Page 43 of His Forsaken Alpha

“Areyou ready, though? You’re still in treatment. A work in progress. You’ve said it yourself. Focus on yourself and I’ll manage our child’s care.”

Wynter trembled with anger, refusing to unleash the fury within in front of Jamie.

Warden ignored the look in Wynter’s eyes and smiled at Jamie. “I’ll be late tonight, but home in time to read you a bedtime story.”

“Can I go to work with you, Daddy?”

“Omegas don’t go to work,” Warden replied, chuckling. He turned to Wynter. “They remain home, to care for their childrenand home, not that you’ve seen much example of that. Had you, you might not require that tutor that comes today.”

Wynter glared at the alpha.

Jamie pouted, glancing Wynter’s way a brief second. “I don’t wanna stay home.”

“Jamie,”Warden said, his tone hinting at irritation. “I must go to work. Be a good boy, now. Do as you’re told.”

Jamie pouted and then raced off toward his own bedroom without another word.

“One minute you tell me I don’t care enough for our child and in the next, you color me as the villain in his eyes.”

Warden scoffed. “How did I do that? By stating the truth?”

“He’s four. He doesn’t understand nuance or that I’ve been ill, incapable of taking care of myself, let alone him.”

“Are you saying I should lie to our son?”

“Not lie,” Wynter said. “He’s four. Explain things in terms he can understand.” He shook his head. “Or do you say these things on purpose? To distort his view of his own papa?”

Warden frowned. “I talk to Jamie with respect, and I tell him the truth. I won’t sugarcoat things and make you feel less guilty over what you’ve done to him. Or rather, what youhaven’tdone.”

“How am I do make things right when you won’t allow me? I want to learn how to be a papa to him.”

“I’ve been his sole parent since birth,” Warden said.“Nowyou demand rights? You haven’t earned them yet.”

Wynter knew then he’d have to play Warden’s game if he wanted any kind of relationship with Jamie. “What do I do to earn them back?”

Warden eyed him up and down. “You do as I say. Play your role as my omega. Impress me and perhaps you earn privileges.” He spun and exited the bedroom.

Privileges? With the son he bore from his own body? He fought tears, departing Warden’s bedroom. After returning to his, Wynter sat down on the edge of his bed, stunned by the utter callousness of the man he’d been bound to. He’d seen hints of it over the years, but in the fog he’d existed in since arriving, perhaps there had been more he’d refused to notice. At least he’d gotten one little thing from the fight—he could continue his therapy. Once a month wasn’t enough, but he’d have to make it work.

He eyed his scars, wishing he’d never allowed the darkness to drag him so deep—but after being forced into a mating he’d never wanted, filled with a child his body was barely capable of sustaining, and sent to live in another province, away from his entire family and any friends, he’d been lost. The initial sadness had swallowed him whole, and he’d not been able to see how far he was sinking until it was too late.

While it had been difficult coming out of the darkness, doing it without Warden at his side had been amazing. He hadn’t wanted to come home, but he’d had no other choice. He needed to face his life and try to find something within it to work. If he could win Warden over, perhaps he might survive.

Wynter reached for the calendar beside his bed. The next cycle would come in a matter of days. Rising, he opened his closet,ready to pack his bags. Not that he’d need much. He’d spend most of his time in a bed naked with a tool to help calm his need.

Why he ended up packing four large suitcases, he wasn’t sure—other than the desire throbbing within.

The one that whispered to never return.

A few days later…

Wynter steppedonto the first-class train car, a beta porter struggling behind him with his many bags. He stalked ahead, along a narrow corridor past door after door, seeking his private cabin and a little privacy. While there were another two days before his heat was fully upon him, he sensed the glimmer of it already. Privacy was a necessity if he didn’t want to cause a scene.

“It’s the next door on the left,” the porter called out.

“They’reallon the left,” Wynter spat before taking the door he’d been instructed to.

As soon as he whipped it open, he found an alpha seated inside the cabin. A very handsome alpha. Handsome or not, he wasn’t in a sharing mood. Wynter frowned and spun to the porter. “Are you sure this is the right one?”

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