Fuck!!!! I'm Having The Alpha Princess's Baby.

Still speechless, no one said a word for a couple of minutes. The air in the court felt heavy, like the pressure from Peamah’s glowing green eyes was still hanging over us. We were still sitting right there on the hard wood of the floorboard, processing the fact that we were all still alive.

I turned my head slowly toward Sasha.

I really thought my head was going to be smashed into pieces by that basketball earlier. The way it came flying at me was like a bullet. But at the very last second, she stopped it. It was surprising, and totally unexpected. I never thought I’d see the girl who tried to kill us actually act as a shield.

"You saved me," I muttered, my voice sounding small in the vast, empty court.

"Yes, I did," she replied.

"Is this some kind of repayment? Because I begged Princess to spare your life on Saturday?" I asked, trying to figure out her angle.

"No. It’s just my first instinct," she said, looking down at her hands. "It was the same instinct I had that night in the woods. It’s what made me rip out Peamah’s heart when I thought he was going to kill you."

"Hey, hey, heyyyyy," Malo interrupted, waving his hands between us to stop our conversation. "Are you seriously praising her right now? Did you not see what she just did? She held a basketball in mid-air without even touching it. Yo, purple hair, are you some kind of were-witch or something?"

"I am not a were-witch," Sasha snapped, finally finding some of her old fire. "I am a werewolf. I was born a werewolf. My parents are werewolves. My whole family is."

"Oh, okay. Then explain to us why you are able to rip out hearts without even touching people," Malo said, leaning in close to her. "And how you move things with your mind. Were-witches are the only ones closest to having that kind of power. I’ve read about them."

"Like I told you before, I don’t know how I do it," Sasha said, looking frustrated. "One day I was just eating my morning cereal and the milk bottle almost fell off the table. I caught it without even reaching for it. It just stopped in the air. I didn’t tell anyone except my sister, and she told me to never, ever tell a soul. I have never ripped anyone’s heart out before that night, but when Peamah was coming for Faye, I just had to do whatever I could to save her. I could literally sense his heart beating, and then the next thing I knew, his heart was just there in my hand."

Sasha said it again, telling the exact same story she told before.

Maybe she really doesn’t understand what she is. I watched her face, looking for any sign of a lie, but she just looked exhausted and scared. I don’t know if I can fully trust her yet, but she has technically saved my life twice now. Once in the woods, and earlier with that ball.

Which means I owe her. And I hate owing people.

"She is a mysterious kind, Faye," Malo whispered into my ear, his eyes never leaving Sasha.

"I know she is weird. Like, really weird," I whispered back. "Do you think we should actually accept her apology?"

"Well, the main reason I hated her was because she took my job," Malo whispered. "But I have my job back now, so that’s fine. Let’s give her a try. Not a full pass, obviously, but maybe a trial run."

"Okay, let’s give her a trial," I said, sighing. "I still don’t like her, but a trial seems fair."

"You know I can hear everything you guys are saying, right?" Sasha said, looking bored.

"Shut up, Sasha. We are busy discussing whether or not to let you into our group," I said, not bothering to lower my voice anymore.

"Did you just say group?" Malo asked. His entire face lit up like a lightbulb. "We are a group?"

I looked at him. He is honestly the only friend I have in this town. So what choice do I really have? I can’t believe I just actually called him a friend in my head.

"Yes, Malo. We are a group," I muttered.

Malo looked genuinely happy for the first time all day. He puffed out his chest a little, looking proud.

"Now that we are officially a group, you need to start listening to me," Malo said, sounding way too confident. "When I say there is danger, you have to believe me. Even though I know you are the kind of person who likes to run toward danger, Faye, you need to start listening to my instincts."

I gave him a long, flat look.

"Dude, you are definitely not the leader," I said.

"Well, we can talk about the leadership roles later," he said, brushing me off. "But wow. We are officially a group. A team. We are going to be way better than the Trios. They won’t even see us coming."

He raised his fist toward me, waiting for a knuckle bump. I folded my hand and bumped back, just to make him stop talking. Then, suddenly, Sasha joined her knuckles in too, trying to get in on it.

We both turned and stared at her hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Yes, what exactly are you doing, purple hair?" Malo added, pulling his hand back.

"I’m making it official," she said, her hand still hovering there. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"We are a group," Malo said, pointing back and forth between me and him. "You are not part of this group."

"Come on," Sasha begged. "I already apologized. And honestly, I am the reason for this group even existing. You guys didn’t even know you were a group until I asked to join. Just let me in."

"I knew we were a group the whole time," Malo insisted.

"We are not letting you in yet," I said, cutting them both off. "But we decided to give you a one-month trial. During this trial, you have to prove to us that you are with us and not working against us."

"Okay. If it’s just one month to prove myself, I can do that," Sasha said, looking relieved.

"First, tell me something," I said, leaning forward. "Why did your sister tell you to stay away from me that day at the cemetery?"

I had to ask. I had been thinking about it ever since it happened. I wanted to know what she saw in me that was so dangerous. I would have asked her that day, but I didn’t want to risk getting my heart ripped out of my chest.

"I honestly don’t know," Sasha said, shaking her head. "She just said that. I thought maybe it was because you are carrying Princess’s pups, and she didn’t want any trouble with the Alphas. But I still don’t know the real reason."

"So your sister warned you to stay away from her, and now you’re trying to join our group?" Malo said, standing up. "Your trial has only just begun and you are already not being truthful with us."

I stood up too, brushing the dust off my clothes. Sasha tried to stand up as well, but the second she put weight on her leg, she fell right back down with a gasp.

"Oh my god, I think my knee is broken," she cried out, clutching her leg.

That must have happened when Peamah threw her across the court earlier. I had forgotten how hard she hit the floor. Malo went over to check on her, using what he had learned from helping the school nurse fix up injured basketball players.

He reached out and adjusted her leg with a sharp movement.

Sasha screamed. It was a loud, piercing sound that echoed through the court.

And I swear to god, Malo did it on purpose. I can’t prove it, but when she screamed, I saw that tiny, satisfied smile crawl across his face. He was definitely enjoying it a little too much.

I helped her up, letting her lean her weight on me while Malo supported her on the other side. We started walking slowly toward the exit, our footsteps echoing on the wood.

Just as we were about to push open the doors and leave the court, Malo suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Guys, I think we might have a bit of a problem," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"What is it now, Malo?" I asked, feeling my patience run thin.

"There is a camera in here," he said, pointing up toward the corner of the wall.

"That camera is Princess’s personal camera," I said, recognizing it immediately. My heart sank.

He paused, looking back at the empty court where Peamah had just been.

"I don’t think we are leaving Peamah alone."