Page 33 of Betrayed Alpha Bride

“I told you, Jerry, don’t try to beat me at this! I’m too good at it.”

“You mean you cheat,” a child’s voice answers.

“That’s irrelevant!”

We come through the doorway to see Winnie playing cards with a young boy. She shrieks and jumps up to hug Nico straight away.

“Hey, kiddo!” she says. “How have you been?”

“Great, Aunt Winnie,” Nico answers just a bit shyly.

“Clara, this is Jerry. He’s the son of Mr. and Mrs. Underwood, who take care of the property for Mom,” Galen says, gesturing at the dark-haired boy.

“Nice to meet you,” I tell the boy, nodding. He waves sweetly.

“I better get back to Mom,” he says. “I was just keeping Winnie occupied until you guys got here.”

“Doing a poor job of it, too,” Winnie quips. “I was painfully bored.”

“So that’s why you laughed so hard, you snorted like a pig?”

“Get out, you little swine!” Winnie laughs, holding in her guts. “I’ve had enough of your cheek.”

Jerry wisely leaves before Winnie can get out another wisecrack, and Galen lets out a low sigh.

“She’s waiting for us?” he asks Winnie.

“Still on her way down, I think.”

Then, I hear the sharp click of heels on the tiled floor. I feel like there’s a balloon caught in my chest, and I can’t breathe around it. It doesn’t even feel like my heart is beating.

I turn around slowly with Galen, clutching Nico’s hand.

Galen’s mother never liked me. Since I’ve been back, she’s barely even looked at me. How is she going to react to my son?

I don’t have any more time to think, because Macy Ramses appears in the doorway. I remember her hair being dark, but it’s gray now, still pulled into a tight, elegant twist at the back of her head. She’s wearing a fitted black blouse and a long skirt of charcoal-gray that looks perfectly tailored to her tall, slender shape.

She looks positively regal… but something has changed in her since I left.

“Good evening, Mother,” Galen says.

Winnie repeats the phrase in a slightly less reverent tone.

“Good evening,” I mumble, not knowing if I’m supposed to say “Macy” or “Mrs. Ramses,” so I just clumsily stop talking instead of finishing the sentence.

“Good evening, everyone,” she replies, a slow smile breaking across her face. “Thank you for coming. This must be my grandson, Nico.”

To my surprise, Macy bends down to look at Nico at eye level. He smiles shyly and sticks out his hand.

“Pleased to meet you,” he says politely.

“And you,” Macy answers, shaking his hand. “What fine manners you have, young man. And growing up so strong and brave. You have a fierce wolf, I’m told.”

“I… I’m not sure,” Nico says, still sounding shy. “I don’t know much about that.”

“That’s why you’re here, to learn all about your wolf side! Come on, let’s go and sit down. I’m sure Gert will have the food ready by now.”

To my surprise, Macy takes Nico’s hand, and they walk together ahead of us, Macy asking lots of questions that Nico enthusiastically answers. I glance at Galen, and he just shrugs and gives me a wink.

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