Page 13 of Bully Alpha's Secret Baby

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, keeping my voice low. Part of me doesn’t want to make a scene, but the betrayal is gnawing at me, making it hard to keep my temper in check. When an alpha gives an order, it’s supposed to be followed without question. My father banished Jade three years ago, and that means no one in the pack should’ve had any contact with her whatsoever.

“You’ve known this whole time, haven’t you?” I continue. “That Jade had a kid. You’ve been in contact with her.”

Alec gives me a half-hearted shrug, followed by a nod. “Yeah, I’ve known.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut, but I keep my expression neutral. “And you didn’t think that was something worth mentioning? Your alpha’s supposed to know what’s happening in his own damn pack, Alec. You weren’t supposed to have anything to do with her!”

He doesn’t flinch or back down. “Look, after you banished her, she had no one. What was I supposed to do, just let her suffer? It’s not like we have parents who could do anything. So I stepped up.”

My fists clench at my sides. “You were supposed to tell me. You were supposed to trust my father to make the right choice.”

He lets out a bitter laugh. “Trust? After what he did to her? After you and your father threw her out of the pack without a second thought? No, Damien. I wasn’t going to stand by and watch my sister struggle while you played alpha.”

My wolf is stirring inside me, angry and restless, and I have to breathe through the urge to shift. “You went behind my back.”

“For her,” he shoots back, stepping closer, his eyes burning with anger. “I did it for her, because you left her with nothing. You might be alpha, but that doesn’t mean you can just treat people like they’re disposable.”

I don’t recognize the shifter standing in front of me. Alec has always been my right-hand man, the one person I could count on, but now? Now, I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, wondering if I can trust anyone at all. He hid this from me. He helped her, and he never once thought to tell me. Not even after I took over as alpha.

“How long?” I ask, my voice dangerously calm. “How long have you been helping her?”

Alec’s eyes narrow, and for the first time, I see the cracks in his resolve. “Since the day she left. I made sure she had money, a place to stay. I did what family should’ve done.”

“You should’ve told me.”

“I didn’t owe you that,” he snaps back. “I owedher.”

There’s a long silence that stretches between us. For a moment, I don’t know what to say. The betrayal stings more than I expected. Alec wasn’t just my beta-in-waiting; he was my best friend. And now, everything feels fractured.

“I’ll handle this from now on,” I finally declare. “You don’t need to be involved anymore.”

“Yeah,” he mutters as he jerks his head toward the chapel, where Jade is standing on the front steps, gawking. “I can see you’re handling it just fucking fine, Damien.”

He turns and walks away, leaving me standing there, staring after him. The sound of his footsteps fades into the night, and I’m left alone with the weight of everything that’s just come crashing down around me.

Jade. Alec. The pack.

I thought I had control. But now, I’m not so sure.

Chapter 4 - Jade

This alpha is lucky I don’t punch him in the throat.

Watching Alec walk away, stiff and barely containing his anger, makes my blood red-hot. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of whatever twisted power play Damien thinks he’s running.

Alec took the brunt of the heat for helping me—me and Penny—and all Damien could do was strut around like the king of the mountain, reminding everyone who’s in charge. My nails dig into my palms so hard it hurts, but I can’t stop myself. I’m so angry I could scream.

I can’t just let this go. Not this time.

Before I can think better of it, I stomp toward Damien, grabbing his arm and yanking him off to the side of the chapel, away from the prying eyes of pack members and elders. He doesn’t resist. He’s too caught off-guard to react, and for a second, I almost enjoy the flash of surprise in his eyes. Good. He should be surprised. I’m not playing by his rules anymore.

“What the hell was that?” I hiss as soon as we’re out of earshot.

Damien raises his eyebrows so high, his forehead wrinkles. “What are you talking about?”

I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. It’s the kind of laugh that comes from years of frustration breaking free near to the point of hysteria. “Are you serious? You just laid into my brother for helping me! You know, the thing he did because you and your father decided I wasn’t worth keeping around anymore?”

His jaw tightens, and I see the faintest flicker of guilt in his eyes, but it’s gone as fast as it appeared. “Alec made his choice. He knew the consequences of breaking the alpha’s orders, and he’s lucky all I did was bitch at him a little.”

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