EZRA'S P.O.V
I was sitting at my desk after a long day of meetings when my phone started buzzing. I looked at the caller ID, revealing Tanner's name. Normally, I call him for updates, not the other way around. That was the agreement.
'Tanner, is everything okay?'
'Alpha, I know I have to wait for your call, but this seemed urgent.' He practically yelled in my ear.
'Take a breath to calm down, then tell me what it is.'
He took a deep breath and released it before he spoke again.
'So, there are two things. I am not sure which is more important news.'
'Go on.'
'Tegan finally left her room other than the visit to the doctor.'
'Good, that means she is less angry.'
'Well, she revealed that her condition is that she is preg -'
'Pregnant. I've done my digging. I plan on addressing that when I come to see her. I was only waiting for her to calm down some so that when we speak again, she can understand why I had to do what I did and maybe she will be more likely to take me back.'
'I don't know if it will be that easy, Alpha.'
'What do you mean, did she say something?' I asked.
'More like she ran into somebody.'
'What do you mean, why does that complicate me winning her back?'
'From what I could hear, he was asking for her to give him a chance. The restaurant was loud so I couldn't hear it all, but he told her not to give up her second-chance mate for what her first mate did to her, or something.'
'Second-chance mate?'
'Yes sir.'
'But our bond isn't completely broken yet. How has she found her second-chance mate?'
'He found her Alpha. And you're not going to like who it is.' Tanner said, making my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.
'Who is it?' I asked as my mouth went completely dry.
'It is Alpha Liam Marcel.'
'HE IS WHAT!?' I screamed out, smashing my hand down on my desk, cracking it.
It wasn't Tanner's fault. I wasn't angry with him. I was angry with myself for allowing her to slip through my fingers and into the clutches of the devil himself.
'I am sorry, Alpha.'
'She is giving him a chance?'
'That is what it sounded like. They are meeting again for breakfast tomorrow.'
'Where at?'
'I am not sure. Liam stated he did not trust me with his mate and would have a driver from his own pack escort them to their reservations.'
'OVER MY DEAD BODY!' I roared before flipping my cracked desk upside down, breaking it completely.
'I wasn't planning on allowing that sir.' Tanner said as I was trying to pull my raging wolf back in so I could think clearly.
'You will. And then you will follow them.' I said more calmly.
'What if the reservation is on his territory?'
'Then you will tell me, and I will go.'
'Yes Alpha.'
'Is there anything else?' I asked.
'No Alpha.'
'Okay, follow their car, and keep me well informed. Do not wait for me to call, you call me if anything. And I mean ANYTHING happens. Understand?'
'Yes Alpha.'
'Thank you, Tanner. Have a good night and I will talk to you tomorrow.' I said before disconnecting the call.
I looked around at my broken desk and scattered papers. How could this have happened? It had only been a little over a week. How had she found her second-chance mate so fast? And why on the goddess green earth would that one person be one of the cruelest men to walk this planet? To top it off, she was carrying the next heir to the throne, my child.
I paced back and forth thinking about all the ways I have royally fucked up. I couldn't allow my mate and unborn child to fall into the hands of that monster. There was something I could do, there just had to be.
Before I knew it, sunlight was peeking through the window. The remains of my destruction did not move an inch all night, and neither did I. I sat in my chair looking at the shattered pieces of desk, comparing them to my life.
I was a shattered mess. I hadn't been the same since she left. I was always so angry, people were now afraid to approach me, not that I minded. I had no desire to have any conversations.
A soft tap on the door had my eyes drift from the desk on the ground to the door that was now open.
"Dude, what the hell happened in here?" Uriah asked.
He had been picking up my slack this last week, doing my duties and his own. He will never know how grateful I was to have a best friend and Beta like him. When I felt like I was drowning, he was there to pick me back up. I can't say that Tegan had that support this week, which made me grimace.
How had I not thought about her going through these emotions herself and alone? I was a terrible mate and didn't deserve her forgiveness. But even if she did not take me back, I would not allow her to be with the likes of Liam. She had a hard life growing up already, she didn't deserve an even more cruel life by being bonded to that monster forever. I would help her see he is not who he appears to be. I would show her that behind his charming smile and lying words he is nothing but evil.
"Earth to Ezra, what the hell happened here?"
"Close the door, we need to talk." Ignoring his question, finally ready to tell my best friend the truth.
"What's going on?" Uriah asked while closing the door.
"More than you know." I said, letting out a sigh.
"Well, catch me up?"
"It's about Tegan."
"I figured that much. But what is it?"
"First, she dropped the bomb of being my fated mate."
"Holy shit."
"That’s not even the worst part."
"I rejected my pregnant fated mate."
"Tegan is pregnant?" He asked.
"She found out right before the rejection."
"Fuck dude. Who all knows?"
"Nobody, and it will remain that way. If they caught wind of her being my fated mate, they'd kill her."
"You know I wouldn't dare tell a soul."
"Ready for the cherry on top?"
"There is more?" He asked.
"Liam Marcel just so happened to run into her at the hotel and he is stating they are second-chance mates."
"What the fuck are we going to do?" He said as his face turned cold.
"Chase her back the old-fashioned way. I will win her heart back while showing her Liam's true colors."
"What about the Elders?"
"I want you to look into any possible loopholes to change the authority that they have over who the Queen is. I want to use it to tear them down and make them pay for what they've done." I stated with finality.