Page 5 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“What do you intend to do with them?” Alpha Julian asked.

They all shifted uncomfortably. I could tell that Desmond was of half a mind to pull Christa out of the car and ensure there were no witnesses to our ambush. The only card I had left to play was a trump. No one would dare hurt an alpha’s luna.

“Christa is my mate,” I announced to the group. “We’ve been separated, but the bond is still there. I assure you, she will be loyal to me when it counts.”

“It didn’t look like loyalty when she was high-tailing it out of here,” Axel pointed out.

“I told you, we’ve been apart for a while. Haven’t you ever been in a lover’s spat?” I joked.

“Looked like more than a spat,” Julian mumbled.

I gritted my teeth inwardly, trying to maintain my position and put off an air of nonchalance. “Either way, I promise it will get sorted out,” I assured them. “She just needs a little time to understand her situation. Do you guys have a handle on things here? If so, I’m going to take them back to my place and get them settled in.”

“Do you need an escort?” Desmond asked.

“That won’t be necessary,” I assured him.

I could tell he didn’t believe that I was bringing Christa and Jenny back to my territory, but I had no reason to lie about that. Of all the members of the Dark Alphas, I had the biggest reason for wanting Sparkle Hollow to stay away. I may have told them that Christa would be loyal, but there was no doubt in my mind that the second she got back to Alpha Lex, I would have warriors on my doorstep.

“Let us know if you need anything,” Axel offered.

“We’ll be by soon to check on you,” Desmond added. The veiled threat was unnecessary, but I could see that a few of the other alphas were in agreement with him.

Looks like battle lines are being drawn here as well,I told Orin.

He growled, ready to spring into action against our haphazard group of unlikely allies. We really needed to find a way to extricate ourselves from the group, but it was going to be a while before we could put that into motion. The area we lived in was simply too volatile.

Someday,I assured him.

I walked back to my car slowly, trying to decide how to approach this conversation with Christa. She wasn’t going to come quietly, but there really was no other choice.

“Take us home,” she demanded when I got in the driver’s seat.

I didn’t answer immediately but gave her a hard look in the rearview mirror. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I told her. “I’m taking you back to my pack house. It’s late, and I’m sure Jenny is exhausted. Once she’s settled, you and I can talk.”

Christa looked down at Jenny and realized that I was right about her. The adrenaline was wearing off. I imagined that the child would fall asleep before we even got home.

“Fine,” she said, admitting defeat.

The ride home was quiet, with only the sound of the road beneath the tires. As predicted, Jenny fell asleep on her mom’s shoulder within ten minutes. By the time I pulled into my garage, even Christa was having a hard time staying alert.

“I got her,” I assured her, reaching for Jenny’s sleeping form.

She looked at me in alarm as I pulled Jenny into my arms. “I can do it,” she argued in a whisper.

“You’re so stubborn,” I whispered back. “Chill.”

She huffed at me but allowed me to carry Jenny into the house. As soon as I set her down on my guest bed, Christa took over, removing Jenny’s shoes and tucking her into the covers. With one last look at her daughter, Christa softly closed the door and followed me out to the living room.

“Does she need anything else?” I asked. I had never had children stay with me before and didn’t know what the girl might need.

“To go home,” Christa shot back.

“That’s not happening,” I reminded her.

“What did you say to the others?”

“I told them the truth: that you and Jenny are coming to stay with me for a little while,” I said, intentionally leaving out the part about her being my mate. Christa was already furious with me, for a number of sins. There was no reason to add something else for her to be upset about.

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