Forced To Have The Alpha's Baby

Chapter 5

I take a deep breath as I knock on the door I've found myself knocking on for two years now. I don't know how to break the news to Emily as yet, I'm not sure how to even bring up the conversation. We were supposed to be preparing for our engagement and instead I was going to tell her that my father wanted me to get another woman pregnant.

I hold my breath as the door opens and I'm greeted with flashy blond hair and bright blue eyes. Emily's face lifts into a smile as soon as she spots me. I stiffen as she wraps her arms around me and holds me close.

I feel guilt slowly swamp my body at the pain I knew that I was about to bring to her.

She senses my discomfort and slowly she pulls away to study me. Her eyes immediately turn from happiness to worry.

"Did something happen?" She asks. "Are you okay?"

I try to swallow the pain and hide the sorrow. I wasn't ready to tell her, I didn't want to hurt her. I'd promised Emily that I would protect her always and I had meant it.

"Everything is fine." I can't help but lie as I make my way into the house. I need to change the direction of this conversation before I have no choice but to tell her.

"Are your parents home?" I ask while trying to divert her attention from me.

There is a hint of suspiciousness in her eyes but she quickly lets go of it the moment I  bring up her parents.

"No they're out for some important business." She tells me as she pours a glass of juice for me without me having to ask her.

Emily's parents are powerful in the supernatural world. It was one of the reasons why my father had approved of our relationship. In fact he was the one who'd introduced her to me. I hadn't expected to like her the way that I had that day and she'd said the same thing to me. It was in that exact moment that I knew that she was the one I wanted to try and build something with. 

Even though we weren't mates, we still had a connection and that was exactly what I was looking for. A relationship where I wouldn't completely lose myself in. . . I wouldn't be able to accomplish that level of sanity in a relationship if it was with my mate . . . If it was with Gabriella.

Her pretty hazel eyes interrupt my thoughts, they're unlike anything I've ever seen. They switch between gold and green and sometimes when she looks at me I feel like I can see both colors scattered everywhere. I find myself wanting to go deeper into those eyes and finding the magic in them. My fists tighten at my sides as I remember what it felt like to touch her. It was a simple touch but yet it was so powerful that I could have easily forgotten who I was in a split second. That was exactly what I was trying to avoid; those feelings that Gabriella brought out inside of me. My father had good reason to warn me about it, the mate pull truly was unlike any other force I'd ever felt before.

"Arthur?"

My eyes snap open at Emily's voice. I hadn't even realized that I'd closed them while thinking about Gabriella.

Fuck.

What the hell am I doing? Why was I even thinking about her when I was around Emily?

"You're beginning to worry me." She says. "You've been acting weird and I feel like you're keeping something from me."

There is this frown on her forehead and I've known her long enough to know how much this is stressing her out. If this was her reaction before even knowing what was wrong, how badly would she take this news?

I swallow and slowly wrap my arms around her to try and calm her down. "Relax Emily, there is nothing to worry about. I cannot stay long however, father has a few things for me to do that he expects me to get done by today."

She sighs against my arms and snuggles closer into me. "It's good that there is nothing to worry about, I've been feeling uneasy recently and I don't know why. I keep feeling like something is going to go wrong and I just—"

"Did I not promise to protect you?" I ask her.

She looks up at me and smiles brightly. "You did and I believe you."

I laugh and slowly let go of her. "I'll be back to take you out for dinner tomorrow, hopefully that could help ease your mind."

She waves at me. "I'll be ready, don't worry."

I nod and my face falls the moment I leave the house. I didn't like lying to her. Pretending that things were okay was extremely difficult for me to do. I've always been honest with Emily, I never had a reason to lie to her before and this was a first for me.

What hurt was to know that I couldn't keep this up for long. She would eventually find out the truth and it would completely destroy her. She would be hurt to know that I found someone to do what she couldn't do. Emily was devastated when she'd first learnt that she couldn't have children and this would be like a huge slap to her face. She was always insecure about this and now she would become even worse than before.

I let out a loud sigh as I make my way back into my home. I'm confronted by my brother Nathan before I can even step into the house.

"Did you tell Emily?"

I take a deep breath and lean against the wall in frustration. "I couldn't do it. It's hard when I was supposed to protect her. I don't want to be the one causing her any pain."

He nods his head and looks lost for a second.

"But the feeling must be more intense when it concerns a mate . . . isn't it?" I ask him.

Nathan hasn't been himself ever since the day he'd found his mate. There are days where it seems like he's in a completely different world and I somehow know that he's thinking about her.

Ever since he learnt that people were sent to kill her he's been restless. He was still trying to find out who was the one behind it but I didn't think he had to look far. Father must have been the one to send those men to get rid of Esma. He must have sensed that Nathan hasn't been the same ever since he'd found her and decided to get her out of the picture before he lost Nathan.

My brother turns to study me. "Why do you ask that question?"

I shrug my shoulder. "I'm just curious. Father always told us how strong the mate pull is and he says that it takes a strong man to ignore it. For him to say that then it must be really difficult for you to ignore your feelings for Esma."

Nathan's face grows cold at the mention of her name.

He looks away from me. "I am . . . I need to get some things done for father. He asked me to prepare to meet that girl again today. He isn't happy that I keep postponing the engagement."

I watch as he walks away and I already know the answer to my earlier question from just the hidden pain in his voice.

 I didn't want to tell anyone that Gabriella was my mate or I would have mentioned to him why I'd asked such a strange question. I already knew that my brothers would not keep a secret from my father and I just couldn't risk him knowing about this.

I still couldn't figure out whether or not I was trying to protect her or myself. I start to walk again, my feet already moving in the direction where she is located.

"Did you do what I asked you to?" My father asks me as we bounce into each other on the hallway. He watches me as he waits for me to give him the answer he's looking for. I know it's no use lying to him right now.

"Not yet father."

His eyes narrow dangerously. "I told you not to have me waiting. What's taking you so long?"

"I needed to see Emily first."

His eyes flicker with understanding and he takes a step closer to me.

"I see . . . How did she take the news?"

I swallow. "I couldn't tell her."

"Couldn't?" He asks me. "I didn't raise weak men Arthur. The reason I let you men choose women that weren't your true mates was so that you wouldn't get attached to the point that you couldn't focus on work and building our empire."

"I know father . . . I will tell her. I just didn't think that this was the right time to do it."

"Go to Gabriella now." He orders me, I flinch at the disappointment in his voice. "Finish what you have to and don't stop until I hear that the girl is pregnant with your child."

I nod and turn to go in the direction of the room I was so desperately trying to avoid. I had no idea how I was about to do this . . . none at all.