HIS to CLAIM ALPHA ZEKE

Layla's POV

I stood outside Zeke's office three years ago, pounding on the door until my knuckles turned red while tears streamed down my face in what I hoped looked like genuine grief. "Zeke, please," I called through the wood while making my voice shake just right. "We need to grieve together, please let me in."

No response came from inside, though I could hear him moving around in there, which meant he was alive at least. Part of me had

worried he might actually hurt himself over Cecelia's death, which would ruin everything I'd worked so hard to accomplish.

"Alpha, please," I tried again while pressing my forehead against the door. "I need you right now, we both loved her, and we need each other to get through this."

Still nothing, while I felt my patience wearing thin because playing the concerned friend was exhausting when what I really wanted to do was celebrate.

Cecelia was finally gone, which meant Zeke was free, and I could have what should have

been mine from the beginning.

I heard footsteps approaching from down the hallway, so I made sure to look appropriately devastated when Marcus appeared with a crowbar in his hands. "He won't answer?" Marcus asked while his face showed real concern, unlike my

fake version.

"He hasn't said a word in two days," I said while wiping at my tears. "I'm worried about him, Marcus. What if he does something we can't fix?"

Marcus moved past me to examine the door while testing the lock.

"Step back," he ordered before wedging the crowbar into the frame. The wood splintered with a loud crack while the door swung open to reveal Zeke sitting behind his desk, looking like he hadn't slept or eaten since hearing the news.

I started to move forward, but Zeke's voice stopped me cold. "Get out, Layla."

"What?" I froze in the doorway while genuine shock replaced my fake tears. "Zeke, I just want to help you through this."

"I said get out." His voice came out

flat and dead while he stared at his desk instead of looking at me. "I can't stand to look at you right now, knowing that choosing you over her drove Cecelia away

in the first place."

The words hit me like a physical blow while Marcus shifted uncomfortably beside the broken door.

"Alpha, maybe you should reconsider because Layla cares about you, and shutting people out won't help anyone."

"I don't care what will help," Zeke said while finally looking up at us with eyes that looked completely

empty. "I want to be alone, and I want Layla to leave because seeing her face reminds me of every mistake I made that led to Cecelia being dead."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Marcus grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the hallway. "Give him space," he said quietly while guiding me away from the office. "He's not thinking clearly right now, and pushing him will only make things worse."

I let Marcus lead me down the hall while my mind raced because this wasn't how things were supposed

to go. Zeke was supposed to turn to me for comfort while we grieved together, and that grief would eventually turn into something else that would finally make us official mates like we should have been all along.

Instead, he'd looked at me like I was the cause of all his problems, which technically I was, but he wasn't supposed to realize that part.

I went back to my quarters while slamming the door hard enough to make the frame shake. My reflection in the mirror showed tear-streaked makeup and red eyes

that came from actual frustration instead of fake sadness. Three years of waiting for Cecelia to be gone, and now that she finally was, Zeke wanted nothing to do with me.

My hand moved to my stomach, which had just started showing the smallest bump beneath my loose shirt. The pregnancy test I'd taken two weeks ago had shown positive,

which should have been perfect timing except for one major problem that made my blood run cold every time I thought about it.

The baby wasn't Zeke's.

I sank onto my bed while panic clawed at my throat because I'd been so careful about timing everything perfectly. The night I'd slept with Zeke had been planned down to the

minute while I'd made sure we were both drunk enough that he wouldn't question it later. But that had been three months ago, and I'd gotten my period two weeks after, which meant the pregnancy couldn't be from him.

The real father was Derek, one of the guards who worked night shifts and had caught me in a weak moment four weeks ago when I'd

been frustrated about Zeke still refusing to see me as more than a friend. We'd hooked up once in a storage room, and I'd thought nothing of it because I was careful about

protection, except apparently not careful enough.

Derek had fled the territory two days after I'd told him about the pregnancy while taking nothing but a backpack and

whatever cash he had saved. Smart man, while I wished I could run away from this mess too,

but I was stuck here trying to figure out how to convince everyone, including Zeke, that this

baby was his.

A sharp pain stabbed through my lower abdomen while I doubled over on the bed, gasping. Something felt wrong while warmth spread between my legs that shouldn't be

there. I managed to stumble to the bathroom before looking down to see blood soaking through my pants.

"No, no, no," I whispered while more pain ripped through me. The baby couldn't survive if I was bleeding this much,

which meant all my careful planning had been for nothing.

I don't know how long I sat on the bathroom floor bleeding while the reality of what was happening slowly sank in.

The baby was gone, which solved my paternity problem but created a whole new issue because I'd already started telling people I was pregnant, and now I'd have to explain why I wasn't anymore.

The pack doctor found me there an hour later after I'd finally called for help. She took one look at the situation and called for assistance while her face stayed carefully neutral. "How far along were you?"

she asked while helping me onto a stretcher.

"About six weeks," I lied while knowing it was actually closer to four. "Is the baby okay?"

Her expression told me everything I needed to know before she even spoke. "I'm sorry, Layla, but you've had a complete miscarriage, and there's nothing we can do to save the pregnancy at this stage."

I let tears fall while these ones were actually real because even though the baby had been a problem, it had also been my ticket to having Zeke

permanently. Now that ticket was gone, and I was back to square one with an Alpha who couldn't even stand to look at me.