Page 16 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“I just feel like I should be able to by now. Mom’s a strong shifter, and my father is a powerful one, too. So, what’s wrong with me?”

I wanted to reassure her that nothing was wrong with her, but I was too focused on what she had just admitted. Her father was a powerful shifter. Not a human.

Jenny probably didn’t realize that she had just told me her secret—if she even realized it was a secret. Maybe Christa hadn’t even told her to keep it from me. But then, why did she tell me that Jenny’s father was human? Why wouldn’t she admit that her daughter was a full wolf shifter who was unable to shift? It was a common enough occurrence, especially for kids. Many pack members didn’t obtain the ability to transform until they reached puberty.

The only reason Christa had for lying was to throw me off so I didn’t find out the truth. It was the only explanation, and I needed to hear it from Christa herself. Whether Christa wanted to admit it or not, I knew that Jenny was my daughter.

Suddenly, I felt a protective urge toward the girl. It was important that she knew how special she was.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you,” I gently told Jenny. “I promise. You and your wolf will be running through the forest before you know it.”

My words seemed to resonate with her. Although she didn’t look entirely convinced, she seemed to be in better spirits.

“Listen, though,” I continued. “I know you don’t want to listen to your mom right now, but it really isn’t a great idea for you to be out here by yourself.”

“I know, but there’s nothing else to do,” Jenny whined.

“Have you met the Marsden pack kids yet?” I asked.

“No.”

“I saw a bunch of them playing down by the school. Do you know where that is?”

Jenny nodded.

“How about you go there now and tell them that Alpha Colson sent you to play with them.”

“Alright,” she said. “Thanks, Colson.”

She skipped off toward the town, and I felt a rush of relief that she was heading somewhere that was more easily monitored. Even if she wasn’t my daughter, I wouldn’t want a kid her age playing alone out here. Not when we were surrounded by Dark Alpha packs of questionable morals. Knowing that in all likelihood, shewasmy daughter made it even more imperative.

Time to confront Christa,Orin said.

I sighed. I had been doing such a good job of avoiding her the past few days. But this really couldn’t wait.

Chapter 8 - Christa

I had been doing my best to avoid Colson ever since he told me he left me in Sparkle Hollow to “protect” me. Even if I had believed him, his excuse was flimsy at best. Nothing could have been worse for me at the time than him abandoning me in my time of need. No matter what he claimed to be true, I knew he had wronged me. He hadn’t even had the decency to apologize.

I had never been one to sit around and mope, though, so I had ordered Jenny to stay in the house and gone to the pack house to look for something useful to do. That was where I ran into Sienna.

“Hey!” she said, her flaming red hair giving her away at once. I hadn’t known her well, but our paths had crossed back in Sparkle Hollow. “Christa, what are you doing here?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” I muttered.

I wasn’t sure exactly what story I wanted to tell her. After all, she had recently gotten married to Alpha Franco Stone. Everyone in Sparkle Hollow seemed to have welcomed them with open arms, but their pack shared a town with my captors. There was no way I could get Sienna and her mate to take my side and help Jenny and me escape without facing severe consequences. I knew my plight wasn’t worth the risk for them, and telling her about it would only make her feel bad.

“Well, I’m happy to see someone from back home,” she said. “I’m just checking in with the Marsden pack’s beta. Gotta keep the peace between these packs. What are you up to?”

“For sure,” I agreed, my suspicions confirmed. “Honestly, I’m just looking for something to do.”

“The beta said they’re working on some renovations out back if you wanted to check that out,” she replied helpfully.

“I might. It’s been a while since I worked with my hands, but I could use the distraction.”

“If you get bored later and want to come visit, anyone in the pack can point you toward our pack,” Sienna said with a smile.

“Um, sure thing. Sounds great,” I said, but something told me that visiting the Redeeming Light pack would be totally out of the question.

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