Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

DANE’S POV

I had a lot of paper work to get around to.

Most people assumed I hated being buried beneath reports and border logs, but I preferred them over unnecessary meetings.

The stack covering my desk that afternoon consisted mostly of patrol reports from the eastern routes, supply requests from the northern outposts, and statements from warriors who had rotated shifts during the last three days. I had gone through almost half of them when I heard voices in the hallway. Loud voices.

What the—

At first I ignored them.

The estate was rarely quiet these days. Ever since the rumours surrounding Keisha’s pregnancy spread, everyone suddenly had an opinion about everything. Some defended her,while others judged her. Most simply enjoyed having something new to whisper about whenever they thought no one important was listening.

Ares shifted lazily inside me, unbothered.

My hand paused over another report as the voices outside grew louder.

"...I need to see him now."

"I’m sorry, but you can’t just barge in."

"I don’t care what your orders are."

The words reached me clearly this time and I frowned, noticing it was a woman’s voice and it sounded familiar.

But what was she doing here?

I frowned and pushed back my chair. Before I reached the door, another guard hurried toward my office looking thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Beta Dane."

"What is it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "There’s... someone insisting on seeing you."

"I gathered that."

"I tried explaining that you were working."

"And?"

"He refused to leave."

I stared at him. "He?"

The guard blinked before immediately correcting himself. "Sorry. She."

Something about the look on his face made me move before he finished explaining. I stepped into the corridor and headed toward the entrance, the voices becoming clearer with every step.

The moment I rounded the corner, I saw her.

Lyra.

Her hair had partly escaped the loose tie at the back of her head, strands sticking to her face as though she’d run most of the way here. Her breathing was uneven, and the guard standing between us looked seconds away from giving up entirely.

The instant she spotted me, relief and anger crossed her face at the same time.

"Dane."

I knew immediately something was wrong. The fact she had forgotten she hated me and came here pointed to the fact that something had happened.

She crossed the remaining distance before the guard could stop her. "They took her."

Every thought in my head stopped. "What?"

"They took Keisha."

You have to be kidding me.

My chest tightened. "Who?"

"The estate guards." Her breathing still hadn’t steadied. "Four of them. They came while we were outside and refused to tell us why. They took her toward the dungeon."

The dungeon?

For one second I simply stared at her, waiting for the sentence to make sense but it didn’t.

"Who gave the order?"

"I don’t know."

"Did they say what she’d done?"

"They wouldn’t answer me." Frustration crept into her voice. "They wouldn’t answer anything."

Ares was already awake now.

"Something’s wrong." He grunted.

How insightful. I was thinking the same thing. I turned without another word and started walking.

"Dane."

I looked back to see that Lyra had already fallen into step behind me. "I’m coming."

"No."

She frowned. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean exactly that."

"My sister is down there."

"I know."

"So I’m coming."

"You aren’t."

Anger flashed across her face. "You don’t get to tell me where I can—"

"I do if it keeps this from getting worse."

She stopped walking. "So that’s it?" she asked quietly. "You expect me to sit around while she’s locked underground?"

"I expect you to trust me." The words surprised even me and for a second neither of us spoke. "I’ll bring her back."

She searched my face, trying to decide whether to believe me. Finally she stepped back. "You’d better."

"I will."

I didn’t wait another second.

By the time I reached the dungeon entrance, my pace had become something between a fast walk and a run.

The guards outside straightened immediately. "Beta."

"Open it."

One hurried toward the keys while the other looked uncertain.

"Beta... Elder Osric is currently inside."

I stopped. "What did you say?"

"He ordered Miss Keisha brought here earlier."

Osric? Was he out of his mind?

Without another word, I walked inside. My boots made faint thuds against the floor as I walked inside, ears perking up when I heard voices.

"...there have been witnesses."

That was Osric.

"And I’ve already answered your question." And that... That was Keisha.

I slowed before turning the final corner and saw that neither of them had noticed me.

Keisha stood behind the bars of one of the cells, her hands folded tightly in front of her. She looked exhausted rather than frightened, but there was something in her eyes that was odd.

Confusion.

Osric stood outside the cell with both hands resting on his cane. "You expect me to believe," he continued calmly, "that Alpha Callum has been visiting your annex repeatedly for no reason at all?"

"I’ve never said that."

"You’ve denied having a relationship with him."

"Because I don’t."

"And yet he’s been there."

"He has visited."

"So has Beta Dane."

She hesitated. "So?"

Osric watched her carefully. "The Alpha of this pack does not make personal visits without reason."

"He was checking on Nadia."

"At your house?"

"She was staying with me."

"And before Nadia started staying there?"

Keisha remained silent. Osric nodded slowly as though her silence confirmed everything he wanted to hear. "People talk, Miss Keisha."

"I know."

"They’ve seen him enter your home."

"I work closely with him."

"And late at night?"

Keisha’s shoulders stiffened. "I don’t have to explain every conversation I’ve ever had with my Alpha."

"You do if that Alpha is compromising the dignity of this pack."

She lifted her chin. "There is nothing between us."

"I don’t believe you."

Oh shit.

He took another step toward the cell. "Then let me ask differently." He paused. "Is Alpha Callum the father of your child?"

Fuck.

Keisha’s eyes widened for the smallest fraction of a second before she quickly shook her head. "No."

"You’re certain?"

"Yes."

"Think carefully before you answer again."

"I already have."

Osric sighed. "I’ve lived long enough to recognise guilt when I see it."

"I haven’t done anything wrong."

