Page 47 of Cruel Alpha Beast
There’s more silence on the other end.
“Does Lucas even know he’s a grandfather?” she asks.
“Oh, shit,” I breathe out. “Well, he’s going to find out soon, then.”
“Alright,” Lacey says. “I’ll bring her, have the most awkward conversation of my life, then I’ll be right there, I guess.”
“Thank you,” I make sure to say.
“Bye, Sawyer,” she says before hanging up.
I tuck my phone back in the front pocket of my jeans and turn toward Danielle, who’s eyeing Ellis and Jasper icily. Monroe is standing there with her arms folded across her chest, only making eye contact with Greg, who seems to be the only one not intimidating either of them.
This is going to be fun, I think to myself. I really hope Lacey will get here soon.
Chapter 19 - Lacey
My father-in-law, Lucas, doesn’t live too far down the road from us, but the walk to his house feels like it’s going to take a million years.
Shea grips onto my hand tightly, half-running to keep up with me as she drags her suitcase along. “But Mommy, I thought we were having a girls' day.”
She’s said this to me a hundred times since I got off the phone with her father several minutes ago. She said it while I got her dressed. She said it while I crammed her feet into her sneakers. And she said it as we passed every other house on this street.
“I know, baby,” I reply for the hundredth time. “But Daddy needs Mommy right now.”
“Butwhyaren’t we having a girls' day?” she asks.
“I just told you, my love,” I say through gritted teeth. “And now you get to spend some quality time with your grandpa. Isn’t that exciting?”
“I have a grandpa?” she asks, breaking my heart.
“You sure do,” I say, unsure how else to respond.
It feels weird coming to Lucas’s house, and that’s not even considering the fact that I have to introduce him to a granddaughter he didn’t even know he had.
Lucas was a good pack leader, according to everyone else who lived in his care. I remember Penelope speaking very highly about him when I told her about my experience in this town. He even saved my life once, when I fell off the dock while having a vision of what turned out to be Greg and me mourning our parents’ impending death.
But he also turned a blind eye to me and the bullying I received on a daily—no,hourly—basis. He knew his son and his son’s friends were horrible to me when Greg wasn’t looking. He knew I was shunned for my “eccentricities,” and he further excluded me.
And when I left the pack, he didn’t even care to send anyone else to look for me. Good riddance, I’m sure he felt.
I wonder if he’ll do the same to Shea when he learns the truth, that the mother of his grandchild is the “freakshow” shiftless wolf his son tormented.
Finally, I approach the perfectly polished front steps that lead to Lucas’s door. Taking a deep breath, I pull Shea along with me and lift a fist to knock on the hardwood. It takes a moment, but then Lucas finally opens the door. He stares down his nose at the two of us, unsure of what to make of this situation.
“Is Sawyer alright?” he asks immediately.
“Yes,” I tell him in a clipped voice. “Um, sir, I need to tell you something.”
He doesn’t invite us in; he just stands there in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. “Go on, Lacey.”
I think that’s the first time he’s said my name in years.
“Well, Sawyer actually needs me for…” I trail off, hoping he’ll figure out it’s for something important.
“And you need me to babysit your daughter?” Lucas scoffs at me. “Listen, I know you finally got my son to marry you after all—”
“She’s not just my daughter,” I cut him off.
