I knew something was up when my belly rumbled, and I took a quick dash downstairs and rummaged on a whole foil-wrapped piece of beef that my father had stashed away for dinner. I usually cut the meat into portions, I bent over onto the counter and dug my face into the beef whilst tearing and ripping it off into strips.

It was chewy. But I didn’t give up. I pulled until it snapped and chewed and licked my fingers and lips. I lost count at how many bites — and the lack of my gut getting filled. The beef got smaller, but I remained hungry.

My father came into the kitchen, but that went unnoticed by me as I made my way to take another chunk of meat from the fridge. This alarmed my father; who rushed over to slam it shut, and then started to sniff all around me, and then found that the smell of fertility was coming from his son.

“Make no mistake boy.” He sniffed, and stopped with a smile on his face. “You are definitely with child.”

“I am?”

“Yes.” He gave his nose another workout before making a firm head-shake. “Yes. You are pregnant, Arden.”

I still wanted to get into the fridge. But my father was blocking the way. “I suppose that’s good news for everybody.” But what about myself, I thought. Am I happy about this?

“It’s comes at a perfect time.” I could see that my father was pleased. More pleased then he’d ever been. “You with child.” He pats me on the side of my shoulder twice. “Who was the Alpha that you chose?” He left his hand there.

I hadn’t expected to be having this conversation. When I had reached home I wanted to put Samson in the back of my camouflage collection. The area of my brain where I stored desire, because there was always a possibility that I would revisit it for another look.

And with Samson, that would be a regular booking on my list. But the complexities of now being pregnant, leaving him with no explanation, and having to deal with my father who suspected me to have gone about this in the proper fashion would be the start of a new commandment: Arden shall deal with his problems.

Pregnant, hungry, and wanting my father to remove his hand from my shoulder to allow me to get some more meat.

“No more food. I need you tell me about this Alpha.”

“He was nobody, Father.”

He removed his hand, but not himself from the fridge. I gave up on trying to get past and took a seat on the stool.

“It was nothing spectacular,” I lied. “If anything, it was more of a butterfly floating past and having better things to do.” Samson was no butterfly. I should go with bodyguard.

“I see.” My father was not convinced.

“The lands. My focus is on that.” I rubbed my stomach. “This is all I really need.”

“Son—”

“Father, can you pass me some more meat? I need to keep my strength up if I’m feeding for two.”

“I can’t accept a story that doesn’t ring true. You are before me…pregnant. And that didn’t just happen out of the blue.”

“No.” I needed food.

“And I need you to be a man and tell me what happened.”

I found that my hunger was a snapping turtle and snappily asked, “Would you excuse me?” I wanted to go to the chiller and defrost some meat.

“Arden…” My father opened the fridge; took out a leg of lamb and chucked it onto the table. “If you’re going to be eating like you’re feeding a thousand people we’re going to have to stock up on more food supplies.”

With my mouth full, I only spit out food to my father’s disgust.

“I need you to tell me about him, Arden. I will not let this lie.”

I chewed so loudly that my father’s irritancy rose.

“It won’t do, you ignoring me, son. I want to see you happy. Mated to a good Alpha that will keep you safe and free from harm. That little one will be looking for that security.”

I swallowed hard. Not in that way. I was still stuffing my face and shredding that meat.

“Do you hear me, son?”

“Yerf!” He wanted me to answer. So, he’d have to be content with food nearly being sprayed across the kitchen floor. I put down the leg and immediately said, “You’re without a mate, Father. And you do ok.”

“But this is not about me, son. You have an opportunity. You can find yourself a good Alpha.”

“There is none.”

“Nonsense.”

“Then point him to me, Flynn.”

“Arden! You’ll address me as your father. He stood firm. “Whatever caused that being of life to grow in your body has to be addressed. I want to know—”

Fiona came skipping into the kitchen in a flowery dress and a bolt headband with her long hair flowing back behind it. It had many sunflowers upon it, and it was a joke to see her in such a sunny get-up. Fiona was a cactus: prickly and out to sting when you least expected it. It never stopped me from loving her though.

She skipped all the way to my father who bent down to kiss her on the forehead. Then she came to the counter in the middle and ripped off some meat to chew. A little piece — before giving me that smile that said, I’ll tell Dad the story for you.

I frown, giving her the kind of ‘no’ nod that could cut a throat, and slap my palm against my brow when she does the opposite of keeping her mouth shut!

“He was so handsome.” She played with the strip of meat. “Wasn’t he, Arden?”

I could kill her. I could take her by the back of her dress and hang her outside with the wet clothes to dry.

“Father, him and Arden looked so good together.”

“You shouldn’t have even been there, Fiona.” I gave this as a reminder to my dad who wanted to hear more from her. He needed to remember that she shouldn’t have been at the grown up parties at her age. She was meant to be grounded.

“Well. If I hadn’t come, who would’ve helped you pull?”

“You had no hand in it.”

“I encouraged you. You can be so shy sometimes.”

I could tell that my father agreed with this as he gave me that look.

“Tell me more, daughter.”

“Well. He’s definitely Arden’s type.” Fiona came to take a seat near me. “Bigger than the smaller Alpha’s out there.”

“Shouldn’t you be in your room?” I gave her a brotherly sulk and she stuck out her tongue for reminding Dad about that.

“That’s where she’s going to head after she’s done having her lunch.”

“But Dad—”

“No buts. I want to meet this man. It sounds like your sister is already fond of him.”

She pulled off a portion of the lamb. “I do. He gave Arden the time of day.” She pinched me.

“Hey!” I pinched her back via her shoulder.

“Enough, you two.” My dad uses his authoritative tone. “I want to meet him.”

“Father,” I blurt out the quickest thing that comes to mind, “he doesn’t want an Omega.”

Both Fiona and Flynn stared at me confused. My father spoke, “Why ever not? You’re wonderful, Arden.”

The ringing of the doorbell alerted all three of us into a dumfounded state.

“Are you two expecting anybody?”

We both said, “No.”

“I’ll get it.”

Fiona mockingly said, whilst Dad was gone, “You two were getting it on.”

“You don’t even know what that means.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.”

Father called out, “Arden, there is a visitor at the door for you.”

I got up from the stool.

“I do!” Fiona shoved me to get out of the kitchen quicker.

I wanted to retaliate, but the smell of the woods flushed me into a shade of purple and red, and I quickly managed to handle its potency by leaning against the open-planned kitchen door… to find my dad holding the front door open — and the visitor peering in from the outside.

He opened it a little more…“Your Alpha is here.” My father made it sound like a 16+ prom date had come to collect me in a limo. And his reddened face at the sight of the visitor’s bulk underneath that suit was even more embarrassing.

I wanted to tell my father to behave, and what man had him turning into a tomato. I hadn’t seen his face yet.

Then the door fully opened, and my father said it again, “Your Alpha is here.”

I took notice of his words now. “I don’t have one—”

Samson waddled in, and gave me a fright. I should have placed the woodsy smell as him. He cupped my cheeks and I went brighter than the sunrise; retracting from him and wishing my father hadn’t answered the door.

“What a good catch.” My father approvingly gave Samson the parental look over. “A handsome young Alpha indeed.”

Samson stood proud after hearing my father’s words.

I found myself introverted at how powerful my attraction for him felt.