Escaping The Arrogant Alpha: The Pregnant White Wolf's Revenge

Anastasia Prince POV:

"Alpha Wright and his rumored mate, the acclaimed Omega actress Ginger Bauer, were spotted entering a private penthouse suite late last night."

The headline on my tablet screen burned in bright, clinical white. Below it, a photograph captured the scene in agonizing clarity. Andrew was placing his tailored suit jacket around Ginger's bare shoulders, his massive frame shielding her from the flashing cameras.

In five years of our contract marriage, he had never once offered me that kind of warmth.

To the entire Blackstone Pack, I was nothing more than a genetic failure-a wolfless female who had never manifested an inner wolf, incapable of shifting, unable to feel the fated mate bond, and utterly useless to a corporate empire built on Alpha dominance.

Heavy combat boots echoed against the polished marble floor of the corridor outside. The temperature in the master bedroom plummeted as an overwhelming, suffocating Alpha aura rolled through the doorway, thick with the scent of frozen cedar and pure dominance.

The heavy double doors swung open. Andrew stepped inside, his dark grey eyes sharp and dismissive. He was the undisputed billionaire CEO of Blackstone Enterprises and the Alpha of our pack, a man whose sheer physical presence could force lower-ranking wolves to their knees.

I set the tablet face down on the nightstand and stood up, keeping my spine rigid to disguise the tremor in my hands.

"You're back late," I said, my voice flat.

Andrew didn't answer. He yanked his silk tie loose with an irritable jerk of his hand, the obsidian wolf-crest signet ring on his forefinger catching the dim lamplight. As he closed the distance between us, a foreign scent hit my nostrils-a cloying blend of white lilies and the unmistakable musk of a rogue wolf trying desperately to mask her origins.

Ginger's scent.

My stomach churned with a sudden, violent wave of nausea. I swallowed it down, refusing to show weakness.

"What's with that look on your face?" Andrew asked, stopping inches from me. He towered over my frame, his broad shoulders blocking out the light. "Take off your clothes."

I dug my fingernails into my palms until the skin nearly broke.

"Andrew, our five-year contract ends in thirty days," I reminded him, my voice tight. "You don't need to force this anymore."

"As long as the contract is active, you are mine to command," he replied coldly. He grabbed my wrist, his grip like a steel band, and shoved me back against the cold wall. His hot breath brushed against my collarbone, but there was no passion in it-only the raw, territorial ownership of an Alpha claiming his property.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away, detaching my mind from the rough, impatient demand of his hands. There was no soul resonance between us, no electric sparks of a true mating bond-only the rigid terms of a legal arrangement that had bought my mother's medical care at the cost of my dignity.

When it was over, he pulled away without a single glance, strapping on a black silk robe as if shedding a chore.

I stayed pressed against the disheveled sheets, listening to the harsh spray of the bathroom shower. Minutes later, he emerged, dialing his encrypted phone.

"Bury the morning press releases," Andrew ordered into the receiver, his tone ruthless. "I don't want any tabloid trash circulating through the pack network."

I sat up, wrapping the blanket around my chest, and looked at his broad back. "Are you burying it to protect your image as CEO, or to protect her?"

Andrew paused, turning his head just enough to skewer me with a freezing glare. "Know your place, Anastasia. A wolfless surrogate has no right to question pack business."

The words felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head, washing away the last fragile shred of hope I didn't even realize I was holding onto.

Before he could reach the door, a ragged, hacking cough tore through the silence from the adjoining nursery.

Leo.

The five-year-old pup I had raised since infancy, the boy Andrew had brought home five years ago claiming he was the orphaned son of his fallen Gamma warrior, Duff Hale. I had poured every ounce of my soul into raising that child.

Andrew's hand tightened on the doorknob for a fraction of a second, but he didn't turn back. He pulled the door open and vanished down the hallway.

Ignoring the ache in my limbs, I threw off the covers and ran barefoot into the nursery.

Leo was curled in a tight ball on his small bed, his golden curls soaked with sweat, his little chest heaving as he gasped for air.

"Leo," I whispered, lifting him into my arms and pressing his burning forehead against my neck. "Mommy's here. I've got you."

"Mommy..." Leo whimpered, his small hands clutching the collar of my shirt. "It hurts..."

Holding his shaking body against mine, a quiet resolve settled deep in my bones. No matter how cold this pack was, I would protect this boy with everything I had left.