Chapter 118

Cara’s POV

“What does your heart say?” Colin asks me.

He must already know the answer, to be asking me something like that.

Looking inward, there’s really no question.

I’ve held a lot of guilt over the years over allowing Alaric to believe my pregnancy ended from that accident. At the time, to protect myself, it seemed like the best course of action. But now that we’ve more or less reconciled, I’m less sure than I was before.

Even if he was a lousy mate, Alaric would be a good father. His protective instincts would extend to our children and he would fight the whole world to keep us safe. Of that I’m incredibly sure.

Even if in the end, I refuse his pursuit of me, he would still want to protect our children.

Shouldn’t he have the right to do so?

Yet, even knowing that, I’m still afraid. Maybe because I kept the secret for so long. Telling him now… will he forgive me for keeping the secret? Or will he resent me for hiding his children away for so long?

As I share my worries with Colin, he listens with a serious expression. He’s always been the easiest to talk to. He’s so patient and quiet, and takes everything I say into consideration, dismissing none of my concerns out of turn.

When I’ve finished, he sits quietly for a moment, thinking everything over before he replies.

“You should tell him,” Colin says. “I think he would be more relieved than angry, and given everything the two of you went through in the past, he should understand why you felt the need to hide it for so long.”

That’s the answer I hope for with my heart, but I’m still not sure. Six years is a long time to keep a paternal secret like this.

“But even if he is angry with you,” Colin continues, “he will not extend that grudge to the children. And ultimately, that’s what you really want, isn’t it? For him to want to be there for Ethan and Mia, even more so than for yourself?”

He’s right. I do. I gather strength from those words.

Yes, he would still want to protect and support his children, even if it irrevocably hurts his relationship with me. I’m the one who wounded our relationship this time, by keeping this secret.

“He’ll discover the truth eventually,” Colin presses. “Wouldn’t you rather he learn it from you?”

“Yes,” I say, letting my heart speak. I sit a moment with the weight of what I know must be done. “Colin, Eamon says I need one of my brothers to escort me to the hotel. Will you come with me?”

“Of course,” he says at once with no hesitation. “Is Alaric expecting you?”

“No,” I tell him. “It will be a surprise.”

Alaric’s POV

It’s strange for Cara to send me a typed note like this, especially one spritzed with a perfume, even if it is the same kind of perfume that she sometimes uses. The scent is very familiar and sends me back to a few feverish encounters of our past.

She hasn’t used this smell, from what I can tell, since coming to BloodyMoon pack. I certainly haven’t smelled it on her since finding her again.

The perfume is a reminder of the nicer, more pleasurable moments of our past, but I don’t particularly miss it. Cara’s natural scent is much more pleasant to me now.

Even so.

Why send a note at all? Why not just call me?

Ben reads the note that I’m holding open, then gives me a curious expression. “What do you think?”

“It has to be her,” I say. For a moment, I question the need for this kind of game, but then a small hope springs to life in my heart.

Perhaps this is a sign that she is accepting my feelings.

Folding the note back up, I tuck it into my pocket. “I’m going down to see.”

“Should I accompany you, Sir?” Ben asks.

“No,” I say. “I should be able to handle this on my own.” If it is Cara, and if she does want to reconcile… “Perhaps avoid my bedroom for the rest of the afternoon, Ben, unless I specifically call for you.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ben says.

With that, I head to the door and then out into the hall. Waiting for the elevator takes too long with how eager I am, so I go to the stairs instead. Taking them two at a time, I quickly reach the bottom and then push out into the lobby.

There, I look around, searching for a head of red hair.

I find it. She’s sitting at the bar, ordering a cocktail.

My heart thundering, I walk towards her. “Cara?”

“Oh! Alaric!” She swivels in her chair. The scent of her perfume is strong. Her hair is a bit wild today, hiding some of her face. Immediately, she throws her arms around me. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Melinda’s POV

So far, so perfect.

My dyed hair must be the correct shade for Alaric to approach me first, and my clothes must be convincing too. Lilia, my dear friend, has been right so far, helping me to as closely resemble Cara Auburn as much as I can.

The perfume is a nice touch too. With my arms around him, I can hear when he starts to gently sniff me.

Everything is going perfectly. Now, to just convince him to take me upstairs where we can copulate our ‘love’ with these condoms in my purse… the ones I’ve already poked holes in… Then my plan will be perfect.

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” I say, tilting my head back slightly. I make sure to keep some of my hair in my face, hiding the more obvious differences between Cara’s features and might.

I expect Alaric to go for this at once. Shouldn’t he be happy to get in his precious Cara’s pants again?

Yet, when I look at his face, I find him glaring at me with clear disdain.

“You aren’t Cara,” he says and I still. Now, I can tell that his muscles are tense under my arms. They’ve been that way since I’ve started hugging him. Did he notice from the start? “Who are you?”

Cara’s POV

As we near the hotel, my trepidation mixes with excitement so that I’m a bumbling nervous mess. Colin stays near me the entire time, keeping an eye out on our surroundings. He’s not ignorant of my nerves though, especially after I trip over the sidewalk for the fourth time.

“You are doing the right thing,” he says in encouragement.

“I know,” I say, certain of it now, despite my nervousness. “I know, I just… I can’t wait for this to be over.”

“It almost is.”

At the hotel, I walk in first with Colin behind.

I’m about to go to the front desk to have Alaric paged, when I notice a strange sight in the hotel bar.

That man looks a lot like Alaric, but it can’t be…

Beside me, Colin tenses slightly. He sees it too.

I take a step closer to the hotel bar, not totally believing my eyes. Yet with each forward step brings more and more clarity, until I’m so close that I cannot deny my eyes.

This is Alaric, and a woman has her arms around him like a lover would.