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Samantha, her voice filled with desperation, knelt before Beta Craig. "Father, I plead with you to let me keep this child! If I kill him, I will never bear a child in my cursed life!"
"Samantha, it is not that your father does not wish for you to keep this child, but this child... Hey!" If it were any other man's child, Beta Craig would have allowed Samantha to keep it. However, this child belonged to Alpha Xavier. He had gone to seek Bella's forgiveness, and now such a predicament had befallen them. How could he face Bella?
Pamela reached out and wiped away Samantha's tears. "Child, this is your life. You must accept it."
"Dad, it is cruel for a woman to be denied motherhood. I have been framed. It is not my fault. You cannot do this to me!"
Samantha's plea was genuine. If Beta Craig truly wished for her to miscarry, her life would be ruined. Alpha Xavier would never accept her, and she would never have a child. The bleak future was too much for her to bear.
"Dad, I understand your fear of disturbing my sister and brother-in-law. I swear! I will not cause them any trouble. I will go far away. Don't you want me to go abroad? I will leave immediately. I will never return!"
Beta Craig stared at his daughter, her tear-stained face. He too felt uneasy. He reached out to help Samantha up and said, "Get up. We will discuss this further when we return home."
It was a concession. Pamela and Samantha felt relieved. Pamela extended a hand to help Samantha up, and the family made their way back to the Pack. On the journey, Beta Craig rested, closing his eyes and not uttering a word.
Pamela and Samantha stayed silent as well, finally calming themselves. As they say, a wolf does not devour its own cubs. They had expected Beta Craig's soft heart, and in the end, they had won.
A few hours later, they arrived at the Pack. The car halted outside the Castle. As Beta Craig stepped out of the car, Pamela and Samantha followed closely behind him.
Once inside the house, Beta Craig entered his study, motioning for Pamela and Samantha to join him. He closed the door and said, "I have given it some thought during the ride. Since this matter has already occurred, I should actively seek a resolution. Bella and Alpha Xavier remain oblivious to this. To prevent the situation from escalating and for everyone's benefit, Samantha, you must leave for abroad immediately. Give birth to your child there. Do not return unless circumstances permit."
"I will heed your words, Dad," Samantha responded obediently. As long as Beta Craig agreed to let her have the child, it would be a victory for her. As for never coming back, was it even possible? She had no intentions of going abroad, and even if she did, how could she reveal her pregnancy to Bella in such a developed Pack?
With her presence as a ticking time bomb, Bella and Alpha Xavier's marriage would never happen.
Such were Samantha's thoughts, but Beta Craig interjected, "I have not finished speaking. I only agree to let you have this child because of your physical condition. There is no other reason. Do not harbor any delusions. You think having this child is an opportunity. Let me make one thing clear. Alpha Xavier is beyond your imagination!"
"Dad, do not worry. I no longer have any feelings for him," Samantha assured.
"It is best if you have no intentions whatsoever. Let me warn you, you must keep Samantha's pregnancy a secret for me. If I find out that you intentionally leaked the information to Bella, I will not be lenient!"
Mother and daughter hurriedly promised to keep the secret. Aunt Maleah served dinner, inviting them to join her. Beta Craig and Pamela were hungry. The three ate in silence as Aunt Maleah tended to their needs.
After dinner, Beta Craig returned to his study, and Aunt Maleah busied herself with tidying up. Samantha claimed fatigue and went upstairs to rest. Pamela brought tea to Beta Craig before heading to her daughter's room.
"Mom, what do we do now?" Samantha whispered, lowering her voice.
"The most crucial task now is to disclose your pregnancy to Bella."
"I understand, but with Father's current attitude, if we reveal the news now, he will surely suspect our involvement. What shall we do?"
"Do we not have someone ready at home?" Pamela sneered.
"Are you speaking of Aunt Maleah?"
"Yes, she is excessively fond of that accursed girl. If you purposely act ill in front of her, she will undoubtedly make the connection. Then, she will aid us in revealing the news to Bella."
Samantha nodded. "It is a brilliant plan!"
While the mother and daughter contemplated how to have Aunt Maleah inform Bella, Beta Craig had summoned Aunt Maleah to his study. He divulged Samantha's pregnancy to her, cautioning her to keep it secret. "You must not tell Bella. If you do, she will never forgive Alpha Xavier."
Aunt Maleah nodded. "I understand. I will not tell Bella."
Pamela had snatched Ashley's man with Samantha previously, and now her daughter had ruined Bella's child. How could she bear it? Aunt Maleah desired nothing more than to erase the child in Samantha's womb.
