Page 20 of Bully Alpha's Secret Baby

I push off the wall, and my arms fall to my sides as I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t need you to clear my name, Damien. I’m not some damsel in distress waiting for you to swoop in and save me.”

“I’m not trying to save you, Jade,” he says as she places Penny on the bed and shoos me out the door. “I’m trying to make things right.”

“Right?” I snort, my defenses snapping back into place. “You think you can just wave your alpha wand and fix everything? You think that’s going to make up for the fact that you threw me out like I was nothing? That you let the pack turn their backs on me?”

“I made a mistake, okay?” he says. “I know that. But I’m trying to fix it. I’m trying to give you and Penny a place here, with me.”

There’s something raw in his voice, something that makes my pulse quicken despite myself. And then he takes another step, and then another, until he backs me up against a wall. We’re too close. His scent—pine and something deeper, something purely Damien—wraps around me, making it hard to breathe.

His eyes lock on mine, and for a split second, I see it again. That connection, that spark that’s always been there, no matter how hard I’ve tried to snuff it out.

“This isn’t just about the pack,” he whispers. “You know that, right?”

My mouth goes dry, and I can’t swallow. “Don’t do this, Damien.”

“I’m not doing anything,” he argues, but his eyes flit down to my lips, then back up to meet mine. “But if you think this is just about the pack, you’re lying to yourself.”

His words hang in the air between us, heavy and full of tension. And dammit, he’s right. There’s more between us; therealways has been. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to go down that road again. Not after everything that’s happened.

I snake my hands between us and push against his hard torso, creating some space between us. “I can’t.”

“Jade—”

“I can’t do this,” I repeat, my voice firmer this time. “Not again. I can’t trust you, Damien. Not after—”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly, stepping closer again. “You know that.”

But I shake my head, backing up until I’m entirely squished against the wall. “I don’t know that. Not anymore.”

For a moment, he just stands there, staring at me like he’s trying to figure out what to say. But he doesn’t push it. Instead, he takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay.”

Just like that. One simple word, but it’s weighted with everything unsaid between us.

Damien glances over his shoulder toward the room where Penny is still fast asleep in his arms, and the hard edges of his face soften again. “I’ll go make sure she’s covered up.”

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. Not trusting myself to look at him for too long. Because if I do, I might not be able to stop myself from doing something really, really stupid.

Chapter 7 - Damien

I’m not usually one for regrets. Regrets are a waste of time—unproductive, useless. But as I sit here staring at the glow of my phone with Jade’s face flashing through my mind on a loop, I’m starting to think that maybe I’ve screwed things up worse than I realized.

She doesn’t trust me. I don’t blame her. I’m the one who turned her in to my father to save my own skin. Why should she believe a word I say?

I’m an alpha. I’ve spent my whole life making decisions that affect the people around me. Most of the time, those decisions have been pretty damn solid. But with Jade… hell, I’ve handled everything wrong. I threw her out when she needed me most, and now I’m just starting to see how much of an impact that had.

She’s guarded. Cold. Defensive. And it’s all because of me.

I run my hands through my hair and lean back in my office chair, trying to shake the heavy weight of guilt sitting on my chest. I’ve tried to convince myself that everything I’ve done has been for the good of the pack, but I’m not sure that excuse holds water anymore.

And now there’s Penny.

Our daughter.

I didn’t even know she existed, and now that I do, I feel like the world has shifted beneath my feet. The idea that Jade kept her from me… that burns. But I can’t sit here and pretend I didn’t give her every reason to do that.

I pull myself out of my head long enough to realize I need advice. And I know exactly who to talk to. Alec’s been the onlyone who’s ever given it to me straight, and I need him more than ever. Maybe this time, he won’t want to punch me in the face while doing it.

I shove my phone into my pocket and head out, pushing through the glass doors of the pack’s office building. The place is sleek and modern, like the tech company we run. Efficient and cutting-edge. The kind of place where even a shifter can feel at home amid the gadgets and data streams. Alec’s team is down a few floors, coding and working on all the systems that keep us ahead of the curve.

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