Page 42 of Fall of the Alpha

She was who he wanted.

And he’d learned his lesson about waiting from Tatiana.

His lost love would not have been happy knowing that he’d waited this long to find a mate, but he thought she would have understood. He’d been waiting for Bella.

Now she was here, and he wasn’t going to let her go.

Besides, she’d said yes.

The door chimed, and he got up, immediately putting himself between the bed where Bella rested and the door. He checked the vid screen.

Jordan.

Striding over to the door, he pushed the button to open it. The former warlord’s son’s cold, crystal-blue gaze met his. Jordan had grown into quite the male, a far better Alpha than his father had ever been.

“Paldon is here. He brought his mate. They’ve been put in a room.”

“Good.” Paldon could wait and stew for a bit. “We’ll see them in the morning.”

The other male nodded, but his eyebrow rose. Waiting. Jordan was his right-hand man for a reason.

The Wolf smiled.

“She said yes.”

25

THE ALPHA’S OFFER

Paldon

Impatient to see his daughter, Paldon sat tensely at the table he’d been led to, his mate’s hand in his. She was practically quivering, her breath coming in fast, rapid pants. Not because she was scared.

She was too anxious to see their daughter to be scared.

Paldon was scared and very aware of how vulnerable they were.

He should have never allowed Bella to go into the territories. Screw Grigori and his shitty assurances that no one knew who Bella was to him. They’d protected her for so long, then it was all gone in the blink of an eye… Paldon didn’t fool himself. He knew he had his enemies, even in the zone.

But he’d thought his daughter was safe.

Sheshould have been safe.

Paldon glanced over his shoulder. There were two doors in the room, one behind him where guards stood and one on the other side of the room that he could see from his seat. There were no guards on that door.

The guards behind him were Alphas. He was sure of it. They emanated violence. Threat. Intimidation. He’d never been more aware of his Beta status. This was why he hated the Zones. Hated being around the Alphas.

His own guards had not been allowed inside. Both he and Carina had been patted down—searched—before they’d been allowed inside. When he’d protested, he’d been told that he could leave if he wanted. Carina had immediately said she would stay and held out her hands while the female Alpha had run her hands over her briskly but thoroughly. Unable to stomach his mate doing something he could not, Paldon gritted his teeth while the male Alpha with the icy blue eyes did the same.

From the male’s looks, Paldon was fairly certain he was the son of the old Warlord. Jeffos. That maniac. In a lot of ways, the Wolf was easier to deal with. He’d lulled Paldon into a sense of complacency over the years. Which he was paying for now.

The door across from them opened, and Paldon and Carina jumped to their feet… Paldon recognized the Alpha who walked through the door, even though it had been years since they’d set eyes on each other. The Wolf was a little older, a little greyer, but still a force as he swaggered into the room. His presence hadn’t diminished at all—if anything, it had grown.

Paldon felt Carina quail beside him, leaning toward him, as her senses registered the additional threat.

Or perhaps it was the way his hard green eyes rested on her before turning his gaze to Paldon. Forcing himself to remain calm, Paldon lifted his chin as the Wolf moved to take the seat across the table from them.

Malachi. Think of him as Malachi.

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