Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

Keisha’s POV

I stayed in Vera’s kitchen with her and Nadia while the meal was being prepared, helping wherever I could instead of sitting around and watching them do everything.

Vera seemed pleased by it and kept finding small things for me to help with, occasionally reminding me to sit down whenever she noticed I had been standing for too long.

By the time the food was ready, we carried everything to the dining area and sat down together. Vera served Nadia first before turning her attention to me, making sure I had enough on my plate before she finally sat down.

Randomly Vera started talking about how serious the Duskfen situation could get and how quickly people had become frightened after hearing that thousands of warriors were gathered near the borders.

Then suddenly the conversation pivoted to Callum publicly accepting his bond, and I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

"You shouldn’t allow the things people are saying to get into your head," Vera told me as she reached for her glass. "People become cruel when they’re frightened, and the pack is frightened right now. They don’t know what is going to happen with the war, they don’t know what the council will do and they don’t know whether the situation with Duskfen is going to become worse. When people are afraid, they look for something they can talk about, and unfortunately, you have become the easiest subject."

I pushed my food around my plate for a moment before looking at her. "I’m trying not to let it bother me. Kind of hard since it’s public now and everyone seems to be more interested in me now."

Vera gave me a sympathetic look. "I get that. Your mate has already spoken publicly, and he made his decision very clear. So I guess it’s to stop thinking about what they say. It’ll all simmer over. Remember how you and Dane were the spotlight of pack gossip? It’ll fade."

Nadia nodded beside me. "That’s exactly what I’ve been telling her."

Vera smiled at her before looking back at me. "You have enough to deal with already, especially with the babies coming soon."

I appreciated the way she spoke to me, even though part of me remained cautious. There was still something about Vera that I couldn’t quite place, especially after what I had found concerning the heat accelerant, but I wasn’t going to accuse her without proof.

After we finished, Vera gathered a few things from the table and stood. "I’ll put these away, then I’ll come back."

Nadia watched her disappear toward the kitchen before leaning back in her chair. "I’m honestly relieved."

I looked at her. "About what?"

She gestured toward the kitchen. "Her. I thought she might actually hate you after everything that happened, especially after she spoke to me about the things she suspected. But look at how she treated you. She was practically forcing food onto your plate and worrying about whether you were standing too long."

I laughed softly. "She has always been kind to me."

"Exactly, which is why I was so confused about that conversation we had earlier. I kept thinking there had to be something else behind it." She shrugged.

I didn’t answer immediately. "Maybe there is, but we’ll find out."

Nadia looked at me carefully. "You— is something wrong with you and her? You sound off."

"I didn’t say that." I quickly said, before I sighed and picked up my handbag. "Let’s just leave it for now. I don’t want every conversation we have to become another discussion about Vera."

Nadia agreed, and shortly afterward, we said goodbye to Vera and left the annex.

The moment we stepped outside, I took a deep breath, a hand resting over my stomach.

There were more people moving around than earlier, but the moment Nadia and I passed them, some of them lowered their voices. A few looked directly at us before quickly looking away, while others whispered to each other without even attempting to hide it.

I tried to ignore them but Nadia didn’t. Her jaw was tight and she seemed irritated.

We had barely walked past a group of maids when I heard one of them say something under her breath. I couldn’t make out the entire sentence, but I heard enough to understand that they were talking about the bond.

I continued walking, then one of the maids laughed and said something else.

Nadia stopped so abruptly that I almost walked into her. "Nadia." I warned.

She turned around before I could stop her and marched back toward the group.

The maids immediately went quiet.

"What did you just say?" Nadia demanded.

One of them looked nervous. "Nothing, Your Highness."

Nadia’s expression hardened. "Don’t lie to me. I heard what you said."

The maid looked at the others before lowering her head. "I didn’t mean anything by it."

Nadia stepped closer. "You were talking about Keisha."

"Please, I wasn’t trying to insult her."

