Page 59 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

And if you save her, and she goes back to her other lover, what then?

I shove these thoughts away, forcing my wolf to focus on the scent, not on the horrible possibility that I have a rival. The idea of Fiona leaving me after all we’ve shared is like a great, gaping hole in my heart that could swallow all the goodness and light I’ve found.

But I won’t let her die. Even if she does love someone else, I don’t want her to be hurt.

Is this what it means to be a good man?

I think of the pack and all I’ve promised them. If Fiona chooses not to stand by my side as luna, then I still have to lead.

I can’t let them down.

The weight of this responsibility is massive, heavy enough to crush me, and it scares me.

The only truth left is that I must embrace this. No matter the cost to my own heart, I must be alpha before all else.

The trees thin out, and the forest falls behind me. Ryan bursts out of the forest, joining me as I stop at the end of a dirt road. We shift back to human so we can examine the tire tracks.

“The scent is gone,” Ryan says.

I nod. “And this place is covered in tracks. We’ll never know which of these belongs to Tobias. And once we hit a main road, we’ll have nothing to follow.”

“We lost the trail,” Ryan says in defeat.

“We lost the trail,” I agree, trying not to let my heart be consumed by despair.

I have to have hope and fight on. Not just for Fiona but for the whole pack.

Chapter 22 - Fiona

Jack picks me up off the ground and carries me to the other side of the campground where Bae’s truck is waiting. We squeeze into the front, and Bailey guns the engine, speeding out of the parking lot.

“It’s going to take at least an hour to get back,” Bae says. “Can you text Gina and get her started on this?”

“Way ahead of you,” Jack says, already texting on his phone. “Lena’s awake and calling everyone right now.”

“I don’t like just letting Tobias go,” Kyle says uneasily. “He’s really bad news. It would be a good idea to tail him and see what he does.”

“Well, unfortunately, we only brought the one car,” Bae says wryly. “And it’s damn hard for a wolf to track a truck.”

“I know. That’s the only reason I didn’t go after him,” Kyle replies. “But you can be sure he’ll have a nasty surprise waiting for you tomorrow night.”

“I don’t remember seeing him either of the times we messed with Sawpit,” Bailey remarks.

Kyle shakes his head. “No, you wouldn’t. Tobias was just a low-level grunt five or six years ago, another face in the crowd. In Jethro’s time, Tobias kind of ran his own racket, but he stayed out of Jethro’s way.”

“What’s his overall plan?” Bae asks. “What motivates him?”

Kyle looks uncomfortable, glancing at me.

“It’s okay, Kyle. I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to say,” I tell him.

“Women,” Kyle says with a sigh. “The old alpha didn’t have a mate, neither did Jethro. Jethro, in particular, saw females as a weakness we didn’t need; he was all about the brotherhood. Tobias stayed in Sawpit a lot, running the bar and surrounding businesses. Whenever we hit a place, it was women he took more than anything else.”

“Jesus,” Jack says softly.

Kyle nods. “When a couple of the guys started to pick up mates, it burned Jethro up. He made it as hard for them as he possibly could. But I’m pretty sure Tobias was jealous.”

“He wants a mate of his own,” Bae suggests.

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