Page 39 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

She ran to her room to get dressed in her pajamas, then shouted for us to come in. Colson pulled the covers up to her shoulders as I stood watching from the doorway, letting them have their moment together.

“Goodnight,” he told her sweetly.

“Goodnight,” she replied. “Mom, are you coming to bed?”

“Not yet, baby,” I told her. “Are you okay in here without me?”

She nodded as I said goodnight, and Colson and I both kissed her on the forehead. We shut off the light and looked back at her peaceful form, already slipping into slumber.

“Come with me,” Colson said, tugging my hand.

He led me to his room, where a fire had been started in the fireplace.

“Cozy,” I said appreciatively.

“You seemed like you could use a nice relaxing evening,” he explained. “Come lay down with me.”

We climbed into his bed, and he pulled me onto his chest. I could hear his heart beating along with the crackling of the fire, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

Chapter 19 - Colson

The Dark Alphas gathered at the territory we had scouted. It was time to take our next step.

“Remember, we’re surrounding them before we attack,” I said.

“We got it, Marsden,” Desmond said, rolling his eyes. “You don’t have to keep reminding us of the plan we all made.”

I bit my tongue. Now wasn’t the time for infighting.

“Let’s go,” Axel said.

The alphas and their warriors fanned out around the small group of homes we had seen before. Once the circle was complete, a howl went up around the ring, and we all charged toward the center.

My wolf was strong and fast, but this time, I held back. I had told the group that this pack would not be a danger to us, but they had decided to use our full force to take it, anyway. That didn’t mean that I had to usemyfull force.

By the time Orin and my warriors reached the homes, the sounds of screaming were already coming from inside. I transformed and kicked in the door of the nearest home. Inside, an old man and his wife were standing in the corner, huddling together.

“We surrender!” he shouted. “Please, don’t hurt anyone!”

“Let’s go, then,” I ordered, grabbing their arms and pulling them out the front door.

We took them to the center of town and forced them to their knees next to the others who had already surrendered.

“How many more are there, waiting to attack us?” Alpha Rutherford asked the man in an intimidating voice as he towered over them.

“None of us will fight back. We aren’t that kind of pack,” he explained. “We will all come quietly. Just tell us what you want.”

“Your land,” Axel said. “And your fealty to the Dark Alphas.”

The man looked around at his people, huddled together in fear, and made the easy choice.

“I hereby renounce my title as Alpha of the Twin Rivers and pledge our loyalty to the Dark Alphas,” he said sadly.

While I was happy that our mission had been successful, and especially glad it had been done without loss of life, a part of me felt disappointed. It really was true that allies could make or break a pack’s ability to remain free. This pack had been small and unprotected. Their way of life was about to change, and there was nothing they could do about it.

The other alphas began to organize everyone so that they could give their own oaths individually, protecting us from retribution if they changed their minds in the future. Once the oath was made, they wouldn’t be able to fight against us.

“Time to divvy up our spoils,” Axel said to me. “We’ve got two hundred acres to claim. Which section did you want, Colson?”

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