Page 40 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

“I doubt he’s thought that far ahead,” Tucker mutters.

I put my head in my hands, scratching my temples. “This is a fucking disaster. Why are they even thinking about this?”

“There aren’t enough females,” Ryan says. “My mole keeps coming back with this information above all else. We don’t have enough girls here, and Tobias is promising them women.”

Suddenly, everything clicks into place. Tobias’s actions make perfect sense now.

“Holy fucking shit,” my voice comes out in a harsh, breathy rush. “That’s it. That’s why he won’t just challenge me. He needs the pack bound to him so when he goes up against me, he can kill anyone on my side, then take the women!”

“And what will they do with our children?” Donny asks. His hands clench by his sides as if he’s thinking about pounding a hole in Tobias’s skull. “Do you think my son would survive in this pack war?”

I shake my head. Tobias would have no use for pups, and he certainly wouldn’t bother to care for any that weren’t his own.

“What are we going to do?” Ryan asks. “They’ll just be waking up now and heading to the hall for breakfast. Should we confront them?”

“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “We don’t want a bloodbath in there, or another scene like the other day. I need hard evidence; we can’t go up against him with mere accusations. Does your guy have any specifics on Tobias’s plan?”

“No, not yet,” Ryan answers. “Mark—he’s a good kid—he tells me that it’s just an idea at this stage. Tobias is getting them hyped up about it. Some of the guys don’t like it, and he’s got to convince them to go along.”

“How does he convince them?”

“The same way Jethro convinced anyone of anything,” Donny growls. “With violence and threats. If they don’t agree, they look like weak little cowards betraying their brothers.”

I close my eyes, trying to hold back the memories flooding into my mind. It’s like I’m living it all over again. I can feel the blood on my knuckles, the bruises on my face. I can hear my opponents screaming in pain.

These guys don’t know it, but they will carry guilt over these deeds for the rest of their lives. We have to save them.

“We’ll have to keep an even closer eye on them,” I say. I look up at each of my brothers in turn, seeing expressions of determination on every face. “We can’t let them execute this plan. I want you to alert everyone the second they try to implement it, and we’ll bring the whole pack down on them.”

“What if they resist?” Ryan asks. “If every single young male on his team decides to fight, we’ll be evenly split.”

“So be it,” I say harshly. “I’m ready to fight this fucker with everything I’ve got. Get your man—Mark?—to whisper in the ears of anyone who doesn’t like the plan. Make sure they know they’ll have to deal with retribution from this pack, from Bailey… and from me.”

“Can do,” Ryan says. “I’ll get the word out to him.”

“What about us, boss?” Donny asks.

“We need to set up a watch. Get anyone loyal to us to position themselves around town where we can clearly see our perimeter. The second those guys go anywhere, I want that information immediately.”

“You got it,” Tucker says.

“Go,” I say, looking down at my hands as the others leave.

The plan sickens me. Tobias and his goons are worse than I imagined. Maybe even worse than Jethro.

I can’t let them win. I have to take him out.

My greatest fear is that there is no way to do this without tearing the entire pack to shreds.

Chapter 16 - Fiona

After we serve breakfast to the pack and do a few hours of baking, the women and I go out to the open paddock behind the main hall. It looks like it was once a sports field or an arena of some kind. It’s completely clear and flat, even though it’s overgrown with years’ worth of tall grass and weeds.

“How long should I leave that bread to prove, Fiona?” one of the younger girls asks. Her name is Maddy, and of all the women, she has the best natural talent for baking.

“Leave it for at least an hour, then go back and knead it and set it to prove again. Take Jean with you to help.”

“And the cupcakes?”

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