Page 47 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

“I know the truth,” she says as we pull apart. “Donny told me all of it. Tobias wants to take over the pack and keep all of us for himself. He wants to eliminate Bailey as a threat, steal his resources, and take their women, too. He doesn’t care about peace or prosperity for us. He wants to go back to the way things were before.”

“How can anyone believe Tobias?” I whisper as I wipe tears from my eyes.

Lilah shakes her head. “They are scared. Over the last five years or so, we had not been in conflict with other packs. Bailey’sthreat to tear us apart wasn’t taken lightly, and none of us know him… well, not the way you do.”

“It’s not like I know him personally,” I say with a little laugh. “I’ve barely even spoken to him.”

“Still, Tobias is spreading the word that this attack has a lot to do with you.”

“Silver Meadows was protecting themselves! FromTobias.”

“I know that, but not everyone else does. Tobias has been telling the others since last night that the retribution from Bailey will be terrible because of you. He’s even been saying that the alliance between Bailey and Rider is strictly about you, and that Rider is planning to let most of the pack get slaughtered if Bailey lets him keep you.”

I’m trembling now. I can’t believe anyone could be this evil, but it’s even harder to believe people could be this stupid.

“What do I do?”

“The first thing I’d suggest is to stay away from Tobias,” Lilah says. “Rider has to get rid of him, and soon. The way it looks right now, if he calls for a leadership challenge, half the pack will take Tobias’s side.”

“I’m really sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ve got to go back home to Rider. Can you manage the bread?”

Lilah nods. “Of course. Go and talk to him.”

I hurry back to the cabin, expecting Rider to be asleep. I’m shocked to find him at the kitchen table, his hands loosely wrapped around a cup of coffee that appears to be ice-cold.

“Rider, hey.”

He doesn’t respond, and I go over to him and shake his shoulder. He jumps a little and looks up at me in surprise.

“Fiona? Fuck, I didn’t see you come in. I must have been completely out of it.”

“Do you want a fresh cup of coffee?”

“Sure, yeah.”

“I need to talk to you,” I say as I bring the old kettle over. “Tobias has got half the pack thinking that you’re going to betray them.”

Rider groans, dropping his head into his hands. “I was afraid of this. He said some things last night, but I really didn’t think it would get this bad.”

“You have to take him out. Soon.”

“I know. I just can’t figure out how to do it. I’m worried about Bailey coming after us, too.”

“I'd like to tell you that he won’t, but it’s not true. He told you he’d come after you if the pack attacked him again, and he’s a man of his word.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

We stare at each other for a moment, and I reach out for his hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

“You should get some more rest.”

He shakes his head. “No, I need to get back out there. If I talk to the pack, maybe I can convince them Tobias needs to be questioned over this, and possibly punished.”

“You can’t just kill him?” I ask. “Don’t get me wrong, normally I wouldn’t suggest that… but you wild packs have different rules. What would Jethro have done?”

“If anyone did anything Jethro didn’t agree with, he’d walk calmly up to them and rip their throat right out.”

Rider stands up, turning towards the door. He looks back over his shoulder, fixing me with a hard look from his dark green eyes.

---