Page 31 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“You should be careful how you speak to me,” Desmond warned. “We may be in Colson’s territory now, but you won’t always be. Have some respect for your superiors.”

“I will speak respectfully to people who deserve it,” I said, doubling down on my stance. “Colson doesn’t deserve your vicious diatribe, and I won’t stand here while you belittle him and his accomplishments as alpha.”

“You little bitch,” he hissed quietly.

“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind him.

Desmond turned aside, revealing Colson. His dark eyes burned with pent-up rage and fire, but his stance was casual.

“How are you, Gage? I’m surprised to see you here. Considering this town isn’t a part of your territory, I mean.”

“I was visiting an acquaintance and happened to see your…mate… walking about the town. I wanted to check and make sure she had all the information she needed,” Desmond said.

“I guess I should have been more clear in my greeting. I don’t actually care what you were doing, or why you’re here. What I meant to say was that Miss Lionel doesn’t need you harassing her on the street,” Colson said, checking his fingernails in a blatant display of being unaffected by Desmond’spresence. “And I don’t need another member of the alphas to be making trouble in my territory. Do we understand one another?”

“Perfectly,” Desmond responded through gritted teeth.

“Wonderful,” Colson said, clapping his hands together. “Then I’ll see you at the next meet-up.”

Desmond looked like he wanted to say more, but with the clear dismissal and a street full of witnesses, there wasn’t much he could do without looking like a fool. He turned and crossed the street, heading in the direction he had come from.

As he left, I breathed out a sigh of relief. My hands were cold, and I realized my fight-or-flight response had been activated by the confrontation. I rubbed them together and rolled my neck, trying to release the tension that had built up in my shoulders. When I looked back at Colson, I realized he was staring at me with a hint of concern.

“You look like you could use a drink,” he said.

I laughed at the unexpected segue. “Only if it’s a strong one,” I admitted.

Chapter 15 - Colson

“Sorry for interrupting your conversation,” I joked as I walked next to Christa, heading for the hole-in-the-wall pub down the street.

“That’s okay, it wasn’t a very good one,” Christa said. “Is Jenny still at home?”

I nodded. “You were taking a while, and something felt off. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in danger, so I told her she could watch TV and we’d be back home soon. I hope that was okay.”

“I’m glad you came,” Christa said.

Relief flooded me. Our parenting journey was so vastly different from anything I’d seen or encountered yet, and I felt like I was constantly afraid of doing the wrong thing when it came to my role. Christa’s validating my decision helped me bolster my sense that I was doing the right thing.

I held open the door to the pub, and Christa entered.

“Bar or table?” I asked her.

“Either is fine,” she replied.

It was still early in the evening, so not many patrons were present. Even so, I didn’t feel like having a conversation with our backs turned toward the door, so I led Christa toward a small table off to the side where I had open sightlines in case Gage—or anyone else—decided to make an appearance.

Christa sat down and turned her head toward the bar expectantly, looking in search of that drink I promised her. As if on cue, the waitress headed over to take our order.

“What can I get you?” she asked.

“Double shot of tequila on the rocks, please,” Christa said.

“And for you?” the waitress asked me.

“The same, hold the ice.”

She scurried away and returned moments later with two glasses and a bowl of limes, set them in front of us, and returned to her position behind the bar. Christa picked up her glass and took a sip of the clear liquid before biting into a lime.

---