Page 13 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“You clearly aren’t from around here, are you?” the third woman replied with a chuckle. “That’s just the way these Dark Alphas are. You’ll get used to it.”

“Are you three in the Marsden pack, then?” I asked. I hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity to talk to the rest of Colson’s pack, and I was keen to find any potential weaknesses that would help me find a way to get Jenny out of here safely.

“Yep. Born and raised,” said the raven-haired woman.

“So, you can tell me what the deal is with the Dark Alphas,” I said. “It seems like such a weird name to me. Is it just an alliance?”

“Not really,” the blond one said. “The packs of Wentworth, Rutherford, Vitali, Desmond, and Charles are all in such close proximity that the alphas decided to team up. They have rules amongst themselves, but they’re always subject to change at the whims of whichever alpha is in favor.”

“Luckily for us, that’s usually Alpha Marsden,” the raven-haired woman added.

“It doesn’t really matter, though,” said the brown-haired woman. “All we need to know is that our territories are safe. Beyond that, the alphas can duke it out.”

“I’ve never heard of packs banding together without a formal agreement before,” I admitted. From the way the women spoke, it didn’t seem like the Dark Alphas had long-lasting capabilities. Sooner or later, someone would break trust with another pack inside the group. What followed was sure to be a bloodbath. “How close together are all these packs?” I asked.

“We’re pretty much in the middle,” the blond explained. “Each pack has their own town, a home base that the other packs don’t go into without an invitation. But the claimed territory of each one goes past that.”

“How far beyond the towns?” I asked.

I was too eager, and the question came out more impatient than I had intended. I saw the three women exchange glances with one another, and I knew I had made a mistake.

“You’ll have to ask the alpha,” the blond replied.

They moved away from us and continued shopping, whispering together in low voices as they cast glances back at Jenny and me.

“Mom? Are you okay?”

I hadn’t realized that Jenny had been asking me something. My mind had been focused on what the women had said—and what they hadn’t said. Pack Marsden was in the middle of the Dark Alphas group, and that meant Jenny and I were trapped here indefinitely.

“Yes, I’m sorry, Jenny,” I assured her. “My mind just wandered a bit. Should we head back to Colson’s house?”

“Sure, Mom,” she said.

The walk back was quiet. My mind was still trying to wrap itself around what I had learned about our new home. The women hadn’t been as forthcoming as I would have liked. They didn’t regard me with contempt as some of the other pack members did, but that didn’t seem to matter. I needed to figure something out, though, and quickly. The thought of allowing my daughter to be kept as a prisoner a moment longer than necessary was repugnant to me.

And I knew the longer we stayed, the more likely it was that the truth of her parentage would be revealed.

“I’m going to take a walk to clear my head,” I told Jenny when we got back to Colson’s small, two-bedroom house. “Make sure you stay inside until I get back, okay?”

With Jenny’s promise to stay inside, I made my way back to the street and began a loop around the neighborhood. It wasn’t a large town by any means, but there were a few people out and about at this hour.

Just then, I saw one of Colson’s neighbors putting a trash bag into his dumpster. He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties, most likely fresh out of high school and still living with his parents. His black-rimmed glasses, unkempt hair, and wrinkled jeans gave the appearance of a man who wasn’t used to getting female attention.

Old enough to answer my questions, but young enough that he probably hasn’t learned not to tell pack secrets to strangers,Cassia pointed out.

She had a point. I was much more likely to get the information I needed from a wolf of the male persuasion, and I had just been presented with the perfect target.

“Hey there, neighbor!” I called out to him, putting a friendly lilt in my tone that I rarely used. It made my voice sound unnatural, but if I was going to get to the bottom of things, I would need to use all the charms at my disposal.

“H-hi,” he stuttered, looking at me with wide eyes.

“I’m Christa,” I said, holding my hand out to shake his. “I’m staying with Colson—that is, Alpha Marsden.”

There was no telling what this guy had heard about me, so I figured I’d cover my bases as far as introductions went. No need to bring up that my visit was coerced.

“Harry,” he said, placing his sweaty palm into my hand.

I giggled and tucked an imaginary piece of hair behind my ear while I looked away, then back into his eyes. He took a shaky breath as his pupils widened, visibly affected by my flirtatious performance.

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