However, Beta Craig had just explained that the child could not be harmed due to Samantha's condition. If Aunt Maleah managed to dispose of the child, Samantha would never be able to conceive. Savage and vicious, Aunt Maleah contemplated the reward she would receive if the child no longer existed.
The room was engulfed in darkness. Alpha Xavier stood by the window, gazing quietly outside. Elinor's harsh voice echoed from downstairs. It seemed that Riya had provoked her anger once more. His mother's temperament had always been difficult. She could not tolerate even the slightest annoyance. Ordinary individuals would crumble under her wrath.
Alpha Xavier recalled how the household staff would often change-until Riya arrived to be their nanny.
Riya possessed a gentle temperament and was willing to cater to his mother's whims. No matter how harshly his mother berated her, she endured. He cared for Riya and supplied her with an exorbitant salary. This ensured Riya stayed, despite his mother's reproach.
The shouting downstairs grew louder, escalating with each passing moment. It seemed that his mother's displeasure towards Riya had grown more pronounced lately. Alpha Xavier had resolved to not intervene, but the clamor eventually became unbearable. He opened the door and stepped out. As Alpha Xavier looked down from the second floor, his keen werewolf senses picked up on the tense atmosphere below. Elinor, the matriarch of the pack, was scolding Riya with excitement, but the young woman had an unfamiliar expression of resentment on her face. Alpha Xavier was taken aback, and he prepared to intervene, but his instincts held him back.
He watched as Riya knelt to clean the floor, keeping her head low and not speaking a word. Alpha Xavier felt a growl building up in his throat, but he suppressed it, unwilling to escalate the situation. He cleared his throat instead, and when Riya's resentment disappeared as if by magic, he knew she was exerting control over her emotions.
Alpha Xavier descended the stairs and interrupted Elinor's angry tirade. "What are you doing?" he asked her.
Elinor replied with irritation, "I asked her to make sugar-coated bird's nest for me, but she put too much sugar in it. Does she want me to die of sweetness?"
Alpha Xavier frowned at his mother's shallow concern and said, "This is a small issue. Is it truly worth scolding her for?"
Elinor defended herself, "She has been in our house for nine years, and she can't even grasp the flavor preferences of an Alpha. It proves she doesn't work hard enough. Don't you agree?"
Alpha Xavier's frown deepened as he reflected on how Riya had been their nanny for almost a decade. Riya's loyalty and hard work deserved more appreciation than Elinor's nitpicking. He signaled for Riya to leave and gently pushed Elinor towards an event room.
Closing the door behind them, Alpha Xavier reproached his mother, "Must you always make a big fuss over small things? Think about all the hard work that others have done for us. Not everyone is willing to dedicate their efforts to our pack."
Elinor countered, "What are you saying? I didn't give her a salary. Which nanny earns such a high wage? She has spent at least millions of dollars in our house for these nine years."
Alpha Xavier argued, "That's all the more reason to cherish her. Riya has saved up a significant sum of money during her time here. She doesn't need to work as hard anymore. She could use her savings to start a small business or enjoy her golden years."
Alpha Xavier pleaded, "She stayed with us out of her own will. Mom, we are werewolves, not masters. Even if we raised a dog for nine years, we would still feel reluctant to part with it, let alone a human being. We cannot treat her like this."
Elinor scoffed, "Do you think she really wants to stay with us? Let me tell you, Riya is not a good person at all. She keeps a toy boy outside. Do you know who her lover is? The driver of Beta Craig. He's much younger than her. She's not ashamed to find such a young man. She could be his mother..."
Alpha Xavier put a stop to Elinor's words, interrupting her. "She is just a nanny, not a slave. We cannot intrude on others' private lives." He sneered internally, knowing that he had seen Riya and the driver at the pharmacy, but he didn't want his mother to learn too much too soon.
He continued, "We should hire individuals based on their good moral character. Why would we want an immoral person to stay in our house?"
Alpha Xavier's comment made Elinor speechless, and he confronted her, asking, "Why do you hate moralists so much? Your best friend, Itzel, is an honest mistress. Samantha, the woman you hate, is kind and has never done anything immoral. Yes, she is the mother of a mistress, but you can't blame her for that."
Alpha Xavier knew that changing his mother's negative opinion of Samantha would be challenging, but he wasn't in a hurry. Samantha had deceived him, and he would slowly reveal her true nature to Elinor. He wanted his mother to see clearly who they were dealing with.