Fake Or Real

Chapter One.

Gina.

He wasn't home yet. And it was killing me.

I stared at the clock for the tenth time this evening. Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred and thirty six hours since Brandon had walked out of our shared cabin without a word.

And now, here he was. Stumbling through the front door reeking of whiskey, smoke, and something bitterly unfamiliar, her perfume. Ashley's perfume.

Ofcourse he had been with Ashley, at first I had thought the rumors were just that, rumors. He was eventually going to announce me to the pack as his mate. I was still waiting.

He barely managed to shut the front door behind him, his boot catching on the frame as he cursed and kicked it shut. My heart thundered in my chest. My hands trembled around the cup of tea I hadn't touched. Every part of me ached, swollen and sore, but it was nothing compared to the pressure building in my chest.

"Where the hell have you been?" I asked, my voice hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Brandon froze. His eyes, bloodshot and rimmed in red, snapped to me like I was some nuisance. Some pest. Like I hadn't carried the shame of his secret for months. Like I wasn't carrying his child.

"You don't get to ask me questions Gina ," he growled, slurring slightly. "and definitely not in that tone, I don't owe you anything."

My lips parted, but nothing came out. I stood from the couch too fast, a sharp pain shooting through my lower back. I swallowed it down. "I'm pregnant, Brandon. With your baby."

His eyes flickered to my stomach. A flash of something maybe guilt, maybe rage crossed his face, then disappeared beneath that familiar sneer. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"What deal?" My voice cracked. "There was no deal! You chose me. You said I was your mate"

"I said keep it a secret," he snapped, stepping closer, towering over me. "Because it was never real. You were convenient, Gina. Someone to warm my bed until I made my real choice."

I staggered back as if he'd slapped me.

No. No, no, no.

"Brandon, you marked me, I am your mate and we both know this."

"It was a mistake," he spat. "A moment of weakness. I should've known better than to think an omega could handle being with an alpha."

My heart shattered with every word. I couldn't breathe. The walls were closing in. My pulse was a drumbeat in my ears, a frantic rhythm of pain and betrayal.

"But you... you took my virginity. You told me to wait. You said... "

"I lied, I told you what you wanted to hear."

I didn't realize I was crying until I tasted salt on my lips. My knees buckled and I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself. My stomach twisted sharply, something inside me tightening. I winced, placing a hand over the small swell beneath my oversized sweater.

"You can't do this," I whispered. "You can't just... pretend I don't exist. That this baby doesn't exist."