Page 36 of Secret Wolf Baby

Claire nodded. “She’s in my class, and she has a huge movie collection. She wanted to show me some of her favorites, and we were going to make popcorn. She had a ton of movies I’ve never seen because Grandpa wouldn’t let me.”

I didn’t think I had ever seen Claire this excited about watching movies before. Dad had been pretty controlling and restrictive with her, so I wasn’t surprised. But seeing her now felt like seeing an entirely new daughter. It made me smile.

“Of course you can go,” I said. “I’m happy you’re making friends.”

Claire nodded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. “I actually really like it here. My teacher is great, and all the girls in class are really nice.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her happy—happier than I had ever seen her in the Blood Moon pack—meant that everything wasn’t an entire waste. I wanted her to be able to enjoy herself and make friends and get in trouble. To do all the things kids who came from a loving household should do.

What happens if this all ends?I wondered, a chill creeping over me. If Jackson uncovered the truth about Claire, would he decide he didn’t want to bother with us anymore? Would he kick us to the curb and leave us to fend for ourselves, the way he did to me all those years ago? Or, worse, would he send us back to Reacher? I didn’t think I could bear putting Claire back in that world, not when she was so much happier here.

My mouth had turned dry, and I swallowed hard. All I cared about was protecting Claire. Right now, that meant keeping the truth about her as far away from Jackson as possible. As long as he never found out, I would never have to worry about him rejecting her.

The doorbell rang, dragging me out of those thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself from my spot on the sofa and went down the hall.

I had just gripped the doorknob, preparing to turn it, when I froze. A familiar scent had wafted up my nose, one I had known since I was born. And another equally familiar scent. Neither of them welcome.

I gasped, my body stiffening with terror. Panic raced through me, paralyzing me. What were they doing here? They weren’t supposed to be here. I was supposed to be safe from them.

Part of me wanted to walk the other way, to pretend I wasn’t home and ignore the entire thing. But that wouldn’t accomplish anything. They would hound me until I relented, dragging anyone they could into it if they thought it would get me to do whatever it was they wanted. The best thing I could do was minimize the damage and talk to them now.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled the door open. Reacher and Dad stood in front of me.

My stomach clenched and plummeted at the same time. I had hoped that I was wrong, that I had imagined it when I recognized their scents. Since moving here, I had hoped that, at the very least, the most I would ever have to deal with Dad and Reacher again would be their vaguely threatening phone calls. I had hoped that after a while, they might lose interest in the whole situation and stop bothering me altogether. I had hoped that I might actually break free from them.

Staring at them now, I realized how absolutely stupid I had been. There was no way they were ever going to let me go or relinquish their hold on me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my mouth dry. They could be here for any number of reasons. They could be here to threaten me, to figure out what I had learned, to just remind me what they expected of me, or—just the thought of it petrified me—they had changed their mind and were here to take me back. Or, worse, take Claire back.

Dad tutted. “Is that really how you want to talk to your alpha and father?”

“He’s not my alpha anymore, though. You made sure of that when you two married me off.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could think better of them. They surprised me as much as they did Dad and Reacher.

A low growl emanated from Dad’s throat. His eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward. Reacher raised his hand, stopping Dad from moving further. His cold eyes leveled their gaze at me.

“Seems the time away hasn’t improved your manners at all,” Reacher commented.

All those thoughts about feeling at home, about being free and maybe finally letting go of the past, flew out the window. Instead, I was the same timid girl I had been for the last few years, scared of my own shadow. Just seeing them again forced the weight of years of trauma back onto my shoulders.

“What do you want?” I repeated.

“What do you think?” Reacher said. “I want to know what you’ve found out so far.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” I said. I started to close the door, but Reacher stuck his hand out, pushing the door fully open and causing me to stumble back.

“I think you’re going to want to, though,” Reacher said, a sinister smile playing on his lips. “Tell me… have you told Jackson he’s Claire’s father yet?”

The air rushed out of my lungs. I froze in place, my mouth opening and closing in shock as I tried to get my racing thoughts back under control. They knew. How did they know? I had never told anyone. My parents had demanded I tell them on countless occasions in the past, but I had always refused.

I remained immobile as Reacher stared smugly at me. He raised his eyebrow. “Why don’t you come outside and have a chat with us? I’d ask you to invite us in, but I think your mate would start asking too many questions if he noticed other shifters’ scents in his house, don’t you think?”

My jaw worked, and my mind raced with panic as I scrambled to think of something I could say that would get them to leave.

“Just go,” I said. Then, trying to keep my voice even, “Please.”

Reacher’s expression darkened. “If you don’t talk with us now, then I’ll tell your mate exactly who Claire is and what a liar you are,” he threatened.

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