Page 24 of His Forsaken Alpha

Wilder strode to a small bar cart across the room and poured two whiskeys. Cav’s gaze flitted between the babe in the omega’s arms and to his son’s back. Wilder returned and handed one over. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” Cav’s hand shook slightly, the alcohol sloshing a bit in the glass. “Mind… mind if I take a seat?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He nearly collapsed into a nearby chair, the momentousness of the situation bearing down on his shoulders and weakening his knees. Cav downed the liquor in one gulp. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand andtook a breath as the alcohol burned its way down. “I didn’t know. About you. Just so you're aware.”

“What are you talking about?” Wilder asked, hopefully feigning the indifference he projected.

“I had no idea I had a son.”

“My fatherdied today,” Wilder replied without emotion.

“The man who raised you, sure. Clearly not the man who made you.” Cav shook his head. “It’s like looking in a mirror. Minus thirty odd years, of course.”

Wilder took a seat on the chaise at his omega’s feet, his eyes glazed over. After he slowly inhaled and exhaled, he turned his attention to Cav.“Who are you?”

“Your papa’s true alpha.” Cav frowned. “And from what I see before me, likely your father.”

Silence filled the room. It weighed heavily, making it harder for Cav to breathe.

Wilder drained his whiskey. “I think I need another.”

Cav lifted his glass. “I’ll take another, too.” He’d curbed his drinking years before. He’d relied on it a little too often over the years to mask the pain of losing his omega. Learning he’d lost a lot more than that broke another piece inside. Drowning inside a bottle didn’t sound half bad in that moment.

Wilder ambled near to take Cavanaugh’s empty tumbler, appearing wary of getting too close. He reached for the glass and turned his back once it was in hand.

The babe in his papa’s arms cried out, little fists punching the air.

“Excuse me,” the omega said. He pulled a thin blanket over one shoulder and eased the babe toward his chest.

Cav heard the telltale sign that the infant had latched on and nursed away. He knew he shouldn’t watch so closely, yet… it was his grandson.

His grandson.

A glass of whiskey slid between him and his line of sight. When he lifted his gaze, he thought he saw anger in Wilder’s expression.

An overprotective alpha? With any luck that’s all that was, and he hadn’t overstepped.

“Sorry,” he muttered, accepting the glass. He lifted it in some semblance of a cheer and downed the second one as fast as the first.

“You might want to slow down,” Wilder mumbled. He gazed at the refilled tumbler in his own hand before shrugging and downing his, too.

“Good advice,” Cav murmured.

Wilder winced before lowering the glass to the surface of a nearby table, his back to Cav. “Mr. Cavanau?—”

“Just Cav. That’s what my friends call me.”

Wilder turned and eyed him a moment, emotionless.“Cav.”He drew in a deep breath. “I…” He paused, shaking his head, and likely searching for the right words to say. What did one say when faced with news like that? Cav wasn’t sure which one of them was in worse shape at that moment. “I just put my fatherin the ground, and I don’t know if I have the ability to have the conversation you likely want to have right now.”

Cav rose to his feet. “You’re right, of course. I’m not exactly in the right head space for that right now myself, if truth be told. You’re grieving and I… I… shouldn’t have come.”

“Yet here you are,” Wilder murmured.

“I guess… I just had to see up close. Make sure my eyes hadn’t been deceiving me.” He used both hands to scrub his face before lifting his gaze to Wilder. “I had no idea…” He frowned, the knowledge of what had been robbed from him cutting deep. “I… I simply came to offer my respects to someone I cared about and…” He shoved a hand through his hair. “And I found…” He searched Wilder’s face. “I found you.”

“Someone you cared about…”He narrowed his eyes. “My father, Warden Jaymes, was my papa’s alpha.Notyou.”

Cav wasn’t sure how to answer. They’d both been lied to. Outright lies and those of omission. He didn’t want to compound that and add more to the pile Wilder’s life had been built upon. “I think we’re both aware that fate fucks up on occasion.”

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