Page 37 of Rejected Wolf's Secret Baby (Rejected Moons 4)

So I try. “Stay here,” I say. “Stay here with me. With the pack. With your father and your sisters.”

“And Lonnie?”

“We’ll find a way to deal with Lonnie. You said yourself that he didn’t know who he was dealing with when it came to you.”

“He’s going to be alpha,” Alicia says. “I can’t stay here under an alpha like that. Frankly, I don’t know how any of you can do it. Don’tyousometimes want to leave?”

“He’s a tool,” I agree. “But even so…this is my pack. I’m not going to abandon it just because it’s in the hands of a douchebag like your brother. That’s just when the pack needs good people around.”

She exhales slowly. “You’re a better person than I am.”

“I’m really not.”

“You’re thinking of the pack. I’m only thinking of myself.”

“Oh, come on. We both know that isn’t true,” I say. “You’re thinking of what’s best for your baby.”

She nods. I feel her hair move against my chest. “I really am.”

“But you don’t think growing up in the pack would be good for the baby?”

“Not underLonnie.”

“I mean generally,” I say. “Isn’t it going to be hard to raise a shifter in the human world? I can’t even imagine doing that.”

“I’ll figure it out,” she says. “We’ve managed so far.”

“Yeah, but it’s one thing with a baby,” I say. “Toddlers are different. What will you do when the shifting starts?”

“I do worry about it,” she admits. “I think she’s getting close to that point.”

She. It’s a girl.

That’s going to change things for Lonnie, I think—but do I tell him? She’s opening up to me right now. She’s telling me these things in confidence. I feel sick with guilt at the fact that I’m betraying her.

Then again, Lonnie found out this baby existed in the first place from David. David could just as easily find out the gender and let Lonnie know that.

And besides, the fact that the baby is a girl isgoodfor Alicia. It means Lonnie might finally calm down and decide to stop targeting her.

So, yes. I’ll tell him. It’s what’s best for Alicia—and for her daughter.

Another thought occurs to me. “Hey, Alicia?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think—could I meet her?”

Now she does grow tense. It seems like something about that suggestion really bothers her, but I’m not sure what.

Maybe I’ve crossed a line. “I don’t have to,” I say quickly.

“Why do you want to?”

“Well, just because she’s yours. I’m interested in you. I’m interested in your life. I’d like to get to know her. It’s still so wild to me that you have a kid.”

Alicia chuckles, and I’m glad some of the tension seems to have passed. “It’s still wild to me too,” she says. “Especially now that I’m back here. Being in Greystone territory makes me feel like I’m a teenager again. I’m not sure if that’s something you can relate to.”

“Not really.” My whole adult life has been here. There’s no reason this place would remind me of being young.

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