Page 6 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“Why couldn’t you just take us home?”

“This was the compromise that allowed you and Jenny to live,” I told her. “If I try to take you back to Sparkle Hollow, we all die.”

“That’s stupid,” Christa snapped. “Why would they killyou?”

“That’s the way things work here. There’s a price to pay for betraying the group, and I’m not interested in paying it. So, you better get used to it.”

“And if I don’t?”

“If you don’t get used to it?” I asked, taking a step toward her. “Well, then your stay here will be very unpleasant. If you do as I say, no harm will come to you. I can promise that.”

She needed to know how serious I was about her following my instructions, but I wanted her to know that she was safe here. Especially since her daughter’s safety was on the line, too.

She had given an involuntary shiver at my threat, but the fire hadn’t left her eyes. She was just as passionate and beautiful as she had always been, but there was a fierceness I hadn’t seen before. She would clearly do anything for her daughter.

“You’ve changed,” she said disdainfully. “What happened to the guy who swept me off my feet and made me see how goodthe world could be? Why are you being so cold and cruel? You’re not the man I used to know.”

“You have no idea,” I sighed, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. It was a familiar gesture, even after all these years. “You’re not the same as you used to be, either. What happened to that girl? The one with the big dreams and kind heart?”

“She grew up and realized that no one is telling the truth about who they really are,” Christa snapped.

Her words were like a slap in the face, which was exactly how she intended them to be. I couldn’t ignore the decade that had come between us. She may have been my one true love and the woman I would have done anything for, but that was a long time ago. A lifetime.

“It’s just you and me, baby,” I said to Christa. “Forever and ever.”

“I can’t wait for our forever,” she replied, nuzzling into my chest.

We had snuck away from the pack celebration in Sparkle Hollow to bring in the new year and hidden in one of the cabins on the outskirts of town. No one ever came here, Christa assured me. We wouldn’t be disturbed.

It had been all the information I needed to finally drop my guard down and share my whole self with her. I had never been with anyone else, and I had been nervous about my performance. She was inexperienced, too, and together, we had figured it out.

Never before had I felt so content and sure of my place in the world. With Christa by my side, I felt invincible.

The fire burned in the wood stove, keeping out the chill of the air outside. Snow had begun to fall earlier that day, and I knew we would have to leave soon. I ran my fingers over her bare skin, enjoying the sensation of her supple smoothness against my fingertips.

“I wish we could stay here like this,” I told her.

“We have the rest of our lives to be together,” she reminded me.

I smiled at her assurances, knowing she was right. Christa and I were going to be together until we were old and gray. She was my one true mate.

“What if I don’t stay here?” she countered.

“If you leave my territory without my permission, you had better hope that you get to Sparkle Hollow before the Dark Alphas intercept you. If you do happen to get there safely, you’ll get to meet the new version of Colson Marsden when I attack your pack. And no one will be safe from us. No one,” I assured her.

Chapter 4 - Christa

The conversation with Colson didn’t go as planned. I had accepted that it was probably best to get Jenny to sleep as soon as possible, but in my mind, there was no reason for us to stay past one night. The love that Colson and I had once shared had died when he had left me behind. It didn’t matter that we had planned a future together—that future was gone. The man I had fallen for was gone. Colson might still look the same, but his heart—once loving, generous, and full of wonder—had been replaced by a cold and violent one. It would take dynamite to blow through his hard exterior to even get a glimpse at what remained of his past self, not to mention time. Time I didn’t have.

No, this situation had nothing to do with me, and the second I got a chance I was going to make sure that Jenny and I left him in the same manner he had left me—without a word or a trace. Whatever weird feud all these alphas had with Sparkle Hollow had nothing to do with me or my daughter. That was the business of alphas and the ruling class, not for a mere pack member like myself.

I was furious with Colson for trapping us here like this. Sure, I had walked inside the house of my own accord, but it was still essentially kidnapping. Just because I hadn’t been physically restrained didn’t mean there was no coercion involved. I wanted to pay him back for everything he had ever done to me. Someday I would, but not today. Right now, my main concern was Jenny.

When I got back into the room where I had tucked Jenny in, I saw that she was still passed out in the same position. Her mouth was pursed, and her brows were wrinkled as if she wasdeep in thought. With my thumb, I smoothed the lines above her eyes and saw her settle even deeper into the pillows.

She had always been a sound sleeper, and I took the opportunity to memorize her face. Gone was the tiny baby who had kept me up at all hours of the night and the energetic toddler who kept me on my toes. In slumber, I could still see the same tiny features I had fallen in love with nine years ago. I remembered the way her little fingers curled around my thumb, and the chubby thighs spilling out below her diapers. The way she toddled around was still fresh in my memory, and I wiped a tear away from my eyes. Her father had missed every moment of her life so far, and it made my heart ache for what we had all been deprived of.

I shook my head to clear those thoughts and sighed deeply, wondering for the millionth time that evening what I should do next. Colson seemed to think we were safest here with him, but I wasn’t convinced. His track record for keeping his promises was low, as far as I was concerned. What was to stop him from letting one of the other alphas and their thugs take us away? Absolutely nothing, except his word. Whatever that was worth.

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