Page 67 of Cruel Alpha Daddy

Love. All I can see in his face is love.

I cradle Caleb against my chest, fighting tears. Rider smiles, and it’s the most beautiful, peaceful expression I’ve ever seen on his face.

He gives me a slight nod and turns towards Tobias. My heart leaps like it’s trying to bounce out of my chest.

No!

Caleb wriggles in my arms. I put him back down on the ground, holding his shoulders and looking sternly into his eyes.

“It was extremely naughty of you to sneak along on this mission!” I scold him. “This is dangerous—we’re right in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by vicious wolves!”

Caleb shrugs and gives me a cocky grin. It’s a smile I’ve often seen on Rider’s face.

“It was pretty easy to get away from Aunt Lucy. Then I just ran around the block and snuck into the trailer of one of the trucks. No one saw me.”

“You’ve done a stupid thing, Caleb! This is reckless and irresponsible, not to mention disobedient. It’s one thing to break the rules and quite another to put yourself in danger!”

Caleb sticks his chin out, glaring at me. Again, I’m reminded of his father.

Which means he’s hard-headed and stubborn, and talking sense into him is never going to work.

“I wasn’t going to let you go away again!” Caleb snaps. His little face has turned red, and I see more than a frightened child. In his green eyes and tiny clenched fists, there is a deep, enduring strength.

“Oh, my baby,” I whisper, stroking back his blond hair. “I told you I’ll never leave you.”

“But you did, Mom! Not just the first time, but again to come on this mission. You lied to me!”

“I had to! This is too important, and I had to be here to help your—”

I catch myself, closing my lips on the next word. Caleb frowns, cocking his head slightly.

“Why, Mom?” he asks. I can’t take his steady, penetrating gaze.

I have to tell him sometime… and he’s growing up. I can’t keep treating him like a baby.

With a deep sigh, I close my eyes and will my pounding heart to settle. An awful, fluttery feeling is bouncing around inside my chest, spreading chills through the rest of my body. When I look up at Caleb, his stern look is shadowed by a hint of fear.

“Mom, what is it?”

I gently turn him around so he can see the clearing. Rider is taking long, confident strides towards Tobias. I’ve never seenhim look so sure of himself. Even though he’s always carried himself with strength, there was a defeated look to him as well.

As if there was no point in fighting, but it was all he knew.

“That man out there… the one with the red hair… he’s—he’s your dad.”

Caleb turns and looks at me, his eyes wide with shock. “What?”

“That’s why I had to come, baby,” I answer, stroking his shoulders. “I was away for so long because I was helping your dad. He’s trying to make a good, strong pack, and he needs me. I couldn’t let him fight alone. I had to be here.”

Caleb shakes his head, turning his eyes back to the fight. I can feel him trembling under my hands as he watches his father getting closer to Tobias.

“So that guy there, he’s a bad wolf?” Caleb asks, pointing at Tobias.

“Yes, baby. He’s a very bad wolf.”

“And these other guys are with him?”

“Yeah. Alpha Bailey came to make sure these guys don’t cause any more trouble, no matter what happens.”