Page 1 of The Alpha's Forbidden Secret Baby

Chapter 1 - Xander

It was dark, really dark, and the sounds of his growl blended with the coolness of the woods. Twigs snapped beneath his feet while traversing amidst the towering trees. In that utter darkness, his eyes glowed, and he could clearly see his path as he advanced further. His heart was beating faster than usual, his feet were cold, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling of concern that had enveloped him.

A crow perched on a tree before him, locking eyes with him as it cowed eerily, adjusting its wings after a hard landing. The sound of the cawing crow prompted him to stop and squint at the bird, which was unnaturally big for a crow, and its talons were as sharp as his own claws.

For some strange reason, he felt a weird connection with the black bird, as though it wanted to tell him something. He stood there, tall, underneath the tree as he looked up at the branch upon which the crow had settled. He was tempted to ask it what it wanted, but on second thought, that would have been ridiculous.

The crow cawed three times, then flapped its wings, ready for take-off.

“No, wait!” Xander didn’t even realize that he had said that out loud until the bird was already in the air.

With the speed of the wolf inside him, Xander surged forward with a primal grace through the enveloping darkness of the woods. His alpha eyes gleamed with an ethereal luminescence that pierced through the shadows, illuminating the path ahead of him like beacons guiding a lost sailor. As he moved, his supernatural strength was palpable in the way his strides devoured the ground beneath him.

Effortlessly, Xander hurdled over fallen tree branches, glided underneath those that had stuck out into his path, and bounded across moss-covered stones. His eyes occasionally darted to the sky where the haunting caw of that crow pierced the night, guiding him toward something, and he was eager to find out what it was.

Xander felt the primal energy coursing through his veins with each bound and each leap he took. He felt connected with the ancient forces that lurked within the heart of the forest. In his chase of the elusive black bird, through the labyrinth of trees and the thick blanket of fog that carpeted the ground, a cacophony of sounds surrounded him, and although those sounds were those of rustling leaves or the distant howls of nocturnal creatures, Xander couldn’t help but hear those eerie whispers in the winds that blended with the deep chants and sounds of banging drums.

With one final leap, he did a sideways flip over a giant rock, his body arcing gracefully through the air. Upon his descent, Xander tucked in a tight ball, rolling upon the impact with the forest floor and barely a second later, he sprang to his feet with an effortless landing.

That instant, the sound of the banging drums, the chants, and the eerie whispers all ceased, and a deadly silence fell.

He watched the crow settle on a rock in front of a cave, and it cawed one last time before turning into a puff of black smoke and vanishing into thin air.

Xander paid close attention to the sound coming from the darkness of the cave as the hair on his body rose reflexively. He stepped forward, and the closer he got to the cave, the more goosebumps he had. He could sense the presence of another Primal being, but there was something different about this one, something more juvenile.

As he walked into the dark cave, a flurry of wings erupted from its depth; a colony of bats swooped past him in a chaotic frenzy, disturbed by his presence. Xander neither flinched nor did he blink in response to their frantic flight which echoed against the rocky walls. In the midst of the swirling darkness, he heard the helpless whimper of a child from within the shadows.

He ventured onward, seeking to help the child, and as he got close to the shadows hiding the kid, he felt a deep connection like none he had ever felt before. While he was still trying to reconcile with that, a pair of glowing yellow eyes beamed at him from within the darkness, and immediately… everything went blank.

***

With a loud gasp, Xander awoke on his bed to the sound of rumbling thunder outside. His face was covered in sweat, and his alpha eyes were still glowing until he blinked a couple of times. Xander let out an exhausted sigh as he massaged his eyeballs.

He sniffled and smoothed his black hair backward while he struggled to understand the meaning of the dream. Glancing at the clock on the furniture beside his head, he realized that it was four in the morning—once again, he'd woken up earlier than usual. He sat there, disoriented, as he absentmindedly stared at his hands.

It was raining cats and dogs outside, and his window was open. With a swift movement, in a rapid blur, he dashed toward his window and shut it against the rain.

Watching the weeping sky and the trickling of water down the glass of his window, his mind returned to the dream; the crow and the helpless child in the shadows. Lots of questions were overlapping in his mind as he wondered what the dream meant because he knew that dreams could be symbolic.

Was this his own subconscious mind reminding him of the need for an heir? His Elders hadn't confronted him about that yet, but he was certain that they would soon. Besides, they were the reason he gave up on his one true love.

As he stepped away from the window, his eyes caught the bracelet hanging on the ornament on the bedside table. In a heartbeat, the image of Rayla popped into his head; the way she smiled, the way she laughed, and even the expression when they made love.

Xander winced slightly at the aches in his head just from remembering her and how he broke her fragile heart. He never truly forgot her, and the bracelet was a constant reminder of how he managed to lose the one person who gave his life meaning.

It wasn't on purpose. He hadn’t wanted to end things, but he didn't have much of a choice. He was given an ultimatum: to choose between her or his pack. Xander loved her so much, but he had a duty to perform and he had a pack to lead; things would have been different if she was a supernatural being. She didn't have to be a werewolf per say, but if she had supernatural blood running through her veins, their love story would have turned out differently.

It took him a long time to heal from this hurt that kept him awake at night for months. Rayla was everything to him, as he was everything to her. Their love was strong, so strong in fact that he lived with the delusion that he could have her and still lead the pack.

He recalled the intense argument he had with his Elders over Rayla. She had no idea the lengths he went to just to hold on to her. In a split second, Xander found himself deep in thought about that night and the way he defended his love before his Elders.

Shadows danced like spectral figures against the walls, casting an eerie ambiance over the gathering as he stood tall in the center of the clandestine assembly, bathed in the glow of candlelight. The seven Elders of the Moon Shadow Pack sat solemnly in their seats, clad in flowing black. Their faces were obscured by the hoods pulled over their heads, leaving only glimpses of their hair color and piercing eyes.

In a perfect circle, the Elders’ seven seats were arranged, each meticulously positioned with a sense of reverence and honor. Xander's posture was resolute, his gaze steady, as he faced the panel of Elders.

Each Elder represented a part of their pack, and although he was alpha, he still needed their guidance and counsel because they had something that he lacked; experience.

“Do you know why you're here, Alpha Xander?” Eldress Lana asked him.

---