Page 33 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“Anyway, we should probably get home,” Christa said, breaking the tension. “Jenny will be wondering what we’re up to.”

I paid the tab, and we began the walk toward home, going slowly and leaning into each other for support in our partially inebriated state. We were nearly there when I felt a sudden urge to come clean.

“Hold on, Chris,” I said, pulling her to a stop and turning so we faced each other. “I’ve gone long enough without telling you the story behind the reason I left, but I don’t think I can keep it from you any longer. Can I…would you hear it? Is that okay?”

She nodded, so I plunged in headfirst.

“You know when we were younger, my choice of friendships wasn’t always the best. Well, the people I was running around with back then… they liked to play pranks. Cruel ones,” I said, highlighting the darkness of my story before I got too far into it. I wanted her to know she could stop me at any time.

“Go ahead,” she encouraged.

“We were all out drinking one night, wandering around in the forest near Sparkle Hollow and messing around,” I said. “They saw a car heading toward town on the old country road that crosses the train tracks. A train was coming, but the car was going to pass through first.”

“Wait,” Christa said, frowning. “That crash happened the night before you left.”

I nodded, continuing. “The guys thought it would be funny for one of us to pretend their foot was stuck in the tracks, to make whoever was in the car think they were going to get hit.We drew straws to see who would do it, and I drew the short straw.”

“Col…”

“Hold on. Let me get this out,” I plead. “I got into position a little way away from the road and started making a racket, waving my hands to get them to stop, while my friends hid in the bushes by the road to watch what they would do. The car stopped on the tracks, and a man got out and walked toward me. I thought he knew a train was coming, but he was moving slowly. By the time he got to me and saw that I wasn’t really stuck, there was no way for him to get back to the car in time.”

Christa covered her mouth with her hands. I was sure she had heard about the train hitting the car, but she had never heard this part of the story before. No one had.

“My friends and I laughed at his expression when I jumped free of the tracks,” I continued. “I expected him to jump after me, but after he realized I was out of danger, he cursed at me, called me an idiot, and sprinted back toward his car. I remember thinking thathewas an idiot for running in the same direction as the train. I didn’t realize his wife was asleep in their vehicle.”

“He was trying to save her. He didn’t know a train was coming and thought he was just checking on you,” Christa realized.

“He wasn’t fast enough to get her out, and the train killed them both instantly,” I said. Tears began welling up in my eyes for the tragedy I had inflicted. “I went back to Sparkle Hollow and told the alpha what had happened—most of it, anyway. My friends, of course, fled the moment their plan went awry.”

“I don’t remember you being in Sparkle Hollow that day,” Christa said, concentrating on her memories. “I remembergoing to the pack house and hearing everyone argue about you, wanting to track you down.”

“It was early in the morning, before you would have been awake,” I explained. “They told me the couple who had been killed were allies of the pack, and that my actions had caused too many problems for them. They were going to lock me up with silver chains in the cells. I would have been okay with being punished for what I’d done, but they knew about my interest in you. They threatened to put you in the cells with me, too.”

“But they never did,” Christa said.

I shook my head, my heart dropping to my stomach as I said the next words. “No, because I told them I didn’t care about you. I wanted to throw them off your scent and make them think I didn’t have any feelings for you so that you would be safe from their punishment.”

“Then why did you run away?” she asked. “Why not stay in the cell until your punishment was over, and then be free of them with me?”

“Because they needed to believe I didn’t love you, and that hurting you wouldn’t affect me,” I explained. “No wolf would accept that kind of punishment unless it was for a noble cause—like protecting their mate. So when they tried to subdue me, I fought back. I injured some of them and ran away. It was the only thing I could do to keep you safe. I never imagined you’d try to defend me and end up being punished, anyway.”

“It looks like we caused our own downfalls,” Christa said with a sigh.

I placed my hands on either side of her face, staring deeply into her gray eyes so she would know how much I meant my next words.

“Chris, I am so sorry for the hurt I’ve caused and for the things I’ve done,” I said. “It’s unforgivable, but I hope to someday earn that forgiveness from you.”

“Forgiveness isn’t earned. It’s given,” she replied softly. “And I forgive you.”

Tears fell down my cheeks at the simple yet beautiful statement. I had a long way to go toward forgiving myself, but Christa made it seem like it might be possible.

I leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss, feeling the softness of her lips against my own. With a delicate touch, her hands reached up to brush the tears away from my cheeks as I pulled away.

“I’ve got a lot of making up to do,” I assured her. “But I swear to you, I’ll be a better man. The man you deserve.”

Chapter 16 - Christa

Colson’s apology still rang in my ears the following day, as did his promises. I believed that his story was true and that he felt he truly had been protecting me. But believing it and agreeing with his plan were different things.

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