Alpha's Rejected becomes the Lycan's Obsession-Chapter 86: A promise of doom

When Tessy’s sobs finally quieted into soft, hiccupping breaths, she wiped her tear-streaked face with trembling fingers. For a long moment, she simply sat there, her heart thudding heavily in her chest. As she pulled herself together, and moved slightly away from Roman, her gaze drifted once more toward Williams, almost involuntarily.

He was still there—still staring at her.

A fresh surge of discomfort flooded her chest. His stare wasn’t casual; it wasn’t kind or comforting either. It was sharp, probing, almost as if he were trying to see straight through her skin, straight into the secrets she didn’t even know she held.

With her brows knitting tightly in frustration, Tessy decided she had had enough. She squared her shoulders, the last shivers of her earlier weeping subsiding as anger and confusion replaced them.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked sharply, her voice still hoarse from crying but laced with genuine irritation.

For a moment, Williams just stood there, unmoving. His dark eyes held a turmoil she couldn’t decipher, but he said nothing. Without offering any explanation, he abruptly looked away from her, his jaw tight, and then—just like that—he turned on his heel and strode out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him with a muted thud.

Tessy blinked, stunned by the suddenness of it all.

Roman, who had been sitting beside her, had witnessed the strange exchange. His expression darkened with worry, his brows furrowing deeply as he watched the door Williams had disappeared through. Then his attention shifted back to Tessy, and the hardness in his gaze melted into tender concern.

"Are you all right?" Roman asked.

Tessy nodded stiffly, still feeling raw and disoriented. "I’m fine now," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

But the question gnawed at her insides, a persistent itch she couldn’t ignore.

"Did... anything unusual happen when I woke up?" she asked cautiously, studying Roman’s face for any flicker of truth or deception. Deep down, she already suspected that was the reason for Williams’s unnerving stare—the suspicion, the unease that clung to him like a shadow.

Something unusual? Roman’s mind flashed back to the chaos—the items that suddenly began to float of their own accord, and came crashing down the moment she opened her eyes. But he forced the memory aside and leaned down, brushing a gentle hand against her cheek.

"Something unusual? No, my love, nothing like that happened," Roman said smoothly, his voice a soothing balm to her frayed nerves. "You just woke up... and that made me very happy."

He smiled at her then, a soft, almost vulnerable smile.

Tessy didn’t know whether to believe him or not. She wasn’t sure of what she heard, but it had sounded pretty much like things crashing down, just like the last time she woke up from a nightmare.

Rather than argue or press further, Tessy forced herself to let it go—for now. Roman opened his mouth, looking like he was about to say something more, when the door opened again.

This time, a doctor entered the room, a friendly face Roman recognized. He visibly relaxed at the sight of the man.

The doctor offered Roman a warm smile and a firm handshake. "Good to see you again, Mr. Gavriel," he said pleasantly before turning to Tessy.

He moved to her bedside, his hands practiced and gentle as he checked her vitals, asking her to breathe deeply, to stretch her arms slightly, to tilt her head. After a few minutes of examination, he straightened with a pleased nod.

"You’re doing very well, Mrs Gavriel," he said approvingly. "Just make sure to stay hydrated, have lots of rest, and avoid stressing yourself too much."

Tessy nodded along politely, though her mind was still in a haze, barely registering half of what he said.

After finishing his checklist, the doctor smiled warmly again and said, "Congratulations once more."

Tessy froze, her heart stumbling in her chest.

Congratulations?

She frowned deeply, confused. What exactly was he congratulating her for?

Before she could voice the question, the doctor turned to Roman, his smile widening. "Congratulations once again, Mr. Gavriel," he said cheerfully.

Roman, who had been struggling to contain the happiness bubbling inside him, flashed the doctor a wide grin, his face lighting up with unrestrained joy.

"Thank you, Dr. Abel," Roman responded with pride evident in every syllable.

As the doctor left the room, Tessy immediately turned her questioning gaze to Roman. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure he could hear it.

"What was he congratulating us for?" she demanded, her voice laced with suspicion and confusion.

Roman’s grin didn’t waver; if anything, it grew wider.

"We’re expecting a child, my love. You are pregnant," Roman announced, his voice filled with glee, his eyes shining with happiness and awe as he delivered the news.

For a moment, the world tilted.

Tessy’s eyes stretched wide, her mouth falling open. She stared at him as though he’d just sprouted wings.

