Chapter 163
Alina’s POV
"You fucking bastard!" Aiden growled, his face contorted in raw rage as his fist flew forward, punching Lucian hard across the jaw.
Lucian stumbled back, his eyes darkening instantly as his claws began to slide out, ready to tear Aiden apart. As Lucian was about to retaliate, I threw myself right into the middle, blocking them from each other.
"Please, let’s not do this! I don’t want you both fighting!" I pleaded, putting my hands on Lucian’s chest to stop him. Once I felt him tense but hold back, I turned around to face Aiden. "You can’t just simply tell me to terminate my pregnancy. It doesn’t work like that. I am pregnant, and I will keep this baby," I said, my voice dropping into a stern, unwavering tone.
"Are you seriously going to start a life with that man? You can’t be serious," Aiden spat, his voice shaking with absolute rage.
"That’s my choice to decide, okay?" I replied calmly, refusing to let his anger shake me. "I want to go home," I added, exhausted from the endless screaming and chaos.
"Fine. We go home together," Aiden demanded.
"Not with you. I will go back with Lucian," I said.
Aiden scoffed, his expression twisting in disbelief.
"Lucian, let’s go," I said softly.
A victorious, genuine smile broke across Lucian’s lips. He reached down, taking my hand in his, and we walked out of the room together.
Outside, the guests were still gathered in the hall. The tense atmosphere made it obvious that my son’s birthday party had been completely ruined and interrupted. My heart ached as I walked over and carried Leo into my arms, holding him close.
"Stop!" Aiden’s booming voice commanded from behind, causing me to halt in my tracks. "You leave Leo with me. You can’t take him."
My chest tightened. He was right—it was his scheduled time to spend with Leo, and as angry as I was, it wouldn’t be fair to just take him away. Swallowing the bitterness, I turned around and walked back toward Aiden, carefully handing our sleeping son over to his arms.
As Aiden took him, he leaned in, his eyes drilling into mine. "Alina, know that if you leave with Lucian, you are only supporting a criminal."
I just stared at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an argument. I could feel the heavy, suffocating gaze of every single guest in the room locked onto me. They didn’t understand any of this. I wasn’t trying to say Lucian was completely innocent, but I still felt he was being judged wrongly by everyone in this city.
Turning away from Aiden, I looked at Lucian and gave him a quiet nod. He immediately stepped up, wrapping his fingers securely around mine, and we walked out of the venue together.
The moment we got into the car, a heavy, suffocating silence fell over us. I didn’t say a single word, staring blankly out the window. My brother sat in the back, completely quiet, and even Ragnar—who was usually so chatty and energetic—remained entirely silent as the car sped through the streets.
As soon as we finally arrived home and walked through the front doors, my eyes widened.
Several of the rogues were sitting around the living area, covered in fresh wounds, with a pack doctor rushing around to attend to their injuries.
"What happened?" I asked, my voice laced with immediate concern as I stepped forward.
"We were attacked," Ragnar said, his usual lightheartedness replaced by a grim, bitter expression. "They did this to us, and then they tried to turn around and blame us for it."
My stomach dropped. If there was one thing I knew about Ragnar, it was that he hardly ever lied about anything. If he said they were set up, then that had to be exactly what happened.
"Alina, let’s get you inside," Lucian said, deep concern laced in his tone.
I nodded, letting him guide me. As soon as we entered our room, he immediately began smoothing out the sheets and fluffing the pillows, wanting me to lie down and rest.
"I am not tired, so you don’t need to worry about me," I said with a soft chuckle.
A warm, bright smile remained fixed on his lips as he looked down at me.
"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked, tilting my head.
"For one, you are pregnant with my child," he said, his voice dropping to a soft, awe-filled whisper. "And also... you supported me in front of everyone today. That is something no one else has ever done for me. Just you. It makes me feel so happy about myself. I don’t really know how to explain it, but this is the best fucking feeling in the world." He laughed quietly, trying and failing to contain his absolute happiness.
My heart melted at his words. "I will do anything for you," I promised, looking up into his eyes.
My confession caused him to wrap his arms around me and hug me tightly against his chest.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me," he murmured into my hair.
I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him back just as tightly.
****
"You must feel really happy with yourself," Emily’s sharp voice sneered the moment I lifted Leo from his cradle.
I froze, turning to face her.
She crossed her arms, looking at me with pure judgment. "You have a child with Aiden, and now you are pregnant for Lucian. Don’t you feel embarrassed by all of this?" she added, causing me to scoff.
"I don’t understand why I should feel embarrassed about this, Emily," I replied, keeping my voice steady. "Is it because I am not married to Lucian? Don’t worry, that will happen very soon."
My words caused a dark, bitter frown to twist her face.
"Stop thinking so highly of yourself, okay? You won’t get things so easily in this life," she snapped.
"Who says I was getting anything easily?" I countered calmly. "I just don’t force things like you do. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take my son home."
Without waiting for her reply, I shoved past her and walked out. As I hurried down the hallway, I suddenly stopped in my tracks when I saw Aiden walking toward me. He paused for a fraction of a second, his eyes landing on Leo in my arms, but then he quickly looked away and walked right past me without a single glance or saying hello.
A pang of sadness hit my chest, but I shook my head, telling myself I shouldn’t think too much of it.
I made it out to my car and carefully settled Leo into his car seat in the back. But as I was driving down the road, the engine suddenly sputtered, and the car came to a complete stop.
I groaned, getting out of the vehicle to try and figure out what was wrong. But no matter what I checked or did, the car still wouldn’t start. Just as panic was beginning to set in, a familiar car pulled over and stopped right in front of me.
The door opened, and Davon stepped out. I felt a massive wave of relief wash over me.
"Are you okay, Alina? Why are you out here all alone?" he asked, genuine concern laced in his tone as he hurried over.
"My car broke down, and I have absolutely no idea what’s wrong with it," I sighed, gesturing to the dead vehicle.
"Okay, don’t worry about it. I will have someone come out and figure out what’s wrong," Davon said reassuringly. "Just leave it for now and hop into my car. I’ll take you and Leo home."
I couldn’t help but smile gratefully. "Thank you, Davon."
I quickly opened the back door, carried Leo out of his seat, and got into Davon’s car. True to his word, he drove us straight back and, in no time, stopped the car right in front of the house.
"Don’t you want to come in?" I asked.
"I’d rather not," Davon refused, shifting his weight.
"You should come in, it’s fine," I insisted.
He gave a quiet nod and accepted my offer. After all, I still hadn’t forgotten that he was the one who had helped me save Lucian in the first place. We entered the house, and Ragnar was the first person we saw. The immediate look on his face screamed that he was not happy to see Davon standing there.
"Give me Leo," Ragnar said, his voice flat.
I handed my baby over to him, and without another word, he just turned and walked away with Leo.
"I will get you a cup of coffee," I told Davon, wanting to ease the tension.
I went to the kitchen to prepare the cup, but the second I walked back into the living room, my heart leaped into my throat. Lucian had Davon pinned, his large hand wrapped tightly around Davon’s neck, strangling him.
"What the hell are you doing, Lucian? Let him go!" I cried, pure shock laced in my tone as I rushed forward.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Lucian demanded, his voice dark and deadly as he finally released his grip, letting Davon stumble back and gasp for air.
"I am the one who brought him here," I said, stepping between them.
"Why would you do that?" Lucian asked, his eyes flashing as he tried to force his voice to remain calm.
"Because he is the reason I was able to save you," I said, staring right back at him.