Page 49 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

For Caleb,

I will return soon, I promise. I miss you so much, and I love you. Wait for me.

“Okay,” I say, folding it up and handing it to Jen. “Get this back to Silver Meadows. They will recognize my handwriting and know it’s from me. In the meantime, I’ll try to help Rider get enough support to attack Tobias.”

Jen nods, giving me a quick hug. “These are dark days, Luna, but I have faith that they will soon end for good.”

I nod in agreement, squeezing her hand. “I have faith, too. Go.”

Jen leaves, hurrying down the street. I don’t want to be alone in the cabin, so I get ready to leave as well, but then I see Rider coming up the front steps.

“Rider!” I cry with relief as he comes through the door. “You’re back!”

“Is everything okay?” he asks, giving me a wary look.

“Better now.” I put my arms around his neck and hug him, comforting myself with the feel of his strong presence. I look over his shoulder, out through the window, and I can’t see anything in the trees.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Rider asks.

I nod, smiling with relief. “I’m just glad you’re back. Come on, sit down. Tell me what’s going on out there, and how I can help.”

Even though his expression is troubled, I feel more encouraged now than I did a few hours ago. Once Bailey gets my note, we’ll have him on our side, and everyone will see that Rider is the alpha they deserve.

Chapter 19 - Rider

While I talk with Fiona about the issues in the pack, my unease grows. Her eyes are unusually bright, and her voice is high. Even though she asks me a lot of questions, she doesn’t seem to absorb the answers.

What is wrong with her?

“How are things at the hospital?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Almost everyone has recovered. Only a couple of them are still critically injured. They’ll need a few more days of intensive care before their shifter metabolism kicks in to heal them.”

“Their wounds must have been terrible to affect their healing process like that.”

“They were.”

“Tobias must have been out of his mind to attack Bailey.”

“It was strategic,” I say, shrugging. “If he succeeded, then he would have brought back the mates of the highest pack members and looked strong for it. In failing, he has the perfect opportunity to blame me.”

Fiona frowns. “That was their whole plan? To kidnap Lena, Gina, and Leslie?”

“Yes,” I reply, nodding. “I personally feel that he hasn’t gotten over losing his chance at you, so he wants to find new victims.”

She shudders, no doubt remembering the way Tobias threatened her. “But surely, all the men who went with Tobias can speak up about what really happened? They followed himand got slaughtered. It was against your order, so obviously, Tobias is to blame.”

I sigh, shaking my head. “It’s not that simple. Those boys followed him for glory. They were convinced it was the only way to return honor to the pack. The fact that I opposed the idea, and let this happen to them, just makes me look worse.”

There is a pained look in her eyes and a high note of tension in the air I can’t ignore.

Something is wrong. I can feel it.

“Fiona… has something happened? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

For the briefest of seconds, I see panic flash in her eyes. But then it’s gone so fast, I have to question if I even saw it.

“I’m just stressed out, like we all are,” she answers.

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