Pregnant?

No.

This had to be a mistake. It had to be some elaborate dream, because how on earth could she be hearing the exact same words she had heard in that twisted dreamscape?

"What did you just say?" she gasped out, hoping she had misheard him.

"You are pregnant, baby," Roman said again, moving closer. "You are carrying our child—the heir to our empire."

His voice held a kind of pride that Tessy had never seen before, a shimmering pride that wrapped around him like an armor.

"That’s not pos..." she started to protest, but her voice faltered mid-sentence. A wave of memory crashed over her. Their first sex wasn’t the one that happened before she fell unconscious.

Fresh tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks anew, but these tears were different. They were hot and heavy with the realization that those hooded figures—the monstrous entities in her dream—had been right. They had known. They had known before she herself even suspected.

Who were they? she thought frantically, How did they know I was pregnant before I even did?

And worst of all—the most bone-chilling part—would they really have eaten her baby?

Roman’s smile faltered as he saw her crying again, this time even harder than before.

"What’s wrong? Why are you crying?" Roman asked, his voice laced with confusion and sadness. Wasn’t she supposed to be happy? This was what she had wanted. He knew the heartbreak she suffered when she lost her first pregnancy. He knew how it had shattered her. He had seen everything after Lazer invaded her head that first day.

Was she scared she might lose this one too?

He wouldn’t let that happen. He would protect her—and their baby—with every ounce of strength he possessed.

Seeing the panic in his eyes, Tessy quickly shook her head, even though every part of her body wanted to curl into a ball and scream.

"It’s tears of joy," she lied softly, forcing a small smile to the end of her words to make them more believable.

Roman’s eyes softened instantly, believing her. He reached out and gently pulled her into his arms, holding her as delicately as if she might break.

But deep inside, Tessy was still screaming.

Her mind was a whirlpool of fear and confusion, swirling around the things she had heard in the dream world—claims that made no sense, that terrified her to the marrow. Yet, if there was even a sliver of truth to them, she couldn’t risk sharing it.

Not yet.

Especially not with Roman.

He had his own secrets. She could feel it in her bones. But more than that, she was terrified of seeing revulsion in his eyes if he ever learned the full truth about her—truths she didn’t even fully understand herself.

***

Back in Monero, in a hidden, grimy room filled with shadows and smoke, chaos erupted.

The medium-sized doll lying on the cracked wooden table exploded into a thousand tiny fragments, showering the gathered witches in sharp, splintered pieces.

The dark witches surrounding it gasped collectively, staggered back as if an unseen force had slammed them in the chest. They clutched at their bodies, some doubling over, gasping for breath as though they’d been running for miles without pause.

The heavy pressure in the air dissipated abruptly, leaving only stunned silence and the stench of burned fabric.

As they slowly straightened, their faces etched with disbelief, their wide eyes fixated on the shattered remnants of the doll—the vessel they had painstakingly crafted to summon Tessy into the dream realm.

"No way... that’s impossible..." one of the witches rasped out, her voice thick with disbelief. Her hands trembled violently as she stared at the destruction.

"Something helped her," another witch said grimly, his eyes narrowing. "Something powerful. But I couldn’t figure out what it was before we were thrown back."

He picked up a jagged piece of the doll, rolling it between his blackened fingers with a frown. The others did the same, touching the pieces as if expecting them to tell a different story.

How had this happened? Their doll had been fortified, imbued with layers of spells strong enough to keep even the most stubborn soul trapped. Yet Tessy had broken free.

"I think it’s Roman," another said, venom dripping from the name. "But it doesn’t matter. He only bought himself some time."

Their leader stepped forward then, his presence commanding. His voice, when he spoke, was laced with cold fury, though he managed to maintain a razor-thin mask of confidence.

"He better enjoy it while it lasts," he said darkly. "Fina!" he barked sharply, his voice slicing through the smoky air.

A petite witch with ink-black hair stepped forward, bowing low before him.

"Yes, Master," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Tell Grovin to prepare for the next phase," he ordered, his voice brooking no argument. "It should be delivered in two days."

Fina nodded once, swiftly. "Consider it done, Master," she said, before disappearing into the shadows.

The leader turned back toward the shattered remains of the doll, his dark gaze searing with malice.

"I’ll love to see how he escapes this," he murmured to himself, a devilish smile curling across his lips before a low, wicked laughter bubbled from his chest, echoing through the room like a promise of doom.