Page 9 of Betrayed Alpha Bride

Get it together!

A line of traffic appears before me, and I settle in behind the next car, waiting for my chance to turn. Familiar movements soothe me, and my breathing slows down a little.

I’m okay, I’m okay, everything is okay.

Why did Iris just leave me there?

I feel horribly betrayed and set up, but how could Iris have known she was matching me with my long-lost baby daddy? She couldn’t have.

Could she?

I know I’ll have to call her eventually and explain all of this, but I’m in no hurry to do it. Apparently, I’ve signed a binding contract, and now I’ll have to navigate my way out of it.

Surely Iris will understand when I explain. This has all been just a horrible mistake. I’ll find another way to help Nico.

My guts twist as I contemplate this idea. The whole reason I contacted the agency was because there were no other options to get him the help he needed. I’m worse off than when I started, and left with nowhere else to go.

I’ll think of something. Anything is better than getting trapped with Galen.

As I head back into West Glacier, the traffic thins a little, and my heart finally catches up to my head.

It was so good to see him again...

Don’t do this, you fool!

I can’t help it. Just seeing him has brought the memories roaring back to me. All those long afternoons walking in the forest, long nights wrapped in each other’s arms, the power of his touch and the heat of his kiss.

He looks the same… but so different. The features of his face have been sharpened by time, tempered by wisdom. He’s even hotter now than he was before.

Heat throbs all over me, and I have to press my thighs together and swallow hard. My passion for him never wavered. Even when I was crying myself to sleep and moaning into the pillow, my body was still raging with intense arousal, a volcano of attraction I couldn’t be free of, no matter how hard I tried.

As I pull into my driveway, I sit in the car for a few seconds, savoring the new images of Galen.

He looks taller somehow. And his shoulders are definitely broader. His cheekbones are more defined than they once were, and there’s still that delicious curl to his lips.

I close my eyes, running my tongue across my lips to remember the taste of him. I can feel his silky blond hair running through my fingertips, and I can see the deep, glittering green in his eyes that is only visible when you’re very close to him.

Nose to nose… cheek to cheek. His body pressed against mine, every hard inch of him touching me, pleasuring me, obliterating me with his strength—

Stop it!

I get out of the car, slamming the door as I stride towards the house. I can hear Galen’s words in my mind, begging me to give him another chance, telling me it wasn’t his fault.

But it was your fault, Galen. You betrayed me. It didn’t stop me from loving you, but I have to protect my heart, and my son’s.

“Hello?” I call, opening the door.

Nico and his babysitter, Gwen, are sitting on the couch watching cartoons and eating pizza. My son jumps up straight away to give me a hug.

“How was your meeting, Mommy?” he asks.

“It was fine. Nothing too stressful. I’m guessing you won’t need any dinner?”

“I hope you don’t mind,” Gwen says, gesturing to the pizza. “I didn’t know how long you’d be, so I thought I’d make it a bit of a party.”

“That’s fine, hon,” I say. “Thanks for watching him. I’m good now, so you can head off.”

“Thanks,” Gwen says, grabbing her stuff and heading out the door. “Call me if you need me again.”

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