"No?" His voice hardened slightly. "You’ve managed to draw the Alpha into repeated private meetings, you’ve become the centre of gossip across the estate, and now you’ve turned up pregnant without naming the father."

"My personal life isn’t a crime."

"It becomes everyone’s concern when it involves the Alpha."

"I said it doesn’t."

"You expect me to ignore what everyone else is seeing?"

"No." She met his eyes steadily. "I expect you to stop accusing me of something that isn’t true."

That was enough. I stepped around the corner. "It seems the Elder has already reached his conclusion before asking the questions."

Both of them turned and Keisha’s expression changed instantly into one of relief.

Osric’s narrowed. "Beta Dane."

"You’ve questioned her long enough."

"I’ll decide when I’m finished."

"No." I stopped beside the cell. "You won’t."

His grip tightened around his cane. "I answer directly to the council."

"And I answer directly to the Alpha."

Our eyes held and the guards further down the corridor wisely pretended they couldn’t hear any of us.

Osric spoke first. "I am investigating conduct that concerns the Alpha himself."

"Without informing him."

"There wasn’t time."

"There was."

"He would interfere."

I almost laughed. "So instead you arrested an innocent woman."

"I detained her."

"You locked her in a dungeon."

The silence stretched between us for a while. Finally I stepped closer.

"If you have evidence of misconduct involving the Alpha, present it before the council."

"I intend to."

"Good." I held his gaze. "Until then, release her."

"I’m not done."

"You are now." For the first time since I’d arrived, uncertainty flickered across his face.

He knew exactly how much authority I carried in Callum’s absence. He also knew I wouldn’t back down. After several long seconds, he exhaled through his nose.

"This conversation isn’t over."

"No." I reached for the keys hanging from the nearby guard’s belt. "It isn’t."

Osric looked once more at Keisha before turning away.

His cane struck the stone floor with each step until both the sound and his presence disappeared down the corridor.

Only then did I unlock the cell. The iron door swung open with a dull groan. Keisha remained standing where she was for a moment. "You came."

I looked at her properly. Her shoulders drooped with exhaustion, and the dark circles beneath her eyes seemed deeper than yesterday.

"You shouldn’t be here," I sighed. "Not good for your health."

She took one step before swaying almost imperceptibly and I caught her elbow.

"I’m alright." She tried to assure me.

"You nearly fell."

She straightened. "I can walk."

"I know." Without another word, I bent and lifted her into my arms.

"Dane."

"You can complain after you’ve rested."

"I really can walk."

"I don’t doubt it."

She sighed, giving up before resting one hand lightly against my shoulder. As I carried her through the corridor, the guards stepped aside immediately.

By the time we emerged into daylight, half the people crossing the courtyard had already stopped to stare. Whispers followed us almost immediately.

"That’s her..."

"So the rumours..."

"I knew it..." A woman shook her head in obvious disapproval.

I ignored every one of them. All that mattered was getting Keisha somewhere safe before another elder decided to start asking questions.

The walk to the Alpha’s office wasn’t long, but it felt longer because everyone seemed to stop whatever they were doing to watch us pass.

Let them talk. They had been talking for days already, and carrying Keisha across the courtyard wasn’t going to change anything except make one thing obvious—I wasn’t going to leave her standing alone while people turned her into the centre of their gossip.

"I can walk now," Keisha murmured after a while, sounding more embarrassed than upset. "People are staring."

"I noticed."

"They’re going to misunderstand."

"They already have."

She looked up at me, searching my face for a response that never came. After everything that had happened, I no longer cared what conclusion the estate reached. If pretending to be the father kept Callum out of the rumours and protected Keisha from questions she wasn’t ready to answer, then I could live with whatever people chose to think about me.

When we reached the administration building, I pushed open the office door with my shoulder and finally set her down carefully on the sofa against the wall. She let out a slow breath the moment her feet touched the floor, smoothing the creases in her clothes as though trying to erase the entire afternoon along with them.

"I told you I wasn’t made of glass."

"You were locked in a dungeon while carrying my child." The words slipped out before I could soften them. "That alone is enough."

She looked away without answering, and I sighed. I crossed to the small cabinet near the window, poured her a cup of coffee before remembering halfway through that she wasn’t supposed to have much caffeine anymore. Muttering under my breath, I poured it away and replaced it with warm tea instead before setting it in front of her. "This is safer."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You’ve been paying attention."

She wrapped both hands around the cup without drinking immediately, letting herself relax while I returned to my desk. The reports I’d abandoned earlier were still spread across it exactly as I’d left them, but the words no longer held my attention. Every few seconds my eyes drifted back toward her to make sure she was still sitting comfortably.

She followed my gaze to the untouched documents and laughed quietly. "Focus on that."

Before I could answer, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor outside, followed by a knock that came so quickly it was almost simultaneous with the office door swinging open.

Nadia rushed inside without waiting for permission, her hair untidy as though she’d run all the way from the mansion. Her eyes searched the room frantically until they landed on Keisha sitting on the sofa. "Oh, thank Moon Goddess."

She crossed the room in seconds and crouched beside her, checking her face, her arms and shoulders as though expecting to find injuries hidden somewhere.

"I heard they’d taken you," she breathed. "Nobody would tell me anything. Are you alright? Did they hurt you? Why would anyone lock you up?"

Keisha placed a reassuring hand over hers. "I’m alright."

Nadia looked unconvinced. "You don’t look alright."

"I will be."

Only then did Nadia finally straighten and look across the room at me. "Thank you."