Page 23 of Cruel Alpha Beast
“Do you miss them?”
“Very much.”
“I’m sad, too,” Shea says. “I never got to meet them.”
“They would have loved you so much,” I tell her hoarsely, wiping away my falling tears.
I was barely more than twice Shea’s age when the accident occurred, but some days, it feels like it just happened last week.
“Who were your mommy and daddy after that, then?” Shea asks.
“Well, that’s one of the good things about living with a pack,” I say. “They all come together to help each other… Even if they don’t understand the person who needs help. So, Uncle Greg and I were passed around to different families in town until he was old enough to take care of both of us.”
“Did Daddy help?” Shea asks.
I remember the months when Alpha Lucas and his family took us in. They showered Greg with affection and hardly paid any attention to me at all. Sawyer would stare at me at mealtimes, but other than that, he mostly played with Greg while I sat and grieved by myself.
Still, I didn’t want to poison Shea’s opinion of her father because of my baggage. If he was honest with what he told me earlier, he has changed a lot for the better. Maybe Shea will see a much different version of him than I ever did.
“Yes, baby,” I tell her. “Daddy’s family helped us a lot.”
We say our goodbyes to my parents’ graves and turn back around. I watch as Shea runs ahead of me on the sidewalk. Her legs take her as fast as they can carry her, and for a split second, I feel like they’re about to turn into furry paws.
Blinking hard, I realize that her feet are the same as always. It must just be my imagination playing tricks on me.
I wonder, though, whether Shea will take after me, or if she’ll one day shift into a wolf like her father. She’s still young—there’s plenty of time for her to come into her wolf form—but I haven’t seen any signs yet. No fur on her bed sheets, no cravings for meat.
The sun is unbearably hot by the time we return to Greg’s house. Shea climbs the stairs before me, but lets me open the door.
“Remember, we’re just here to pick up your clothes, okay?” I tell her. “We’re going to stay with Daddy for the rest of…”
For the rest of our lives? Why does that feel so strange to say out loud?
“When are we going back to Auntie Dani and Auntie RoeRoe’s house?” Shea asks, cocking her head to the side.
Never.
It’s the right answer, but I can’t get the word out.
“Not today, sweetie-pie,” I say instead.
We go upstairs and pack things up. I still can’t get over what Sawyer told me today. He wants to protect us over everything else in the world. He’s a changed man, more mature than he ever was before.
And yet, I can’t imagine moving in with him for the rest of my life.
I mean, he said all the right things, that’s for sure. But only time can really tell if he means what he said. Time and a whole lot of actions.
As I carry Shea’s suitcase down the stairs, it hits me really hard that I’m actually married to Sawyer. It’s so strangebecause being able to say that was one of my biggest dreams as a young girl. I wanted nothing more than to be his wife, but it’s so different from what I hoped it would be. I wanted romance. Love. Not a power play to keep me under his thumb.
***
Shea sits in the living room at Sawyer’s house, resting her knees on the carpet as she draws on a piece of paper resting on the coffee table. Beside her, a box of crayons lies splayed out, ready for her to take whatever she needs.
Aside from the rubbing of crayons on the paper and the sound of my daughter humming to herself, the house is silent. Still. It gives me enough time to acquaint myself with the home of Alpha Sawyer.
The opposite of Monroe and Danielle’s home, decorations are sparse here, and the house is not nearly as cozy as I would like. Everything seems so cold, so…manly. It’s clean, but it still needs a woman’s touch.
I suppose once I’m done saving the valley from the evil lurking around the corner, I can start searching online for some good deals on homewares.
