Page 35 of Give Me You
Zaden's expression darkens dangerously. "Don't you dare bring them into this."
"Why not? You do it all the time. You're the one constantly saying the club should have been yours because everyone wanted the Alpha son to have it. Well, guess what? Dad and Mom knew you would run this shit into the ground if they gave it to you."
The slap comes so fast I don't see it coming. But it doesn’t land. Zaden's palm connects with Akira’s cheek, the sound echoing in the office. Shock explodes through my chest at how fast Akira moved, the Alpha grabbing my brother by the throat and slamming him against the wall.
"Try to touch him again and I'll break every bone in your body," Akira snarls, his Alpha presence flooding the room.
"Get off me," Zaden chokes out, his hands clawing at Akira's grip.
"Akira," I say quietly, touching his arm. "Let him go."
Akira hesitates, clearly not wanting to release the bastard. But he loosens his grip enough for Zaden to breathe properly, though he doesn't step back. Doesn't give Zaden any room to escape.
"I don't understand why you would hate me so much to drug me and hurt my child," I say, my voice shaking. Not from fear, but from hurt. Because despite everything, Zaden is still my brother. We grew up in the same house, suffered under the same rules, mourned the same death of our parents. And yet, he hates me enough to try to destroy me.
"Because you're a thorn in my side and you think you walk on water," Zaden spits out. "You know I found out how you got pregnant? Sleeping around like a little whore. You don't even know who the baby's father is." His eyes cut to Akira, cruel satisfaction in them. "There is no fucking way the Stark brothers would stand in for some little whore baby."
Swallowing carefully, I force my voice to stay steady. "Tread carefully, Zaden. Because you've committed several crimes in the last few days. Attempted murder has a very different kind of charge than just being an asshole."
Zaden sneers, finally shoving Akira back enough to stand on his own. "It's just drugs. And I know you liked getting fucked, okay? Come off your high horse. Stop pretending you're some innocent victim when we both know you've been spreading your legs for anyone with a knot."
"That's enough," I say, my voice taking on a colder tone.
"Is it?" Zaden steps closer, trying to get in my face again. "You parade around here like you're so much better than everyone else. Like being an Omega makes you special instead of weak. But you're not special, Emilio. You're just a pregnant slut who got lucky."
"I said that's enough!" My voice rises, anger overriding the hurt.
"Or what? You'll cry to your fake Alphas? We both know they're just using you. Once they get control of the club, they'll toss you aside like the trash you are."
Zaden starts toward me, his hand raised like he's going to try to hit me again. But Akira moves faster, positioning himself between us a second time. The growl that comes from his chest is feral, dangerous. A clear warning that if Zaden touches me, there won't be a third chance.
The office door opens, and Liam walks in. He takes in the scene quickly, his expression hardening when he sees the terrorin my eyes. "Zaden, I think it's best you leave for now. When you have evidence of something, then we'll talk."
"This isn't over," Zaden says, pointing at me. "I'm going to prove you're unfit to run this club. And when I do, everything Mom and Dad built will finally go to someone who deserves it."
He storms out, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the frame. The silence that follows is heavy, Liam crossing the room to me, pulling me into his chest.
"Are you okay?" he asks softly.
"Fine," I lie, because admitting how much Zaden's words hurt feels like weakness. “Akira stepped in before my brother touched me.”
"Tell me what's really going on," Liam says, his eyes searching mine. "The truth, Emilio. All of it."
The request breaks something in me. All the stress, all the fear, all the secrets I've been carrying come crashing down at once. My voice comes out small, defeated, because Zaden will find out somehow, like he finds out everything, and then Liam won’t find out from me. No doubt Zaden’s next step will be requiring a DNA test. "It's yours, okay? The baby. It's yours."
Liam goes very still. "What?"
"I don't want to lose anything," I continue, the words tumbling out faster now. "They only want Alphas, that's it. And I've worked too hard to get right here. You never talked about children and I never wanted an Alpha. I just wanted to be a daddy. So, I slept around,” I say, a sob following as I repeat Zaden’s accusations. Most of which were true. My hands clutch at my stomach as I explain why I did what I did. "You just happened. I… I wanted you and then I got pregnant. You weren’t supposed to know. No one was. God,please, you can't take everything from me. I won't let you." Tears run down my cheeks as I close my eyes, praying that I didn’t just ruin everything.
For the first time, it feels like I might lose Liam and that hurts more than losing what I built.
Liam
Shock hits me first, freezing every thought in my head. The babyismine. Emilio has been carrying my child this whole time, and I didn't know. Couldn't know, because he never told me. I mean, I suspected but I didn'tknow.The realization should make me angry, should make me feel betrayed that he kept this from me for months. But instead, happiness floods through me. Pure, overwhelming joy that Emilio is growing a part of me inside of him. That in a few months, I'll have a baby.Ourboy.
"What if I don't want everything?" The words come out before I fully think them through, but they're true. Every single one of them. "Emilio, look at me."
His eyes meet mine, wide and terrified. He's expecting me to demand things from him, to try to take control of his life the way every other Alpha has tried. But that's not what I want. That's never been what I want.
