Chapter 121

Alaric’s POV

Coming off the elevator, I walk briskly down to the room I use as an office. As I open the door, John stands from behind his makeshift desk.

“Welcome back, Alpha,” he says, his eyes filled with curiosity, though he startles when he gazes at the woman following along behind me.

The woman who, while dressed like Cara and with a similar shade of red hair, is decidedly not Cara Auburn.

John’s gaze falls back onto me, like he’s waiting for some kind of explanation. I wish I had a better one to give than I do.

“This is Melinda Bedford, who has made several claims in the past thirty minutes, including that she is my lover and carries my child.” I wait for Melinda to enter then close the door behind her. “None of which, I will scream from the rooftop, is true.”

Melinda saunters into the room, showing no signs of shame. She peers around at the items on our desk before takes position on the couch. She leans back on the cushion while crossing her legs comfortably.

“Call the elders,” Melinda says. “They’ll explain everything.”

“John,” I say. “Get the elders on the phone. I want to hear that explanation as soon as possible.”

John moves at once, walking to the desk. As he lifts the phone and makes the call, I cross my arms, standing at attention in the middle of the room.

Melinda cannot be trusted, so I don’t take my eyes off of her.

She bats her eyes at me. “You don’t have to glare at me so, darling.”

“Stop calling me that,” I say. “I am your King. You will address me with respect.”

“I have nothing but respect for you, or I wouldn’t be here,” she says, but withholds the pet names this time. For now. I have a distinctive feeling that this will not last.

John speaks with the assistant on the other end of the phone, trying to facilitate the call.

“If you respected me, you wouldn’t lie about being the mother of my child. To Cara. My actual mate,” I say.

“Your ex mate, if I recall correctly,” Melinda says. “Didn’t you mutual reject each other?”

I don’t move a muscle externally, but inwardly, I cringe. Rejecting Cara has proved to be the worst mistake of my entire life. If I had chosen Cara from the start…

No. I cannot undo the mistakes of the past. The best I can do is try to rectify them now.

Melinda is an obstacle in that regard.

If she is right, and the elders support this, they will have much to answer for as well.

“Alpha,” John says, lowering the phone handset away from his face. “I have the elders on the line now.”

“Speakerphone, please, John,” I say.

John nods. He presses the button for speakerphone and immediately places the handset down.

“Alpha Alaric,” says one of the elders, his voice crackling through the speaker of the phone. “How good of you to check in with us.”

“Excuse me but I don’t have time for pleasantries,” I say, allowing my irritation to show in my voice. “Melinda Bedford is here.”

“Hello! How are you?” she calls.

“Fine, dear. Thank you,” says one of the elders.

“Ah, so she made it,” says another.

“How are you?” asks a third.

“Doing well!” Melinda calls.

“That’s enough,” I say, cutting them all off. “She has overstepped here, claiming that she is my lover and mate, disrupting my pursuit of Cara.”

“Ah,” says one of the elders. “The pursuit of the BloodyMoon princess is a noble one, but…”

“It’s taking too long,” another elder quickly adds. “DuskWood pack needs a Luna and heirs, the sooner the better.”

“It would also help if you would return to your own pack lands,” says a third. “We’ve tried to be patient, but you’ve dallied for far too long.”

“DuskWood needs heirs, Alpha,” says another elder. “You were attacked recently. We could have lost you. Without an heir, the entire pack would have been thrust into chaos. Surely you can understand that.”

“Cara is the mate I want,” I say. “I will not be pushed into choosing another.”

“Melinda is a good match. The Bedford line is a strong one,” says one of the elders, and the others all agree. It’s as if they aren’t listening to me at all.

“DuskWood needs heirs,” says that same elder.

“Mating Melinda and getting her pregnant is really the best and easiest choice,” says another.

“Absolute not,” I snap, a growl finding its way into my voice, curtesy of my angry wolf.

Normally, I would try to reason with the elders, knowing the authority they hold in the pack, but in this, I cannot reason. I cannot compromise. They want me to bind myself forever to a woman I do not love simply because it is convenient.

Angry, I allow some of my Alpha tone to slip into my voice. Authoritative. Strong. I am Alpha King and will not be told what to do by anyone, not even them.

Not in this. Not in my personal life.

“I will not be mating with Melinda,” I say firmly. “Cara is the only one for me, and I will continue to pursue her, whether I have the approval of the elder council or not.”

In response, they are quiet for a long moment. Perhaps I’ve stunned them.

Good. They’ve overstepped here, and I’m tired of allowing it.

“Melinda will be on the first plane back to DuskWood lands,” I say.

“Now wait a minute,” Melinda says, appearing genuinely upset for the first time today.

“Think this through, Alpha,” says one of the elders. “We aren’t trying to control you, but even you must admit that DuskWood needs an heir.”

“I will not be forced into anything,” I say. “I absolutely refuse to let anyone interfere in my personal affairs.”

I wait a moment, but the elders are in stunned silence once more.

“Melinda is returning home, and I will continue to pursue Cara. And that is the end of this.”

Cara’s POV

Together Colin and I walk back to the house he shares with the twins, where the kids and I have been staying since receiving the red-stained note.

The kids immediately perk when they hear us come through the door. They’ve been running all through the living room, it seems, and now approach us with barely-restrained energy. Even Mia seems to be more bouncy than normal.

“Can we go outside today?” Ethan asks.

“No, I’m sorry,” I tell them. Until the madman is caught, it’s not safe for the kids out there.

Ethan and Mia’s faces both fall.

“What about our friends? Can we see them?” Mia asks.

There’s hope in her eyes and in her small voice. It makes me want to agree to anything she wants, especially when I know the alternative will make her so sad.

But the truth of it is, they can’t leave and others can’t see them.

There’s no one outside of the family that we can trust.

Not even, it seems, Alaric.

“I’m sorry,” I say. Even having braced myself for it, seeing their faces fall further hits me like a gut punch.

It makes me question everything. Am I doing the right thing?

Maybe Alaric is toying with my feelings, but does that means he would do the same with the children?

Or would he be a good dad, even with his other personal failings…

The question weighs heavy on my mind, especially as I watch my children’s excitement deflate, and a sense of melancholy wash over them.