Page 23 of His Forsaken Alpha

Cavanaugh approached the gleaming wood door he’d watched his carbon copy slip through a half hour before. He’d sat in his car, weighing whether he should go and ask his questions or not. Fear of what he might learn had left him immobilized. Fear wasn’t an emotion he knew well. For several years in his younger days, he’d been embedded as an investigative reporter with a No Man’s Land tribe governed by one of the most fearsome warlords. His experience had given him his first bestseller and began a career of crossing the lines into dangerous situations and returning to report back. He’d visited nearly every continent, exploring their world and reporting back on it, never afraid of the journey ahead.

Yet knocking on a door to a quaint, suburban estate utterly terrified him.

Cav couldn’t walk away, either. He needed to know. Needed it as much as he needed air in his lungs. He had to have answers before he walked away, and he was quite certain Wynter wouldn’t give them. It was probably best they kept their distance anyway. It had been hard enough being so close earlier that day and not being able to touch the omega.

Hisomega.

Though Wynter had never been his. Not truly.

Over three decades later and that fact still brought pain, the chunk Wynter had torn from his heart never truly healed. Cavanaugh clenched his jaw, unable to find the strength to lift his hand and knock. What if he was wrong?

How could he be? The man lookedexactlylike him. It had been like looking in a mirror, if only he’d been thirty years younger.

Finally summoning the courage, he knocked—and instantly regretted it. He eyed his rented car at the end of the circular drive and imagined racing away, forgetting what he’d witnessed. How could he forget, though? It would gnaw at him until he knew what it all meant, though that knowledge stood to hurt him even more.

Cav heard noise behind the door and when it swung open, he found his own face staring back at him.

They both stared at one another a few long seconds, silent.

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have, but I followed you here. I had to...” Cav blinked a few times. Up close, there could be no doubts. The man was his son.“Can we talk?”

Hesitancy swirled in his replica's eyes. Finally, the young man stepped back, jaw tight, and opened a path. “Come in.”

Cav stepped into the large foyer, glancing around at the wealth on display. Wealth he would never have been able to give Wynter and their son. He’d done well for himself over the years, but his millions couldn’t compareto the hundreds ofmillionsthe Jaymeses had in their coffers.

“My omega and son are asleep in the family room, so we need to keep this conversation brief… and quiet.”

Cavanaugh nodded. A son? He had a grandson, too? He wanted to smile, but he was too overwhelmed to feel too much of the joy that whispered through him. “Of course.”

The young alpha eyeballed him from top to bottom.“Whoare you?”

“I knew your papa. A long, long time ago.”

“Who are you…to him?”

“Wilder? Is someone here?” a voice called out.

Wilder?“Your name is…Wilder?”

“It is.” Wilder turned slightly, his handsome brow furrowed. “Coming, my love.” He turned to eye Cav. “You should come in. Meet my omega.”

Cav took a deep breath. It was too much, too soon, but he couldn’t stop the momentum any more than he’d been able to stop the bullet that had once torn through him.

He followed Wilder Jaymes toward the back of the large home. They passed a formal dining and a sitting room, elegantly decorated. Next, he noted the entrance into a large, well-appointed chef’s kitchen where two younger omegas sat eating, a beta moving about the space, cooking. Who were the other young omegas? More children? No… they were too old to be Wilder’s, surely.

He and Wilder traveled on, toward a sunny family room at the back. Everything they passed spoke of money. The furnishings were fine—simple yet elegant. Warm leather and woods, mixedwith soft colors and an abundance of greenery taking advantage of the light pouring in through large windows.

As soon as Cav noticed the small, pale omega resting on a chaise with a small bundle in his arms, he slowed his steps. The omega’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open slightly.

He sees it, too.

“We have a guest,” Wilder announced. He turned toward Cav. “I’m sorry… I didn't catch your name.”

“Cavanaugh.WilderCavanaugh.”

Wilder Jaymes’ eyes widened to impossible size before a sense of numbness seemed to roll over him. “Can I get you a drink, Wile—Mr. Cavanaugh?”

“Call me Cav,please.”Their first names all but confirmed who they were to one another, didn’t it? It wasn’t conclusive, but their resemblanceandthe name? It had to be. Clearly his son sensed that, too.A son.I have a son.“I drink little these days, but I believe I’ll take one now.”

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