Page 182 of The Beta's Blind Date

I groan and lean my head against the wall. “I know, I know. But I’m having a hard time reconciling the Dominic in my head with the truth we now know. I’ve painted him as this villain, this… dickhead… and I can’t seem to let that go.”

“I get it. And I’m not saying you have to let it go. You can call him ‘Alpha Dickhead’ for the rest of our lives together. But we should hear him out. For closure for ourselves and for Sour Patch.”

I lift my eyes to hers again and move my hand to her stomach, pretending I can feel that little candy-sized pup in there moving around. “For Sour Patch,” I say, giving her a nod.

She smiles and gets to her feet, smoothing out the skirt of her dress as she waits for me to stand as well, and I have the perfect view of her cute butt in that gorgeous fitted skirt. The urge to sink my teeth into her peach is strong. I’m ready to take her back to our house and rip the front of her dress open so the little buttons down the front of the bodice pop off and ping against the walls and furniture, like I imagined doing as soon as I saw her in the dress before she left for the tea party.

I bite my knuckles and hold in another groan as I get to my feet, where I’m met with Taryn’s sparkling, mischievous eyes. She approaches me with graceful steps, her hands running across my chest, her eyes meeting mine through her thick lashes.

“Later,” she says, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

“Promise?”

Her lips twitch and she kisses me. Long, sensual, and slow, her soft, plump lips like heaven as they dance with mine. My hands ghost over her hips and up her side, tracing her luscious curves, savoring the feel of her body under my touch, the feel of her mouth moving in tandem with mine.

Kissing her is everything. Don’t get me wrong, the sex with her is fantastic too—beyond my wildest imaginings—but the kisses… the kisses are sweeter than cookies and warmer than the summer sun. They fill me with light and happiness, creeping into the minuscule gaps and cracks of my heart and healing my soul each time our lips meet, and I’m so glad I saved most of my kisses for her.

Too soon, she ends our kiss, pulling away and taking my hand in hers to lead us out of the room. My feet are heavy as sandbags, almost impossible to lift from the floor the closer we get to the door of the conference room, but I push through—I push through for my girl and my daughter. I can do this for them.

I close the door we’re inside, glancing at King Malachi, who stands next to it, then I turn and face the male seated on the opposite side of the table. His face is buried in his hands, his shoulders sagged, and his spine curved.

“Alpha Dominic,” I say as Taryn and I sit down side-by-side across from him. “King Malachi said you wished to speak with us?”

He lifts his gaze to us, and his eyes are broken, empty. He is a shell of the male he once was, and I can already see how what’s happened eats away at him, sowing seeds of guilt and self-doubt inside his battered mind.

“It’s just Dominic, now,” he says, scratching his neck. “I relinquished my title as the alpha of Silver Ridge. I’m stepping down.”

My eyes widen, and I lean back in my chair. “Why?”

“The pack deserves better than me as their alpha. I can’t, in good conscience, continue to lead them. How can I, when I let someone control me for so long, let someone poison my pack and let them plan an attack against them, an attack that destroyed everything we owned?” He shakes his head and clasps his hands on the table in front of him. “It’s better this way.”

“But what will happen to Silver Ridge?” Taryn asks.

“The Silver Ridge members will have a choice,” he says, looking down at his hands. “They can choose to join a new pack, or they can remain as Silver Ridge members under the new ranked werewolves the council appoints to lead until…” He swallows and closes his eyes, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Until your pup can take over as alpha,” he says, meeting our eyes. “If that’s what she wants.”

Taryn shakes her head at him and gives him a sad smile. “She’s your pup too,” she says, her voice soft.

His throat bobs, and my hands grip the arms of the chair, Taryn’s hand covering mine and sending a rush of warmth and a brush of tingles down my spine.

“King Malachi offered me a place in the royal guard, and I’ve accepted,” he says, ignoring Taryn. “I’ll be leaving with him when he returns to Hawaii.”

“You’re leaving?” I ask.

“I am.”

“But—” I press my lips together and frown, glancing at Taryn. “But your pup—”

“Your pup,” he says again, his hands clenching tighter, his knuckles turning white. “She’s your pup.”

Taryn’s lip trembles and she tries to hide it from me, turning her face away so I won’t see it or her watering eyes. But I see them, and I feel her disappointment, feel what she wants to say to him but can’t because she’s too overwrought.

So I’ll do it for her. Because, yes, she’s my pup. My wolf and I claimed her and we’re not letting her go. But just like I’d be a terrible male to reject Taryn because she got pregnant by another male, I’d be a terrible male to keep my daughter from her biological father for something he didn’t even do.

“But you’re her father too,” I say, squeezing Taryn’s hand, telling him what she wants to but can’t. “You should be part of her life.”

“I don’t deserve to be her father. Not when there is a better male to fill that role for her.”

“But what about what she deserves?” I ask. “Doesn’t she deserve to know her father? Doesn’t she deserve as much love as we canallgive her?”

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