Nadia’s anger finally boiled over, and before I could reach her, she slapped the maid across the face.

I froze. "Nadia!"

I rushed toward them and caught Nadia by the arm before she could do anything else. She tried pulling away from me. "Stay out of this, Keisha."

I held onto her. "You’ve already done enough. Come on."

"No, she needs to understand that she can’t stand here and say whatever she wants about you."

The maid looked terrified now, and the other people nearby had stopped to watch.

Nadia turned toward them. "The Alpha has already spoken about the bond. He made his decision publicly, so I don’t understand why any of you think you have the right to keep turning it into gossip. You don’t have to like his decision, but you will respect it."

The maid immediately lowered her head. "I’m sorry."

Another maid stepped forward. "We’re sorry, Your Highness. We shouldn’t have been discussing it."

Nadia’s jaw tightened. "You shouldn’t have been discussing her at all."

I pulled her arm gently. "Nadia, let’s go."

She finally turned away, but before leaving, she looked back at them. "If I hear another rumor coming from this group, I’ll make sure every person involved is removed from their position. You work in this estate because the Alpha trusts you to do your jobs, not because you’re entitled to discuss his private life whenever you get bored."

Nobody argued and we continued walking, but Nadia was still visibly furious. I waited until we were far enough away before speaking. "You shouldn’t have slapped her."

Nadia looked at me. "And you shouldn’t have stood there and allowed her to insult you."

"I wasn’t allowing it. I was ignoring her. Which you should have done."

"That’s the problem." She groaned.

I stopped walking. "What exactly do you want me to do? Fight everyone who says something about me?"

"No, but you could at least stop acting like none of it affects you, you know that!""

I crossed my arms. "What the hell does that mean?"

Nadia looked away, breathing heavily. "You’re always calm when people insult you, threaten you or blame you. You act like nothing they say bothers you. Like you can carry every word alone. It’s exhausting."

"I don’t think I can carry everything myself." I retorted.

"Then stop making it look that way for fuck sake." Her voice had become less angry and more frustrated, but she was still clearly upset.

I walked closer to her. "You lost control because someone said something about me. I appreciate that you were defending me, but you can’t go around hitting people because they gossip."

"You don’t have to remind me."

"Then don’t do it again." I smiled slightly.

Nadia rubbed her forehead and looked away. "I’m just tired."

"Tired of what?"

She looked back at me, and her expression changed. "Tired of watching you in this situation."

I didn’t say anything and Nadia continued, "Sometimes I think about the fact that I was the one who brought you here. If you had stayed wherever you were before, maybe none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t have been dragged into all these problems, you wouldn’t have people talking about you every day and you wouldn’t be standing in the middle of a war because of the people around this pack."

I shook my head. "You didn’t cause any of this."

"I brought you here."

"And I’m glad you did. I’m glad I left Cold ridge."

She stared at me.

"I don’t regret coming here," I continued. "Whatever happened afterward isn’t something you should blame yourself for. If anything, I have a life here now that I wouldn’t trade."

Nadia looked like she wanted to argue, but she eventually stopped herself.

We continued walking toward the mansion quietly.

When we reached the front entrance, Dane was standing nearby. His eyes immediately moved between the two of us, clearly noticing that something had happened.

He stepped toward us. "What happened?"

Nadia didn’t even slow down, she walked straight past him and entered the mansion.

Dane looked at me. "Keisha?"

I forced a small smile. "Nothing serious. Nadia just got angry about something."

"That doesn’t look like nothing." His lip pulled into a frown.

"I’ll talk to her."

He studied my face for another moment before nodding. "All right. If you need me, I’ll be inside."

I nodded and followed Nadia into the mansion. She had already disappeared upstairs, so I started toward the staircase, but before I reached it, my phone vibrated.

I pulled it out and saw a message from Klein.

There was an attached file.

I opened the message and read the short note he had sent with it.

Oh shit.

He had gotten the financial records I’d asked for.