Page 56 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate
He let the tablet slip from his fingers.
Six years.
Six years of regret. Of silence. Of ache. Of mentally replaying the last time he saw her, the harsh words he spat at her.
Marcus sighed, the weight in his chest refusing to lift.
She had fooled him. Entirely. From the glamor that masked her real face, to the powers she pretended not to have, to the child he had never known existed.
And yet... she had been right.
He didn’t deserve her trust.
He’d told Athena he didn’t love her. He remembered the words all too vividly. Cold. Careless. Forced. It was the biggest regret of his life. And the biggest lie he ever told, but by the time he realized what a mistake it was, she had already left.
He tried to find her. But she had vanished. No scent trail, no whisper in the pack networks. Even when he joined the organization and started working recon missions, he kept an ear to the ground, closely monitoring Adrian’s activities. Any rumor. Any trace. But there was nothing.
And now she was here.
Alive. Still infuriating. Still beautiful. And with a little boy who had his nose, their eyes, and his mother’s beautiful hair.
He was not sure what to do or how to process it.
Riley.
The name pulsed like a drumbeat in his chest.
Marcus hadn’t understood why he had felt drawn to the kid before. The first time the kid had smiled at him, it broke something in his chest, like light in a room that had been dark for hours. The kind of smile that made the ache in his bones ease for a split second.
Marcus smiled and walked over to the room where his son lay to check on the kid.
His son.
The thought tugged at his chest.
He had a son. In his messed-up world of mistakes, regrets, and lies, he actually felt like he had something right.
He peeked in quietly.
Riley was still asleep.
He contemplated walking into the room to watch the boy sleep, but he had a second thought, not wanting to wake him.
But just as Marcus turned to leave, the boy stirred out of his sleep and let out a loud stretch.
Marcus felt his heart tighten.
“Uncle Marcus?” Riley mumbled, blinking blearily as the dizziness washed off him gradually.
He was a father. His heart throbbed.
How could he father a kid as sweet and innocent as this? He didn’t deserve it.
Marcus managed to walk into the room despite the whirlwind of emotions that pulled his heart.
Riley shot him a smile.
That smile. It was his new weakness.
