Page 8 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

The others began to howl in approval as Jenny’s head snapped towards me. I could see the fear written all over her face. I only glanced at her for a moment, because if I looked any longer, my determination would falter, too. I was having a hard enough time regulating my emotions as it was. Instead, I pulled her to my side and stared Desmond down.

“If you eventryto touch her, I’ll rip you apart limb from limb,” I promised him.

“We’ll see about that,” he sneered.

“No, we won’t,” another voice interjected from behind us.

Colson had shown up just in time once again.

“Nice of you to join us,AlphaMarsden,” Desmond said. The emphasis he put on Colson’s title didn’t escape any of us, and I knew he was taking a dig at Colson’s ability to keep track of his prisoners. “You’re just in time for a little fun. We caught these two trying to sneak back to Sparkle Hollow, although they claim to be out for a walk.”

“I’m sure they were. We’ll head back to my house now,” Colson said, still trying to de-escalate the situation.

“You forgot to tell them where the boundaries of your territory are. I’m afraid they’re on my side of the line, and that means they’re my problem now,” Desmond sneered.

Crap. We’re not even in Marsden territory anymore?I asked my wolf. I didn’t think we had gone that far. These wolf packs must live close together if we had already trespassed into another pack’s land.

Don’t worry,Cassia replied.I can tell that Colson has a plan.

“According to our alliance, they are still under my protection,” Colson said.

“Like hell they are!” one of the other wolves interjected.

For the most part, the Desmond pack had been quiet. Their alpha was the brains of their operation; these guys were just his muscle. Now that another male had entered the scene, they were all keen to show just how tough they thought they were.

“You’d better pull your goons back before I’m forced to break our alliance myself,” Colson growled at his counterpart. “Ihave no problem taking out as many of your pack as I need to if they challenge my authority again.”

Desmond’s poker face faltered. He knew that allowing his pack to speak to another alpha of the alliance in a disrespectful way would only lead to trouble for him.

“Get back in line, Brahm,” Desmond ordered one of his pack members. The offending man hung his head slightly and took a few steps backwards away from us. “Make sure these two get back home safe, Alpha,” he said to Colson. “Don’t want them getting lost in the forest where no one can find them, now do we?”

Colson growled again, and Desmond waved his pack to follow him back toward their settlement.

“Get back home,” Colson ordered me and Jenny tersely. “Now.”

Once again, there was no point in arguing. If I chose to run with Jenny now, Desmond’s crew would be waiting somewhere else to pick us up. We were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, I thought.

I think I’ve got a pretty good read on both devils,Cassia countered.I choose the devil that isn’t trying to kill us.

It didn’t take long for us to get back to Colson’s house. By the time we did, the sun was starting to peek out over the horizon.

“What did Ifuckingtell you?” Colson shouted as soon as we got inside. “Don’t. Leave. The. Territory. How much clearer can I make it? You’re lucky that I found you when I did. Pack Desmond isn’t known for killing people quickly.”

Jenny shuddered beside me.

“Go back to the guest room, Jenny,” I told her. “I’ll come talk to you in a minute. I just need to discuss things with Colson for a minute.”

She scampered away, eager to get out of range of Colson’s anger. Raised voices weren’t something she was accustomed to, thank goodness. None of this was normal, but I didn’t want to traumatize her any further than was necessary.

“What the hell were you thinking, Christa?” Colson demanded.

I ignored his question. I was still shaken by the events of the night, and not in any mood to defend myself to my kidnapper.

“Can you please not shout in front of Jenny? You scared her,” I said.

“Iscared her?” he asked, dumbfounded. “I can’t even begin to explain what I went through when I realized you two were missing. You put her in more danger tonight than you even realized, and you don’t seem to be fazed at all. Do you have any idea how close you came to being tortured?”

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