Page 29 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

“Okay.” I point at Ryan. “I know we’ve been talking about putting together a council. This is it, the first step. I’m appointing you as my beta. You have full authority to investigate—and punish—anyone who is going against my orders. If I start sniffing around, Tobias will only work harder to hide what he’s doing. Make it discreet. Figure out where the cash is coming from and how he’s luring in the young guys.”

“The parties are getting pretty wild,” Tucker remarks. “Last night, they were all yelling and breaking bottles around a big campfire. We could hear them halfway up the hill.”

“Hmm,” I murmur. “Sounds just like Jethro’s fighting rings. Getting them all bloodied and savage while plying them with alcohol and brotherly words.”

“We don’t want that anywhere near us,” Donny says. “Not anymore. We’re better than that.”

“I agree,” I answer. “But we need to do this carefully. If it was as simple as taking out Tobias, I’d do it right now, but I need to know who is behind him. I don’t want to get rid of him and still have an enemy faction in the pack. I want them all gone.”

“Amen to that,” Ryan says. “I’ll get on it today, boss.”

I nod in approval, then turn around to check on Tobias. He’s sitting at a side table with a plate of food, looking pretty pleased with himself. When he realizes I’m looking at him, he blinks, giving me a wide-eyed, overly innocent look.

Just as I’m about to turn away, I see Tobias’ eyes slide over to Fiona. His tongue creeps to the edge of his mouth, and his eyes turn dark and predatory. A terrifying thought occurs to me.

Maybe staying here and turning the pack has nothing to do with wanting to be alpha. Maybe he just wants Fiona.

Chapter 12 - Fiona

Days pass, and my worry for Caleb grows. The fierce ache in my chest is so intense that at times, I can hardly breathe.

I spend most of my time cleaning the cabin, and one sunny afternoon, while I’m sweeping the floor, I fall straight into one of my old fantasies.

I wished for this. I prayed for it.

Long nights sleeping next to Rider, waking in his arms, even cooking and cleaning becoming acts of pure joy because we did it all together.

And I thought it would come true. Because back then, I thought Rider wanted me.

My hands falter, and the small pile of dirt I’m sweeping up scatters across the floor, dust motes rising to flicker in the late afternoon sun.

I’m not convinced that Rider really wants me. Even now.

I glare at the floor, my motivation to finish the task completely gone. Every moment that passes is agony. Soon, I won’t be able to mask it.

Why isn’t Bailey coming for me?

The only thing I can think of is that maybe he isn’t sure if Sawpit Pack really has me. He’s a fair alpha. He wouldn’t attack unless he was certain I was here.

Tobias is still lurking around, leering at me. Leaving on my own is out of the question. There is only one thing left to do.

Talk to Rider.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve avoided it, but I can’t wait any longer. Caleb will be frantic without me. It’s too painfulbeing apart from him, and the thought of him not knowing if I’ll ever come back cuts me through the heart.

When I hear Rider’s heavy boots on the front deck, I quickly finish sweeping and get ready to greet him. Even though we still aren’t exactly friendly, things have been far less awkward between us since the dawn run when he told me all about his past. My heart went out to him when I heard how horrible his suffering has been, but it doesn’t excuse him running away from me or holding me prisoner now.

As Rider comes through the door, I take a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts. If I want to convince Rider to let me go, I have to find the right words and speak to him rationally and calmly.

“Rider, we need to talk.”

He looks up at me with wide eyes, and the pained look tears at my soul.

Exactly the way Caleb looks at me when he’s upset.

“Okay, Fiona,” he says warily. “What would you like to talk about?”

“You have to let me go back to my pack.” Inwardly, I wince as the words come out much more blunt than I intended.

---