Page 94 of Sigma
And the big revelation: Olivia told me, after I asked what happened to Jared’s mother and sister (telling her Jared knows they’re gone but doesn’t know how), that after Jared’s wolf came back the night after killing the alpha to take out more betas, that a beta named Charles decided to take the alpha position. She described this Charles as a slimy fucker who told others he was going to claim the very beautiful seventeen-year-old Ellery as his own. Ellery didn’t want his advances and fought him. Jared’s mom stepped in to help, hitting him over the head with a frying pan. Charles got enraged and killed them both. Jared’s wolf came upon that scene and killed Charles and two of three otherbetas who had come in during the fight. The one left lived to tell the pack what happened. Nobody else wanted to be the alpha; the remaining betas were too afraid of Jared’s wolf returning.
I held my mate close while I relayed this news to him after the phone call, which I’d had in the camper while he took a walk.
He crumbled to pieces with relief in my embrace. And then he was so angry he wanted to tear shit up, so I told him to give in to the urge to shift and we took a long run together, which seemed to help. His wolf wasn’t in a fit of rage upon arrival, but we ran together for a good long while and when he shifted back, Jared was exhausted and slept for fourteen hours. When he woke up, he smelled our child.
***
I’m mixing virgin mocktails in the blender and Jared is outside barbecuing chicken for dinner when his phone rings.
I answer it. “Hey, Linc. He’s outside at the grill. I’ll bring you out.”
“Hey, Sis. Thanks, but stay with him while I talk to him, yeah?” There’s static. It’s not a great connection.
And it also sounds like something is wrong. My belly bottoms out unpleasantly. I get out there. Jared’s eyes are on me.
“Linc’s on speaker,” I say and set the phone on our fold-out picnic table behind the tailgate grill.
“Linc? Hey,” Jared greets.
He’s smiling, happy. And I’m trying to hide my worry that something is about to change that.
“Hey bro, how goes it?” Linc asks.
Jared smiles wider. “Good, man. Really good. My woman’s pregnant.”
Jared’s eyes travel the length of me and the heat in his gaze has my knees going to jelly. He wants me again. And my body responds accordingly as I bite my lip and give him my best flirty gaze.
“Fuck, that’s awesome. Congratulations!” Linc says, his voice breaking up.
Definitely a shitty connection.
“I smell the baby, Linc. I smell him.”
“Fucking awesome, bro. Thrilled for you guys.”
“Thanks,” he says, joy oozing from him.
I’m worried and I’m not hiding it very well.
His eyes land on me again and his face changes. He realizes something might be off. And that’s huge, because he walked around before as if things were always on the verge of going bad. And I love that it’s no longer his default emotion.
“Something up?” Jared asks.
“Blakely called and left me a voicemail. News on your old man isn’t good.”
Jared waits, jaw tightening. I move closer.
“He’s in a maximum-security prison in Alaska. His file is so classified even Blakely can’t get his hands on it, but he was able to visit and says there’s nothing there, man. Your father has been catatonic for years. I’m really fuckin’ sorry.”
Jared lets out a long exhale, looking off into space.
I snuggle into him. He wraps his arm around me, putting the tongs down and giving me a full hug.
Linc keeps talking. “Man, hate to ask right now on the heels of this news, but is there any chance you can come up here?”
“Where?” Jared asks.
“I’m in Alaska, too. I’m on a job.”
