Page 19 of Cruel Alpha

I’d assumed, while I was gone, that Caleb must be amusing himself with the unmated females on the island. Hell, maybe even a few of the mated ones. Girls had always been all over him, and there were more than a few lower-ranking males on Lapine who would let their mate into the Alpha’s bed for a chance at leaving their quarry jobs behind and being promoted to Beta. I hadn’t thought he’d be inconsiderate enough to organize a rendezvous right in front of me—while he was holding my child,ourchild, no less.

I barely acknowledged Julia when she cautiously returned home because I didn’t trust myself to speak without breaking down, and I was done letting Caleb Thorne do that to me. I was in control. I was in control of my emotions, my body, and my fate.

I was not, apparently, in control of my sleep schedule. I’d grown used to little knees and elbows poking me in the night, to the little snorts and huffs of the babies sharing my bed, but the night after Caleb and I fought, sleep eluded me entirely. In the end, I gave up on the bed, afraid of waking Jack or Emmy—or, God forbid, both—and padded downstairs to toss and turn on the couch instead.

Apparently, my tossing and turning and trips to the bathroom and the fridge had been loud enough to keep Julia up as well, so in the morning, I was shooed out of the house for “a nice relaxing walk” while she kept an eye on the twins.

As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Walking around the outskirts of town did help me relax. It was a nice day for walking; the sun was high in the sky but far from hot, so even after an hour or so at a brisk pace, I wasn’t too sweaty under my coat. The steady puff of my breath and the rhythm of my steps was meditative, and without the twins at my heels, I could allow my mind to be blissfully blank.

Running as a wolf would be even better, and I knew it, but I was also too weak to keep my wolf’s skin for longer than a few minutes, and I wasn’t risking the mortification of walking through town and back to Julia’s buck-ass naked in the cold. The Pack didn’t need another reason to gossip about me.

As if summoned, the main reason the Pack gossiped about me appeared in my path. Caleb looked almost as tired as I felt, which was satisfying, but it also made me want to reach out and smooth away the bags from under his eyes.

“Julia said you’d be out here,” he said. He looked—awkward? Apologetic? Angry? He was always one of those things, but right now, I wasn’t sure which one.

“Tell her she’s a dirty snitch,” I replied, not slowing my pace; he kept up with me easily, but it was the principle of the thing that mattered.

“You shouldn't be so far from town alone.” He was like a stuck record. Was that the reason he’d followed me out here? To curtail the first thing I’d really enjoyed since we fled Arbor? Did helikemaking me miserable?

“I’m alive,” I pointed out. Characteristically, Caleb ignored me.

“You’re coming back with me to the hall,” he said. His voice was tinged with Alpha authority, but he’d yet to realize that it didn’t work on me the way it worked on the rest of the Pack. I carried on walking.

“Oh, am I?”

“Yeah, you are,” he growled, catching me on my upper arm, forcing me to halt. “Be as mad about it as you want. It’ll probably help.”

I looked down at where he gripped my arm; his hand was so big that his fingers formed an easy circle around it. He wasn’t hurting me, but there was no way I could break free either.

“You gonna make me?” I asked, staring up at him. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore; he’d done everything he could to hurt me already.

“No,” he said, “but if you want to let off some steam, now’s your opportunity.” He smiled, his white canines glinting in the light. I did need to let off some steam, and he’d succeeded in making me curious.

“Fine,” I said. He released my arm.

“Good.”

We walked back into town in silence. Luckily, most of the Pack was busy with work and didn’t have time to gawk at me. The few who were out on their porches or roaming the streets still glanced our way, but none of them dared to look at Caleb wrong. If he’d ever claimed me as his mate, if he’d been brave enough to tell the Pack the truth,they wouldn’t dare to look at me wrong, either. For all his talk ofprotecting me,he’d never lifted a finger to protect me from the people he had the most power to protect me from.

I was surprised when we reached the hall and Caleb pushed open the door, holding it for me.

“After you.”

Inside, all the tables and chairs had been pushed to the side, leaving the space completely open. Usually, there’d be school going on at this time, the Pack young divided by age and dotted around the hall in little groups, but the space was empty and silent. When I spoke, my voice echoed in the empty space.

“What are we doing here?”

“That flame trick you did on Arbor was neat,” Caleb said, “but could you do it fast enough to fend off a wolf who was coming at you?”

Whatever I’d been expecting him to say, it wasn’t that.

“I don’t know. I’ve not needed to find out.” I absolutely was not going to tell him that my magic had been all but gone since I’d left Lapine and that his presence was the only thing that had managed to coax it back to life. Caleb frowned.

“Can you do any other kinds of magic?” he asked. “Anything that would be useful in a fight?”

Why did he want to know? Anxiety bloomed in my chest, and I let out a nervous laugh.

“Is this you trying to tell me that I’m about to be out on my own again?” I said, trying and failing to sound like I was joking. His face fell.

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