Page 62 of The Alpha's Broken Oath

“What is it, Ash?”

“I think…I think Uncle Deacon likes you, Mommy.”

Leave it to Ash to see things as they are.

“Yeah? Why do you say that?”

“He kept saying that you would be alright yesterday, but Addie and I knew you were already alright, just tired. He let you sleep in his bed, and when he wasn’t playing with us, he came to see you, Mommy. Many, many times!”

Yeah, I can imagine Deacon worried about causing me harm with his mark.

“And how do you and Addie feel about Uncle Deacon? Do you like him?”

Ash thinks about it for a second, and then his eyes light up, “Mumm, he’s cool and big, like a superhero, and he likes playing ball with us! We like Uncle Deacon, Mommy. Addie says he should be our new daddy.”

Which is code for, they both think Deacon should be their father and how pleased they will be when I tell them that Deacon is their real father.

I’m about to tell Ash that I like Deacon too when the loud buzzing of the doorbell greets me all the way in the kitchen.

I give Ash the bowl of fruit before taking the tray of pancakes and following him to the living room.

“I’ll get the door,” Deacon smiles at me, giving me a small wink.

The only visitors we’ve had have been Luka and Julie, and from the last conversation we had, they wanted to stay in Deacon’s house forever because it was the first time they were stepping into an Alpha’s mansion. I’d not be surprised to see them standing by the other side of the door.

Standing in the middle of the living room with a tray of pancakes in hand, my babies stay by both sides of my legs as we all watch Deacon open the door for our visitors.

My smile turns lopsided when I realize it’s not Luka and Julie.

Instead, a woman with blonde hair I would recognize from a mile away, wearing a satin maroon dress that reaches her mid-thighs, brought all together by six-inch Louboutin heels on her feet; enters Deacon’s mansion.

That Deja vu feeling of getting betrayed sounds bitter in my mouth, but I push away the feeling.

Deacon marked us, I tell myself.

Deacon has changed. I lie to myself.

Deacon didn’t mean to reject us. He said it himself.

Everything all goes down to shit as the woman opens her mouth to speak.

“Babe!” She squeals, and then, like I'm stuck in a bad romance movie, she smashes her lips with Deacon’s.

Deacon takes almost two minutes to pry his lips from my former best friend, Crystal Sanders.

But in those two minutes, the reality of what I’ve done hits me like a cold bucket of ice to the face. I succumbed to Deacon Cross’ charm, and I got burnt again. Only this time, I’m the fool.

“Do you know how much I missed my Alpha? You have no clue how much I missed you, Deacon!” Crystal quips excitedly.

I don’t even think it can get much worse than this.

“Who are you?” Adrian asks, and I almost forget that my boys are seeing this, too.

They are getting broken by this all because I couldn’t take us home and have a mind strong enough to resist Deacon Cross.

Crystal finally looks at us, and there’s no hiding the bile she has in her eyes for us.

My former best friend looks at me like I’m dirt underneath her expensive heels.

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