Page 39 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“Meaning?”

“Do you really want me to say it? I figured I would save us both the embarrassment.”

“Tell me.”

I needed to know whether or not this man had seen Andreas in wolf form, or even worse if he’d seen him shift from one form to the other. Or even worse than that, had he seen us go all primal together?

“You went to see a man,” he said. “When I drove up the road, I got out of the car and could hear you two…” He trailed off with a scoff. “Needless to say, I gathered from the kinds of noises you were making that you weren’t there to meet your dad.”

I winced and swallowed a bit of bile that had crawled up my throat. “Gross! Of course not. I went to see my—my boyfriend. And the reason I went in the middle of the night is because… because he’s engaged to someone else.”

At least most of the lie was based on fact. Hopefully, that would make it easier to sell.

Stanley nodded. “I see.”

“We’ve been trying to stay away from each other,” I went on. “But it’s hard. We meet in secret out in the woods sometimes, where there’s no chance of anyone in town spotting us since you know how people talk around here. Always gossiping and twisting the story around.”

“Unfortunately, I do.” He offered me a meek smile. “And for the record, your secret’s safe with me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please, like I’m going to trust a fucking word you say. After what you’ve put me through the last few weeks!”

“It’s awful, I know,” he said. “It makes me sick to my stomach just to think about how scared you must’ve been. I hate that it came to this, but you have to believe me. I was truly just looking for clues that might point me in the direction of your father.”

“Okay, so now that you know I didn’t go meet my dad,” I said. “Are you satisfied? I have nothing to do with my family anymore, so you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “I see that now. And I’m sorry I ever bothered you. This was a huge mistake and one that I regret. If—if I promise not to bother you anymore, will you agree not to get the police involved? I know it’s a big thing to ask, and you have every right to have me arrested for this, but—” He stopped himself short and sighed. “Your father just took a lot from me. And at a time when everything else in my life was already falling apart. Over the years, I’ve tried to move on. To forget. But I couldn’t, and eventually, the resentment just built up, so I decided to try to track him down and at least get some answers.”

“If it’s answers you’re looking for, then I would give up the chase right now,” I told him. “Even if you could find my dad, he won’t tell you anything. He’s decided to do everything in his power to run from justice, and he would never incriminate himself in any way.”

Stanley nodded solemnly. “You’re probably right.”

Despite everything, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the guy. I knew what it was like to be screwed over by Charles Pearl. “Look,” I said after a while. “I’m not going to press charges or anything. As long as I never see you again, I don’t see why we have to make this a bigger deal than it already is, okay?”

He put his hands together almost in prayer. “Thank you so much. I swear, you’ll never see or hear from me again. I’m going to drop this whole thing, stop looking for your dad, and leave you alone for good. Cross my heart.”

“Okay. Deal. But if I do see you again, I will call the police without hesitation. You understand?”

“For sure,” he said. “I don’t even live in town anymore, so we’re not going to run into each other or anything. This is the last time we will ever speak.”

“Alright. Then I guess have a good life, Stanley—” I couldn’t remember his last name.

“Kingsley,” he said.

Kingsley… Why did that sound familiar? “Right. Mr. Kingsley. Have a nice life, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for whatever my dad did to you. I know I’m not the person you want an apology from, but you can have it nonetheless.”

His smile was bright and genuine time. “Thank you, Diana. That actually means a lot.” He then took a step back. “And to show you just how serious I am about keeping up my end of the deal, I’m going to get out of your hair now and let you get some sleep. Have a nice rest of your night, and stay safe.” He looked me right in the eyes. “You never know what’s lurking around these woods at night.”

His words hit me like a brick to the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and leaving me breathless. Was he trying to make some ill-timed joke about having been following me around for weeks? Or did he know about something else that lurked in the woods around Silverleaf?

Something big and furry. How much had he seen?

But before I had a chance to ask him, Stanley Kingsley had already disappeared around the corner, and by the time I could collect myself and look for him, he was gone.

Chapter 19

Andreas

Mikeal was up and sitting at the kitchen table with a sketchbook out and some drawing pencils. I hadn’t seen my brother work on his sketches in a long time, and a part of me wished there could’ve been a way for me to come inside without disturbing him. But he spotted me at the kitchen door before I could escape, so I smiled and walked inside. He flipped his sketchbook closed and leaned his elbows on it. He never liked to share his pieces with me before they were done.

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