Page 49 of Fated to the Enemy Alpha

Although Matthew’s eyes were blue, they weren’t the bright, vivid shade of Lina’s and Betty’s.

The sense of certainty grew as I remembered how obvious it had been the first night I was here. Betty had yelled out for Lina when I’d first arrived. When Betty came downstairs, Lina had been the one to nurse her, taking her temperature and giving her medicine, while Emily became absorbed in work.

Her gaze snagged on mine, and I watched as she swallowed.

“She’s mine,” she finally exhaled, her voice barely above a whisper. Her confession didn’t seem to do anything to relax her, though. Her shoulders and expression both still seemed too tight.

“I knew it,” I breathed, my chest suddenly feeling too tight. “The way I feel about her, Lina, I knew she was yours.”

Now that she had admitted it, her own gaze kept making me remember the way Betty’s eyes lighted up tonight when I’d arrived. And in an instant, a tidal wave of recognition crashed through me, filling me.

Then, that feeling that had awoken again at the sight of Betty, no—at the mere thought of her earlier, sang through me.

“When Betty was ill, I needed to be around her,” I blurted out. “It was like I couldn’t leave,” I added, remembering how I’d been utterly consumed by the need to care for the little girl. I suddenly realized the deep instinct I’d felt toward Betty had been my wolf’s need to protect his young. “And when I saw you driving back here today, I was worried she was ill again, our mate bond tugging at me.” My words spilled out in hushed excitement, both awe and anticipation fizzing through my chest.

Lina paled, and I knew I’d pieced together the last bit of the puzzle about the years she’d been absent. Memories of our time together darted through my mind, and suddenly, everything clicked into place.

“I should have known…” I murmured more to myself than to her.

I have a daughter.

“Betty’s mine,” I said, the truth finally out in the open.

The guarded intensity in Lina’s eyes flared, and she shook her head. But it was a truth I couldn’t unsee now.

“Betty is my pup, isn’t she, Lina?” Now, my own gaze locked with hers, unyielding, daring her to deny it.

Lina considered me for a moment, then swallowed thickly. She held my gaze. “She…is…yours,” Lina said, her voice strained but resolute.

Exhilaration flooded my veins, swiftly followed by that demanding pulse of protectiveness.

But before I could wrap my head around this revelation, Lina said, “I need you to understand something. We’ve been fine by ourselves. I don’t want anything from you.” The words hung in the air, sharp and cutting.

Her words laid her scars bare for me to see—the years of heartache I had thrust upon her by walking away.

“Lina—” I started, but she shook her head.

“I’ve learned to be self-reliant.” Each word dripped with a mixture of defiance and pain, reminding me of the gift I’d held and squandered.

Hurt ratcheted through me, but I knew it was exactly what I deserved. After all, all those years ago we’d been together, we’d made a kid, and then…

I’d rejected Lina.

My chest felt too full, especially as Lina’s blue stare—the exact shade as Betty’s—was fixed on me. I saw her struggling to compose herself, to keep the strong façade she always did in place.

Never before had my regrets felt so heavy as all the years I’d missed out on with her and Betty seemed to accrue in the thick air around us. How was I ever going to make that up to her?

“I’m sorry,” I said. “So sorry I wasn’t there for you both.” I took a deep breath, aching to touch her, but the tightness in her shoulders and expression acted like armor against me.

“Why’d you come here tonight, Stephen?” she asked, changing the subject.

“You know Magnus has me tailing you.”

“So, you’re still doing Magnus’s bidding?” she shot back.

“Still keeping my cover,” I said. “Still being cautious. Something you could do with exercising more of,” I urged. I tried to rein in my frustration and added. “I came to warn you. Magnus is on edge. I don’t like how little he’s shared with me lately.”

“I’ve got this,” she said dismissively. “I know where my mother is, and I’m making arrangements to execute my plan on Saturday. I can handle myself.”

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