Page 40 of A Secret Baby By the Alpha

“None,” I said.

He seemed surprised by my response, but I had been thinking about this move for a long time. My loyalty had been in question lately, and it was time for me to prove my willingness to work with the group in a way that they would understand.

“That doesn’t sound like you,” he replied.

He was right. The old me would have fought tooth and nail against all of them to claim the biggest portion I could for myself and my pack. But that wasn’t me anymore. The larger the area one pack had, the more they had to defend. I was happy with my land, and with the safety of my pack. Those were the things worth fighting for. Not more land that could be taken and given at a moment’s notice.

“Maybe not, but that’s my decision,” I told him. “This land can be divided among the rest of the Dark Alphas group. I’m sitting this one out.”

Axel clapped me on the back, impressed with my sacrifice. He headed back to the other alphas to continue their land negotiations.

It worked,Orin said excitedly.

For now.

As I transformed and ran back toward home, I felt a rush of adrenaline, a high unlike any I had felt in a very long time. It was all because of Christa. All I wanted to do was get back home to her and Jenny.

For the first time since I had found her again, things seemed like they had fallen into place. We had made more progress toward trust and openness than I ever would have expected, and I felt like we had a real chance this time. A chance at something real, and lasting.

I knew she still thought about going back home to Sparkle Hollow, and that worried me. I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to her again, or to Jenny.

Everything we had experienced together over the past few weeks made me certain that she had feelings for me, but whetherthose were enough to conquer her duty to her pack and the draw to go home remained to be seen. If she loved me, it would be different, but as much fun as we had together, I was sure her feelings came nowhere close to being as strong as mine were for her.

There had to be a way to convince her to stay for good.

Chapter 20 - Christa

Colson had another mission today, but he had promised he would be home before nightfall. While a part of me worried he didn’t mean it, I decided to believe him. Jenny and I were looking forward to his return and had set up a family game night in his honor.

“Are you sure he likes these games?” Jenny asked. “They’re kind of… old.”

“Hey now!” I protested. “These are the games we used to play. Don’t you be callingusold!”

“I’m serious, Mom. What if Colson doesn’t like what we set up for him?” Jenny worried.

I pulled her into a hug and turned her toward the decorations and snacks we had set up on the kitchen island, complete with the “Welcome Home” banner that Jenny had hand-crafted this morning. A pile of games sat on the coffee table, ready for playing, and various drinks were prepped and ready in the fridge.

“Baby, he’s going to love it,” I assured her. “Colson isn’t used to people taking care of him. He’s still getting used to having us around. But I swear to you, he is going to be over the moon.”

I could feel the tension in her shoulders and felt a pang of fear. After years without him, I could tell just how important it was for Jenny that Colson accept her bids for attention. I prayed to the moon goddess that I was right about my predictions, and that he didn’t come home in a bad mood after their mission.

“Mom, I hear him!” Jenny exclaimed, pulling away from me and running toward the living room window. Headlightsswung into the driveway, and a moment later, the front door opened.

“What’s all this?” Colson asked, hugging Jenny.

“Mom and I set up a party for you!” she chirped.

“A welcome home party?” he asked. “I’ve only been gone a few hours.”

“We know. We just wanted to do something to show our appreciation for you,” I explained quietly as Jenny went to showcase her work with the decorations. “You’ve been doing so much for us lately—building your relationship with Jenny, making us feel welcome in your pack, and all the other positive changes I’ve seen.”

Colson seemed to be at a loss for words, but happiness was evident in his eyes as he listened to Jenny explain her color choices for the banner.

We all loaded up our plates with snacks and headed to the living room, where Colson chose a game.

“Monopoly?” I questioned.

“Yeah, I want to see how competitive you ladies are,” he teased.

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