Page 103 of Tempted By the Alpha Outlaw

And then, somewhere in the crowd, a baby fusses—a quiet, hiccuping wail, quickly soothed by a mother’s whisper.

Both Colt and me snap our heads toward the sound, and I think I see something in his face that I’m sure he can recognize in mine–the pain of losing a future I thought we would have, of family, of…of babies. I wonder if I should say it, but with everyone’s eyes on me, it’s too much.

I clear my throat. “Reyes?”

He nods. “Yes?”

“Can I talk to Colt alone?”

A ripple moves through the crowd, shifting bodies, flickering lantern light catching in wide, curious eyes. I hear the murmurs start up again, hushed but urgent, uncertainty filling the space.

But I don’t look at them.

I don’t even look at Colt.

I keep my gaze locked on Reyes, my heart pounding, my hands curling into fists to keep from shaking.

He studies me for a long moment. Then, finally, he gives a single nod. “Alright.”

The tension in the room doesn’t ease, but no one argues.

Reyes turns to the pack. “Give them space.”

It’s an order, not a request–and everyone obeys the Prime’s orders.

There’s some hesitation—Frankie’s lips part like she wants to protest, but Will touches her arm, and she stops. Grant rolls his shoulders and mutters something to himself, but he moves. People shift, standing, filing out the side door in a slow, reluctant shuffle, throwing glances over their shoulders as they go.

Peaches squeezes my hand as she passes, then lets go, joining my parents as they cast a worried glance back at me.

Colt doesn’t move.

He just stands there, shoulders squared, jaw tight, hands fisted at his sides like he’s waiting for another blow to land.

I wait until the last of them have gone before I exhale, slow and shaky.

The room is quieter now, empty except for us and the distant crackle of the fire in the hearth. I can still feel the weight of what just happened, the ghosts of all those eyes still pressing down on me, but at least now I can breathe.

Colt shifts slightly, but doesn’t speak first.

Good.

I don’t know where to start.

I turn away from him, pressing my fingers to my temple, forcing myself to find something solid beneath the storm of emotions inside me. My mind keeps catching on things—on the way his voice broke when he said my name, on the way Peaches had been crying, on the moment we both turned toward the sound of that baby crying and knew what it meant.

What it could have meant.

I squeeze my eyes shut for half a second, then open them again.

“You hurt me,” I say, and it comes out hoarse, raw. Like it’s been clawing at my throat this whole time, desperate to get out.

Colt lets out a slow breath. “I know.”

“No,” I snap, whirling on him. “I don’t think you do.”

His mouth parts slightly, like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t. He just lets me say it.

“You didn’t just betray the pack. You didn’t just break the trust of the people who opened their home to you. You broke me, Colt.” My voice shakes. “You let me believe you were something you weren’t. You let me love you. You…you took my first kiss, and you took…you took my virginity, you fucked me, you marked me. And the whole time, you were keeping this from me.”

---