Theo's POV
My brain just—blanked out.
A mate?
A pup?
Those words echoed in my head like someone threw a grenade and walked away like nothing had happened. For a few seconds, I legitimately forgot how to breathe.
"W-What did you just say?" I asked, my voice suddenly rough and stiff.
"I said," he stepped away from his car, slow and steady, but with that threatening kind of calm that made me instinctively back up, "You're my mate. And you're pregnant."
I laughed—but it came out wrong. Tight, panicked, like I was cracking apart or maybe losing my mind. "Alpha, are you seriously talking like that?"
His stare didn't flinch. "I'm dead serious."
And damn it, there wasn't a hint of doubt in his eyes. No smirk. No sarcasm. Just this look that cut through every defense I had and made my bones go cold. I wanted to bolt, but I couldn't move.
"This is insane," I muttered, taking a step back. "You think, just because I'm an omega and not great at hiding my second gender, you can drop all this on me? Claim I'm your mate just like that?"
But he shook his head, like he really wasn't playing around.
When did fate decide to hijack my life in under twenty-four hours?
"Didn't you recognize the signs?"
"Okay, enough. Don't take this any further, please!" I snapped, trying to shut it down.
"We just met today, yet you talk like you know every piece of me. Can you stop saying stuff that's only making me angrier? Maybe you're pissed 'cause I showed up late and kept you waiting, fine. Yell at me for that. Cancel the contract if you want. I don't care. But can you stop getting into my business like you own me? I'm seriously getting sick of you, Alpha Wayne." I turned and walked off, leaving him behind.
This wasn't my usual hangout spot, but I'd been here before, enough to know where to go. I glanced back. No sign of him chasing me. That was a relief. Maybe the stubborn Alpha had finally given up on pushing that crap about me being his mate and carrying his pup.
Like, seriously? His mate? His pup? Get real!
I kept muttering the whole way down the hill. The area was dead quiet, no cars, no people trying to drive up here. Like I said, this scenic lake lookout wasn't exactly accessible, not unless your car had serious muscle.
The annoying part? I somehow ended up at a fork in the road I didn't recognize. Great. Just when I was trying to escape that Alpha jackass.
Lost in thought, I saw his car up ahead, moving away. Either he didn't see me, or he did and was straight-up ignoring me, maybe because of what I'd said earlier?
"Unbelievable... He really thinks he can do whatever he wants just 'cause he's an Alpha?" I grumbled and followed the direction his car had gone.
But damn, I wasn't ready for the distance. After who-knows-how-long, my legs were fried. I ended up plopping down by the side of the road, completely drained.
God, this was pathetic. Yeah, I'm an omega, but I'm still a guy. And I'm wiped out from just walking this far? Seriously?
Still, what the hell was really going on?
Why was I so mad? Maybe what Alpha Wayne said was just a messed-up joke. But why did I take it so hard? Normally, I'd have thrown a joke right back, even if it wasn't funny.
But what made him say that in the first place? Just 'cause I'm an omega? Nah. That's weak. He must've had something else in mind. We'd only just met, and yet, it felt like he already knew me.
"This is nuts. There's no way I've ever slept with that guy. I've only ever been with Kyle. He's the only one who's ever taken care of me like that..." I muttered.
I tried to trace back my recent past, work, Kyle, everything during that phase. I came up empty. I was sure I'd never seen this guy before. But every word out of his mouth felt like it came from someone who knew exactly who I was.
Even my inner wolf said the same: he's my mate. But I couldn't accept it. I couldn't. I'm just a male omega. We're not even the same class.
"This is freaking ridiculous. There's no way this is happening," I mumbled. It all sounded like a bad joke.
I was still sitting on the roadside, staring at the empty road. No cars in sight. No taxi was ever gonna find me up here, which meant I'd have to walk even further down to get to a spot where a ride could reach me.
With a heavy sigh, I pulled myself together and kept walking downhill. But just as I reached the bottom, there it was, his fancy car, still parked, with that damn Alpha sitting on the hood like he'd been waiting the whole time.
No escape route. No way I was climbing all the way back up to dodge him. So I sucked it up and headed his way, hoping I could just slip past and call for a cab.
"If you go back to the office without me, people will start asking questions," he said without looking at me. "Your boss, for example, he'll want to know why you left me behind."
I kept walking, pretending I couldn't hear him.
"Calling a cab won't help. It'll take way longer than you think."
"Could you just shut up already? You're driving me insane." I stopped and spun to face him. "My head is pounding. Listening to your voice non-stop is making me nauseous."
"Then why not just hop in and sit down? I'm not gonna hurt you. Relax."
I squinted at him. That was the most obvious fake reassurance ever. Like bribing a kid with candy and calling them a hero for saying yes. Please. I couldn't even picture myself falling for that.
"If you wanna cruise around, go nuts. I just want to go home and sleep. I don't care if my boss yells at me for ditching you. Just stay away from me, got it?"
"Starting today, I am your boss. Why pretend this is the last time we'll see each other?"
"Oh, we'll see each other. But if you try to come near me again, I won't forgive you."
"Have I even touched you?"
"What—?"
"I've said nothing. You're the one who ran off. Did I lay a finger on you? Even once? I don't think so."
What the hell was that? Why was he flipping the script like this? He was so damn irritating.
We locked eyes for a moment. His stare was cold, sharp, intense. Like he was trying to dominate me just 'cause I was an omega. But no, he was wrong. I wasn't one of those omegas who bowed down to his every whim like some toy for his pleasure.
"I'm tired of arguing with you. Why don't you back down for once? You're an Alpha, but seriously, you're the most immature one I've met." I shot back.
"I am an Alpha. Does that mean I need to back down just to prove I'm wise?"
"You're impossible!" I snapped, refusing to budge.
But honestly, I was too drained to keep fighting. Walking for who-knows-how-many meters, arguing about crap that made no sense, it all wore me down.
Trying to swallow my irritation and the embarrassment crawling up my spine, I finally slid into the passenger seat of his car, yanked the seatbelt into place, and mentally braced myself for whatever lecture he was going to unload on me.
"Well? Aren't you gonna drive me back to the office? Then do it already. And don't make me jump out of this car again," I muttered, deadpan.
That's when he finally moved, got off the hood, slid into the driver's seat, turned the key, and pulled away from that cursed spot.