welcomed the sting.

Because beneath it, I could still feel her. Her fingers on my chest, her legs wrapped around me, the way she whispered my name like it was a goddamn prayer.

Why did she leave?

Why sneak out before dawn like some guilty mistress?

If it was just sex, she should've said so. If it meant nothing, she could've made that clear.

But no. She kissed me like she needed me. Touched me like I was the only man she'd ever wanted.

So why disappear?

Unless...

She regretted it.

The thought hit harder than I expected.

Regret.

Did she look at me afterward and hate herself?

Was I just another mistake in her life?

Fuck.

I stepped out of the shower, dripping and raw, and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

I didn't recognize the man staring back at me.

Was this what I'd become in less than twenty-four hours? That desperate? That broken?

But no matter what she thought, one truth remained:

She was pregnant. With my child.

Which meant she was mine, whether she liked it or not.

And she sure as hell wasn't going to vanish into thin air.

I dressed quickly and called my Beta.

Renan picked up on the second ring. "Yo. What's up?" His usual carefree tone came.

"You. Down here. Now. Ten minutes. Bring backup."

A pause.

"What happened?" he asked, voice sharpening.

"I'll explain when you get here."

I hung up.

No time for explanations.

No time for shame.

Just action.

I poured myself a shot from last night's tequila bottle. The burn grounded me.

Women.

The one goddamn thing I could never control.

First Jasmine... sweet, pure, my chosen Luna in the absence of a fated mate. She turned out to be a snake, sleeping with my rival, feeding him information about my pack's weaknesses. I exiled her without a second thought.

But the void she left never closed.

After that, I turned to logic.

If fate wouldn't give me a mate, I'd create my own destiny.

Surrogacy made sense. Cold. Clinical. Safe.

But that didn't go as planned either.

The hospital back home failed me. The women got clingy. Obsessed. Even the so-called nurses.

So, I crossed the country, came here to the human cities where anyone would barely recognize me. I asked for a werewolf surrogate. Strong. Quiet. Efficient.

So how the fuck did my seed end up inside an innocent girl without her consent?

A human?

Someone was going to pay for this.

The intercom buzzed.

"She left, Sir," the receptionist said. "A staff member saw her slip out around dawn. She ran. Looking upset."

My heart did something strange.

Tightened.

Twisted.

Cracked.

"Did she... steal anything?" the receptionist asked cautiously.

Yeah. My sanity. My peace of mind.

"No," I muttered, and dropped the line.

My hand curled around the shot glass.

Crack.

It shattered in my fist.

Blood dripped down my fingers.

"Shit!" Renan cursed, suddenly beside me. "Easy, man."

I hadn't even heard him come in.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, stepping around the broken glass.

"I need you to find someone."

"Let me guess. Millie-Rose?"

I whipped around. "How do you know that name?"

He smirked. "The Receptionist. She talks too much. Said you brought in Millie-Rose Harvey. Big-deal human actress, apparently."

I blinked. What?

That was Millie-Rose Harvey?

The famous actress with a spotless record I heard of once or twice?

No scandals. No men. No public drama.

And now... pregnant. With my child?

My mouth went dry.

She wasn't just running from me. She was running from everything. Her career. Her reputation. The life she'd built.

"And she's trending right now," Renan added, handing me his phone.

The screen was already open to a blog headline.

"Millie-Rose Harvey Caught In Love Triangle Scandal... Cheating? Pregnant?!"

Countless numbers of comments. Photos. Theories.

People were tearing her apart.

"She left in a rush, probably trying to avoid the media circus," Renan said.

I clenched my jaw.

"She's carrying my child," I said quietly. "Find her. Today."