Page 112 of His Forsaken Alpha

He paced along the width of the drive, back and forth, waiting to see if Wynter would face him. Waiting to see a ghost reappear in his life, if only for a moment. Long minutes passed and no instructions came. The gates didn’t open. No one appeared.

Unwilling to give up, Cavanaugh leapt onto the gates and began climbing. He’d see his omega if it was the last thing he did.

“Cavanaugh! Stop!”

Cavanaugh paused long enough to see Wynter running closer—as fast as a pregnant omega could waddle-run. His clothing was tighter than the day before, clearly showing the swell of a belly filled with another alpha’s child. Seeing that was a stab to the gut. He’d almost forgotten the vision of a rounded stomach, or the feeling of it when he’d hugged his omega close. He slid back down the gate on the outside, watching Wynter approach from the inside. His mind churned with questions he was too afraid to ask—questions that would eat him alive if he didn’t ask them.

Wynter wobbled up to the gate and eyed him, sadness in those lovely blue eyes.

Eyes he’d thought he’d never see again.

It is him. He’s alive.

Hope sparked, but Cav had no business feeling it. He was a fool.

“I told you to leave me alone,” Wynter whispered. “Why can’t you just… let go?”

“I was pretty shitfaced yesterday. When I woke up this morning, I was sure seeing you had been a nightmare. My agent assured me it was real, but I couldn’t believe it. No waymy omegafaked his own death just to get away from me, right?”

Wynter’s lower lip wobbled just barely, but Cav had seen it. A flash of tears appeared, too, but were soon gone. The math wasn’t adding up, not that it ever had when it came to that week of his life.

“Tears?”

Wynter looked away. Cav fought the sting to his own eyes. He might be there, making an ass of himself, but the fuck if he was going to cry.

“Don’t pretend you give a shit now,” Cav said, needing to provoke a reaction and revel in his anger. It was the only thing that would save him from breaking. He rested his forehead on the gate, glaring at Wynter. “You didn’t five years ago, that’s abundantly clear. You really are acold,heartless man, aren’t you?”

“I…” Wynter clenched his eyes shut, a lone tear sliding down his cheek. When he reopened his eyes, something had changed, just like the day before. That same mask slipped into place. “You’re right. I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now. You need to leave my family and I alone.”

“Icould’ve been your family… if you’d allowed me to be.” He fought a sob rising up. It’s all he’d wanted. To have a family with his omega.

Wynter’s lower lip wobbled again, and Cav sensed it wasn’t fake—though everything outwardly told him it was.

He stared at the ground to hide the rise of emotion. Once he got a hold of it, he lifted his gaze. “How did you orchestrate all that? The fire. The other body.”

Wynter crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin haughtily. “With enough money,anythingcan be done.”

“You’d been under me for days. Then I was only gone a couple of hours and when I returned, there’s a dead body relatively the same size and hair color as you, lying burnt outside my cabin?How?”

Memories of that vision had haunted his dreams for years—and then only to learn it hadn’t been his Wynter? He had to know who it had been. Who died in his cabin?

Wynter shrugged. “You were asleep. Between rounds of my heat. I made some calls then. I’d been plotting for days.”

“From what phone?” Cav asked.

Wynter blinked a few times. “The one in your cabin.”

A lie. “I hadn’t reconnected service yet,” Cav whispered.

Wynter opened and closed his mouth a couple of times.“Someonehad. Or maybe you’d forgotten to turn it off before you left. I don’t know, but itwasworking. I used it to… plan my escape.”

“I don’t believe you,” Cav said.

“I don’t care if you do or don’t. The point is… this is over. It’sbeenover. You need to go—and never come back.” Wynter searched behind Cav, a look of terror in his eyes. “I never want to see you again, Cavanaugh.”

Cav turned and found nothing. When he looked back at Wynter, he thought he saw fear. Why? “What has you so afraid?”

“Youhaveto leave, Cav.Please.”

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