Page 100 of His Forsaken Alpha

Wynter forced a smile. “It sounds like you had a lovely time without me.”

“I like ice skating. I can show you how I did it if you take me again,” Jamie said, nearly bouncing with excitement. “Mr. Joel said I was a good skater.”

“Maybe,” Wynter murmured. “Right now, I need to rest, okay?”

“Are you tired again, Papa?”

Wynter nodded, forcing another smile. His face already hurt from the weight of wearing his mask. “I’m very,verytired.”

“You should go to bed,” Jamie said earnestly.

Wynter nodded. “That’s the plan. Let’s get you to Mr. Joel so he can get you ready for bed, too.”

“Okay.”

Wynter urged Jamie toward the stairs. His son grasped his hand as they climbed, and he winced, not expecting the touch. Wynter stared down where their hands met. He wrapped his hand around Jamie’s and held on, forcing a smile.

Joel awaited them on the second floor rising. Quickly, the manny stepped in and took Jamie toward the other end of the hallway where the child’s rooms were. Jamie stood on the landing and watched the pair retreat. Joel was a better parent than he was, especially in that moment. He had nothing left to give. And feared he never would again. His son deserved better, but he was broken and shattered on the inside. He used every ounce of strength to put one foot in front of the other, which he did until he stood beside his bed.

One of the servants was unloading his suitcases when he arrived.

“Sir? These don’t appear to be your belongings. Is it possible they were mixed up with another client of the spa?”

“Can you finish this up in the morning? I’m exhausted,” Wynter murmured, not in the right headspace to come up with excuses.

“Of course, Mr. Jaymes. Do you need any help preparing for bed?”

“No,” Wynter said. While he likely could’ve used the assistance, he needed to be alone before the staff witnessed his second break down.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Pleasant dreams.”

“Good night,” Wynter said, his voice barely over a whisper.

When the door shut, he turned to eye the bedroom. It somehow looked foreign to him. He no longer belonged in that world. He belonged in Cavanaugh’s. From the corner of his eye, henoticed his tote bag with his luggage. Lifting it, he searched through, finding what he wanted—the photograph he’d snatched on his way out. He sat down on the edge of the bed and eyed Cavanaugh’s handsome face staring out at him.

Tears burned his eyes as he trailed his fingertips on top. He’d cried so much, he was amazed he had tears left to fall. Glancing down, he saw the corner of the book he’d brought peeking out from a front pocket. He hefted the massive volume and opened the back cover for another peek at Cavanaugh. He turned back to the first page and noticed his alpha had signed it at some point.

To one pain in the ass omega—hopefully we survive one another!

—Wilder Cavanaugh.

Wynter dragged the book to his chest, tears burning in his eyes. Great sobs wracked his body. He fell sideways onto the bed, the book and photograph clutched to him like a life preserver, only they wouldn’t save him.

He was darkly adrift, floating on emptiness—and he’d never find solid land again.

12

Everything Cav had thought true…

Everything he’d held fashioned together with a fading memory and a broken heart—brimming with the anger, resentment, disgust, and sorrow which had long defined him—it all crumbled underneath his feet, leaving behind a vacuous emptiness he did not know how to fill. His instincts roared to drag Wynter into his arms, to refill that pit inside his soul with the omega who’d forsaken him all those years ago. There was no denying Wynter appeared to be struggling even more than he, and if the story was indeed accurate, his mate had truly endured hell.

Decades of it.

But how could he trust the revision of a history from the mouth of a man who’d lied countless times before? Instinct whispered it was the truth, yet wisdom went out the window when it came to Wynter Jaymes. Even through the animosity he’d harbored, at the base of it was love, a love that was willing to forego anything to have his mate at his side. Cav sat staring for long minutes, silently searching for an anchor within to clutch upon in theraging tempest before he made a monumental mistake he’d not be able to extract himself from.

He’d sought answers to the events of that week and the fire that followed for decades. Nothing he’d turned up in his research had made any sense. There was a file in his satchel back at Wilder’s house with what little he’d been able to dig up over the years. It wasn’t much. He’d hit dead end after dead end with documents missing, redacted, or destroyed. Witnesses had been dead or claimed memory loss. For the first time, he sensed he’d learned the truth of things.

It explained so much, yet still left answers behind—Wynter’s papa being at the forefront of his mind. Was the omega truly a monster or a fictional villain, saddled with the deceptions Wynter was unable to confront and take responsibility for?

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