Page 52 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“I have nothing to prove to a weak alpha like you,” he said dismissively.

He was trying to put on a show of power, but I could see that my words had gotten under his skin. Alphas didn’t like to be questioned, especially not in front of their pack.

“Don’t be so sure,” Christa chided. “It seems like your warriors are wondering if you’re as tough as you claim to be. Walk away from Colson’s challenge, and you might just have an insurrection on your hands when you get home.”

It was a clever tactic, but Gage was a master of words and found a way to twist it around on us yet again.

“That’s exactly what you want to happen, isn’t it? You came here and infiltrated Pack Marsden, and now you’re trying to bring down all the Dark Alphas. But I saw right through you. And look,” he said, nodding toward the hill to the west. “The rest of the group is here to witness your downfall.”

The other alphas had indeed arrived at the scene. Gage believed they were on his side, but I noticed that they weren’t joining him on his side of the imaginary battle lines. They had come down the hill to stand between us, looking back and forth between our two parties.

“What’s going on here?” Alpha Vitali asked.

“Exactly what I told you would happen, Axel,” Gage declared. “Colson and his little bitch are trying to take us all down, so we picked up the trump card. Their daughter will be joining my pack now and learning what a real alpha looks like.”

The Dark Alphas looked at each other thoughtfully, trying to make sense of what Gage was saying before observing Christa and me with a look of careful consideration. While our bond was tenuous at best, it was also clear that Christa’s presence at the last meeting had been a turning point for them. With their help, we might have a chance at getting out of here unscathed.

“Bring the girl forward,” Axel commanded.

“But Vitali—”

“Now,” he interrupted Gage’s protest with a daggered look.

Gage grumbled and indicated that Jenny should be brought forward. His beta stood by her side, watching her carefully to make sure she stayed within their ranks. Axel continued his silent observation and then turned around to speak with the other alphas. Their low voices were hard to make out, but when he turned around to address us, I could see that a decision had been made.

“Your concerns have been heard, Alpha Desmond,” Axel said. “But the girl must be returned.”

Christa breathed a sigh of relief and opened her arms for Jenny to run into them. Jenny took a step toward her mother when Gage caught her arm.

“If we don’t get her, then no one does,” he threatened.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gage’s beta lurch forward, ready to enact his master’s threat and end Jenny’s life. His elongated claws were poised to rip into her as I shouted forJenny to drop to the ground. She obeyed without hesitation, and the wolf sailed through the empty air where she had stood. I jumped forward, shifting into my wolf form, snapping my jaws.

“No!” Gage screamed, but he was too late. Without a second thought, I clamped my teeth down on the beta’s exposed throat. Blood gushed from the wound as I ripped into him, tossing his lifeless body aside carelessly as Pack Desmond looked on in horror.

“I told you not to touch my daughter,” I growled, striding toward Gage in my human form.

“You’ll pay for that,” Gage spat, preparing to meet me on the battlefield.

“Enough!” Axel shouted.

Gage whirled around to look at the other alphas, a furious and dumbfounded expression on his face.

“Theremustbe retribution for this,” he said.

“Thatwasthe retribution, Desmond,” Axel countered. “We all witnessed the exchange between you two and saw that your second had broken ranks to take matters into his own hands. You may be an alpha, but so are the rest of us. You do not have the authority to go against our agreements.”

“Rutherford, Wentworth,” Gage said, appealing to the other alphas, “Charles—come on, you know I’m right. We can’t let them get away with betraying us like this!”

“Sorry, Gage,” Alpha Charles replied. “But you started it.”

Gage screamed, spittle flying from his mouth as his unintelligible yell hurtled through the air. His face was red and splotchy as he shouted, but it had no impact on the rest of us. For the first time, he allowed himself to look like the short-tempered child he was. When his scream was done, he kicked at the ground and took a deep breath to quell his anger.

Someone in his pack cleared their throat awkwardly, and I realized they had all shifted back into their human forms, unwilling to be my next victim if they appeared to be a threat to Jenny or Christa.

“Alpha Desmond,” Axel warned, “your pack will go home without any further displays of violence toward Alpha Marsden or any other member of the Dark Alphas group. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Gage said quietly.

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