Page 147 of His Forsaken Alpha

“For fuck’s sake,”Arthur murmured under his breath.

“The night of the Founder’s Day picnic, I stayed home because I wasn’t feeling well, but I didn’t know what was happening. I had no clue. I felt sick and strange… and then Warden was suddenly there, clawing and taking. I cried through the whole thing.”

“I assume you got pregnant?” Arthur asked. “And that’s why they forced you?”

“I don’t know if it really would’ve mattered if I was or not. I was damaged goods after they caught us that night. Papa wanted me gone.” Wynter released a shaky breath. “But, yes, I was pregnant. I hadn’t even turned fifteen yet when I gave birth to Jamie. I had no idea what to do. How to be a parent. And I’d left behind my entire family, so I had no support or anyone to ask questions. For a long time, I simply gave up.”

He caressed the scars at his wrists, a constant reminder from those dark days.

“Jamie. This is your child who passed like Autumn?” Arthur asked. “The same cancer?”

Wynter nodded, the pain of losing Jamie always near the surface, too. Knowing there was something in his blood that might’ve caused that in his son made him ill.

“I couldn’t stand Warden,” Anders said. “I can’t imagine you being forced to live your life with him.”

“Why couldn’t you stand him?” Wilder asked.

“He was a sadistic bully. Arthur and I got punished over and over again that summer—for things that jerk did.” Anders lifted a sleeve and showed off a long scar on his arm. “Papa did that to mebecause of Warden.Warden knew Papa was beating us, and still got us into trouble. After our beatings, he would smile with glee and taunt us with it.”

Wynter cringed.“I didn’t know that.”

“He pushed me into the deep end of the pool,” Harris said. “And then stood there laughing as I struggled to get to the edge. I was what… six or seven that summer? I wasn’t a great swimmer, but I sure learned how to after that.”

“I barely saw Warden that summer,” Wynter said. “As soon as I entered a room, he seemed to quickly depart it.”

“I don’t think he liked omegas,” Broderick said.

Wynter’s gaze lifted to his brother, gasping inwardly.“Why do you say that?”

“I caught him in the pool house with the Gardiner’s son who was home from university. An alpha. They were in the middle of…inappropriate things… when I peeked inside to see what he was up to,” Broderick replied. “Threatening to tell our parents helped keep him in line for the rest of the summer. Well, for the rest of it until he took off, of course, which wasn’t much later. I’d always assumed that’s why he left—he was afraid I’d tell.”

Wynter cast a glance at Wilder, whose eyes were as large as saucers. Cav squeezed Wynter’s hand.

“You don’t look as shocked as your son and alpha,” Broderick said to Wynter. “Did you know?”

“I’d seen signs,”Wynter whispered.

Both Wilder and Cavanaugh stiffened against him. From the corners of his eyes, he could see their gazes whipping to him.

“Signs?”Wilder asked, his voice low.

“We can discuss it later,” Wynter whispered under his breath.

“Where’s Warden now?” Anders asked.

“Dead. He died less than a week ago.”

“So now you’re free,” Arthur said softly with a smile. “And you came home to us.” He frowned. “Why didn’t you reach out sooner? We’ve thought you were dead for nearlyforty years.”

“I came back once. Five years after that mating. That’s when I met Cavanaugh—on the train to Blacksburg.” He turned to smile at his alpha, but saw an odd look on the man’s face. Wynter frowned, unsure what the dark look meant. Cavanaugh refused to meet his gaze. Turning back to his brothers, he tried to ignore it until they could be alone. “It was fate, neither of usanticipating we’d meet one another, yet there we were. The train was derailed, attacked by Wildlings and Cavanaugh protected me. We made it to his cabin, and I went into heat. That’s when I got pregnant with Wilder.” Wynter squeezed Wilder’s hand and smiled at his son. “Papa found us together soon after and threatened to kill both of us. He forced me back to Warden and threatened to kill Cavanaugh if I didn’t do as I was told.”

Anders growled under his breath.

“Papa also demanded I never step another foot back in Blacksburg and that I was essentially dead to him—and to you all.” Wynter murmured. “I couldn’t give Papa a reason to harm my alpha, so I went along with it and returned to Warden.”

“It sounds like he’d already staged your funeral, so that was likely behind his actions,” Wilder murmured. “He couldn’t have a ghost walking into the province. His lies would’ve been exposed.”

“True,” Wynter said. “He claimed it was because I was a whore and the scandal of that would destroy the bank and the family.” Wynter scoffed. “He didn’t want everyone know he was a liar.”

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