Page 4 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

The sounds of our struggle had drawn the others. With a skittering of pebbles, they slid to a halt a few feet away. As they arrived, Jenny shifted to stand beside me again, unwilling to take her chances on running away.

“Dammit, Christa,” Colson cursed, shaking me slightly. “Why did you run? What are you even doing here?”

His frustration was obvious, but I couldn’t bring myself to give him the satisfaction of a real answer. “Bringing the transport back from the Moonstone pack,” I said. “I thought that was obvious.”

“Don’t be sassy,” he said harshly. “You’re an elite member of the Sparkle Hollow pack. Why are you running errands like some low-level minion?”

“Why do you care?” I asked.

“If you want to live, you’ll answer his questions,” Alpha Charles pointed out.

I gulped, knowing I would have to put my pride aside to save us. “What do you want to know?” I asked.

“What is the purpose of the transport, why are you the one delivering it, and who’s the girl?” Colson asked.

There was no way I was going to tell Colson about why I had fallen out of favor in Sparkle Hollow, but at this point, I didn’t think it mattered if he knew what the equipment was for.

“The tech is a delivery from the Moonstone pack for Alpha Lex in Sparkle Hollow,” I explained. “I volunteered to ensure that it was delivered safely. It includes surveillance equipment because Alpha Lex wants to monitor larger areas of our territory and help our allies in Pinedale. With all the attacks against our packs lately, security has been a pretty important topic of conversation amongst the alphas.”

“We saw a crate of drones as well,” Axel pointed out. “Is Sparkle Hollow going on the offense?”

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me,” I answered truthfully.

“And the girl? Can she shift?” Colton pressed. I could see in his eyes that he had been wondering about her the entire time. Now that I was answering his questions, he wasn’t going to stop until he got the answer he was looking for. The one answer I couldn’t give him.

“No, my daughter can’t shift. She’s half-human,” I explained. It was one truth followed by a lie, but it was necessary to protect her. I never wanted her to find out who her father was.

Colson inspected her, and I could tell he was looking for similarities. Ashy-blond hair framed her round, delicate face atop a slim frame. Aside from her brown eyes, which were common enough, all Colson would see was a reflection of me.

“What’s your name?” he asked her.

“Jenny,” she answered quietly.

“Since when did Sparkle Hollow have an alliance with the Moonstones?” Desmond interjected.

“That’s not really any of your business, is it?” I countered, my hackles raising up in response to his domineering tone.

“Colson,” Desmond said, turning his attention away from me, “come on, man. They’re just going to keep running off until we deal with this problem. You know what needs to be done.”

Jenny’s dark brown eyes widened in fear. I was tempted to fall to the ground and beg for their mercy, but it would do no good. All I could offer my daughter now was a steady presence as we faced whatever fate awaited us.

“Get in the car,” Colson said suddenly to Jenny and me.

“You can’t be serious—” Desmond began.

“We’ll talk in a minute,” Colson snapped. “You two, get in.”

He held the door open for us, and we climbed into the back seat. As the door shut behind us, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had just signed our death warrants.

Chapter 3 - Colson

Desmond’s request wasn’t one I could even entertain. There was no way I was going to allow Christa and her daughter to be murdered in front of me—or anywhere else. We may not be together anymore, but I still cared for her. No. She would live. I just needed to convince the others that it was in their best interests to allow that.

These guys are more trouble than they’re worth, my wolf said.

No argument there, I agreed.But this is what we have to work with right now.

“We aren’t ready for a battle with Sparkle Hollow,” I reiterated as I rejoined the Dark Alpha group. “These two are under my protection.”

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