Page 46 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate

Do I?

The world felt scary suddenly. I played with my daughter’s hair as her breathing pattern indicated she was falling asleep. “Bill…would have tried to force me to marry him if you hadn’t intervened.”

Cliff growled possessively.

I nodded. “I think maybe he thought that would have saved him or something.”

“Like you said yesterday, he was past the point of saving.”

“Yesterday?” I huffed once out of pure amusement. “Wow, did I sleep for that long?”

Cliff pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down. “You were tired.”

“What about you?”

“I feel better than ever. I’ve been spending time with…” His eyelids fluttered briefly. “Sydney—My daughter—My Sydney.”

I smiled bashfully. “Yours and mine.”

“Have you told her?”

“Not yet.”

His smile faded slightly. “Can we do it together?”

Sydney stirred, lifting her head to reveal a line of drool trailing through a swollen red outline of the blanket on her cheek. I chuckled while sitting her up and brushing her hair out of her face. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Yep!” She yawned and then smiled, blinking dreamily. She turned to Cliff. “Funny Man made pancakes.”

“We both made pancakes,” Cliff corrected, “and we both, uh…” He looked at me for help.

“Oh, you mean now.” I gaped at him. “Likeright now.”

“Yes, right now.”

I looked at my daughter who was none the wiser about the topic of discussion. This had been something I pictured a million times but underwaydifferent circumstances. I imagined Sydney as a highly intelligent teenager with a great sense of style and a good head on her shoulders, asking about her father’s personality, health, background, and the important stuff that every doctor would need to know. And I pictured it as me telling Sydney about the woes of men who didn’t know how to grow up.

That just wasn’t the case.

Thank the Gods for that.

“Sydney, I want to tell you something,” I started carefully, “about your father.”

She perked up. “My daddy?”

I smiled at Cliff. “Yeah, your daddy is…” I took her hand. “Your daddy is Cliff. The Funny Man. He’s your father.”

She gasped with an expression of wonder. “Oh, wow.” Then she hopped right over my legs and bounced into his lap.

The three of us fell together then, all snug together, all tight-knit and affectionate like we should have been since I got pregnant. Tears stung my eyes as I realized my life was about to change significantly. Bill was gone. And though my complicated feelings remained, I knew the demonic threat was gone with him.

I got him with that chant. I got them all.

Now, I had to focus on keeping my family together.

***

Later in the morning, when the sun trickled through the living room drapes, I balanced a plate of grapes and cheese on a plate while instructing Sydney to grab the paper cups from the counter. We were headed for the living room, where Sonya, Cliff, and Larry were seated around the coffee table.

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