Page 8 of His Forsaken Alpha

“Your plans?”

Jamie grinned. “A big, happy family for Rohan.”

“Is it… your plan? Or is it Rohan’s?”

Jamie’s smile faded. “It is all me. Not Rohan. Not Gray.Me.I wanted this, for Rohan. He’s struggled with some of my decisions, but it’s all for him and one day, he will see why I made the choices I did.”

Wynter squeezed Jamie’s hand, fighting his skepticism. He’d not come to argue. “You love him? Don’t you?”

“Rohan? Of course. He’s my alpha.”

Wynter scoffed inwardly. Having an alpha didn’t always automatically spell out happiness and love. He knew that all too well. Rohan might be using Jamie’s love and adoration and that chafed. Had he been closer to his son, he could’ve protected him better.

“And if he’s willing to bring all these souls into the house, he must love you, too,” Wynter said for Jamie’s benefit alone. He wasn’t going to upset his sweet boy. No more than he might already have.

“He does,” Jamie murmured, grinning. “He’s the best man I’ve ever known. That’s why I wanted to give him these children. The world needs more men like my alpha.”

Wynter nodded. “The world does indeed need good men. Especially good alphas.”

Jamie’s smile faded. “I know you weren’t pleased with the idea of me having children with a surrogate. I assumed that’s why you’ve not visited.”

Wynter met his son’s gaze and knew how much he’d failed Jamie in that moment. “I’ve never told you much aboutmypapa, have I?”

“No. You’ve shared little about any of your family, even when I’ve asked.”

“There’s a reason I didn’t share. I tried to protect you boys from it.” Wynter sighed. “He was demanding. Cruel.” Wynter paused, forcing back emotions. “He expected perfection, and if I didn’t deliver it, he would show his displeasure in the worst of ways.”

“What ways?”

Wynter clenched his jaw. “That doesn’t matter. Just know that he left his mark on me.”

Jamie frowned.

“I fear he lefttoodeep a mark,” Wynter whispered. “His demands for perfection, he passed them down to me. I tried my best not to become like him, but in some ways I have.” Wynter had never beaten his children. That wasn’t exactly a high bar to set, but he clung to it, knowing he’d saved them from at least one horror from his childhood. “I demanded perfection of you, and your brothers, but especially you.” He brushed a tear from the corner of his eye. “I asked too much. I’m sorry I put that weight on your shoulders or made you feel you could never meet my expectations.”

“You only wanted the best for us. I know that.”

“No,” Wynter said. “I wasn’t always a good papa to you. I didn’t know how to be. I’m sorry I’ve failed you.”

Jamie’s soft smile broke him. “You loved me. In your own way. I know that.”

“That’s not good enough,” Wynter whispered.

“It is,”Jamie replied, squeezing Wynter’s hand.

“No,” Wynter said, shaking his head. Faced with losing his son, the fears and resentments faded. “I’ve wasted so much time and madesomany mistakes, but I need you to know how much I love you.”

Jamie smiled.“Aww…I love you, too, Papa.”

Wynter squeezed Jamie’s hand, almost fearing he was holding too tight. Deep down, he sensed he might be holding it for one of the last times and he had so much he wanted to say. “There’s so many things I never shared.” He trembled, holding back decades of pain. He wouldn’t unload that on Jamie, not in his son’s weakened condition. If only he’d opened up and shared it long ago. Maybe then, they could’ve repaired the chasm between them, but he’d feared it would only cause more pain and destroy what little they had. “But there’s time for that later,” Wynter said, wiping another tear from the corner of his eye. “Today, I want to hear more about this family of yours.”

“I’ve shared most of my news already. We’re in limbo until the little ones arrive.” Jamie’s smile grew again. “But I’m curious. I’ve asked so many questions over the years and you’ve always been such a closed book. You’ve never told me the story of how you and Daddy met—and how I came to be. I’d love to know that one.”

Wynter’s chest ached like fire, his lungs burning. How could he tell his dying son that horrific story? “Oh, you don’t want to hear that.”

“I do,”Jamie said, emphatic.“Please. I want to know.”

“I can’t,” Wynter whispered. “Not now.”

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