Chapter 4 No Place To Call Home

Lisa's POV

There was no one on the bed with me. The stranger from the bar was gone. No note, no trace. It was like he had never been there.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. What had I done?

I barely had time to dwell on it. Life at the pack didn't stop for my mistakes. The bullying resumed the moment I set foot in the halls. Whispers followed me wherever I went. The other wolves sneered and Brenda looked through me like I didn't exist. I didn't care about their bullying. All I did was bury that night within me, pretending it never happened..

A few weeks later, the sickness started.

At first, it was just the occasional nausea, the dizziness I blamed on stress and lack of sleep. But it didn't go away. It got worse, day by day. My clothes feel tighter and my body becomes bloated.

Weeks passed before I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I was cleaning one of the guest rooms when a sharp wave of dizziness hit me. I dropped the broom to the floor and stumbled to the side, grabbing onto the bedpost to steady myself.

"What's wrong with you?" One of the maids, Hope, sneered from the doorway. "Can't you do your job right?"

"I'm fine," I muttered, though my head was spinning. "I just need a minute."

She rolled her eyes. "You always need a minute. Useless." With that, she turned and marched off, leaving me alone in the room.

I sank onto the bed, trying to catch my breath. Something wasn't right. I knew it in my gut.

The pack physician was summoned, and my heart raced as he examined me. His expression was unreadable, but I could feel the tension in the air. Something was wrong.

He didn't even say a word as he left, but an hour later, a guard appeared at my door, instructing me to see Alpha Roman.

My stomach churned as I made way to his office, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach. I knew whatever was coming couldn't be good, but nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to hear.

Alpha Roman sat behind his massive desk, his face a mask of disappointment and anger. His piercing blue gaze seemed to see straight through me as he spoke the words that shattered me.

"So you're pregnant."

The room spun, and for a moment I couldn't breathe.

"I... I'm not..." I stammered, but the words couldn't come. Pregnant. How? Without warning, it all came crashing down. The stranger. That night. The drinks. Oh Goddess, what had I done?

"I didn't mean to–" I started, but Alpha Roman cut me off with a growl.

"You've disgraced this pack," he snapped. "Do you have any idea what this means? Do you have any idea what you've done!"

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I forced them back. "Please, I didn't know... I didn't mean for this to happen."

The word "pregnant" echoed in my mind, drowning out everything else.

I stared at Alpha Roman, my mouth dry, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

"I've already informed your father and your step mother."

No.

My legs wobbled beneath me as a sickening sense of dread settled in my chest. Father and Jeanine wouldn't understand. They had never cared about me, only tolerated me because they were forced to. What would they do when they found out?

"Leave," Alpha Roman commanded, his voice laced with disgust. "Go face the consequences of your actions."

I turned and fled, my heart pounding in my chest.

The walk back to our house was like a death march. I knew what awaited me and prepared myself.

When I arrived, they were already waiting. The look in Jeanine's eyes was pure fury, while father's face twisted with disgust

"Is it true?" Jeanine demanded, her voice trembling with rage. "You're pregnant?"

Tears stung my eyes as I nodded. I couldn't even look them in the eye.

"Who's responsible?" Father's voice was cold, accusatory.

"I don't know," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

It was the wrong thing to say.

Jeanine's slap came so fast, I didn't have time to react.

Pain exploded across my cheek, and before I could recover, they both pounced on me, hitting and kicking, their anger fueled by my shame.

"Disgusting," she spat as she yanked me up by my hair. "You're nothing but a disgrace."

I collapsed to the floor, beaten, broken, and sobbing. When they were finally down, they stood over me, their faces twisted in anger and disappointment.

"You're no longer our problem," father sneered. "You're on your own now."

With that, they disowned me, leaving me in a heap on the cold floor. I had no one now. Nowhere to turn.

As the weeks passed, my baby bump began to show, and the whispers and glares from the pack only grew worse. Wherever I went, I could feel their eyes on me, judging, mocking. I was their laughing stock, the failure who couldn't even find a mate but managed to get pregnant.

The humiliation became too much. I couldn't take it anymore. Everyday was a new hell, and very night I cried myself to sleep, wondering how I had let my life spiral out of control.

And then one night, as I lay in bed, feeling the small flutters of life within me, I made a decision.

I couldn't stay here. I couldn't raise my child in this pack, surrounded by people who hated and despised me. I had to leave. Run away from the pack and never look back.

I packed my few belongings, heart racing as I prepared for the unknown.