Page 7 of Cruel Alpha

Caleb rolled his eyes, but there was a slight smile on the edge of his lips as he sat carefully on another of the couches, laying Emmy down beside him before he said,

“Leo, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Leo.”

Leo’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly; he’d clearly heard my name before. I was surprised Caleb even mentioned me—surely my existence was a point of shame for him, not to be mentioned in front of other Alphas.

“And, uh—these are her kids,” Caleb continued, matter-of-fact. “The Arbor hunters ran them off the road a few miles from the bridge.”

There were follow up questions, the Alphas talking in low, urgent tones, but I heard none of it.Herkids, he’d said—notourkids.

Suddenly, I was eighteen again, nauseous and terrified and tugging on the sleeves of my cardigan as I waited outside the hall for Caleb and his crew to be done in the little upstairs gym; it was the only place I knew that I could find him if I didn’t want to hang out on his father’s porch like a kicked puppy. Right on cue, they burst through the doors in a tornado of sweaty limbs, pushing each other playfully or grabbing each other in headlocks. On a normal day, they wouldn’t have noticed me at all.

On that day, though, I walked into their path, my legs shaking beneath me, and said,

“Caleb, can I talk to you?”

He looked at me like I was a leper, like he was a king and I was a pox-ridden peasant who had no right to be speaking to him. He’d seemed so different on the night of his party—almost six weeks ago now—but the next morning, everything had gone back to the way it always was. Except everything had changed.

“You can bring any disputes to my father directly,” he said, cold and aloof. “Don’t know what you’re bothering me for.”

He tried to walk past me, but I stepped into his path again.

“No,” I said, my voice shaking. Someone whispered,“Bro,”from within the throng of boys; no one refused to obey the future Alpha. “I need to talk toyou,not your father. Maybe—maybe somewhere private?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see elbows meeting rib cages and hands going up to mouths to cover whispers, but I did not lower my gaze from Caleb. I shouldn’t be looking him in the eye at all: females, especially females as low in the Pack as I was, did not make eye contact with high-ranking males. But he was mymate,even if no one knew but the two of us.

His eyes flickered over to his friends before coming back to mine, and his expression changed: a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he crossed his arms.

“Oh yeah?” he said. “I don’t know what exactly you could have to say to me that needs to be private.”

It was a dare. What was I supposed to do? To claim him as my mate, to say out loud that he’d kissed me and touched me and—andfuckedme six weeks ago? He knew how easily that could be brushed off: I would be a crazy, delusional female, and he would go on with his life unscathed. What he didn’t consider was that his actions had consequences, indisputable ones.

I still didn’t want to say itthere,though; I didn't want to say it in front of a bunch of ogling Beta males. I gave him one more chance.

“Please,” I said, bending my head in supplication, like a good female would. “I think you will want to hear this in private.”

With my head down, I couldn’t see the look that was exchanged between Caleb and his friends, but I could hear the snickering that followed. Eventually, Caleb sighed, grabbing my arm roughly and dragging me about ten feet away.

“Happy now?” he said. Now that he was away from his friends—his back turned so they could no longer see his face—he couldn’t look me in the eye. I wasn’t happy, not even close, but this was at least marginally better than it had been, and once I told him—once I told him, things were going to change. I took a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant,” I said. There was no softer way to say it, and I couldn’t have formed any more complex sentences. I could only wait for Caleb’s response, wait for the apologies and assurances that I was so certain would come now that he couldn’t deny me any longer. Several long, agonizing seconds passed, and I began to think I’d spoken too softly—perhaps he hadn’t heard me—when he said,

“And what does that have to do with me?” His mouth was set in a grim line of anger, his body coiled with tension.

“I-I—it’s yours,” I stammered. I hadn’t thought I would have to spell that out, but the words only made him roll his eyes.

“I’m not stupid, Alyssa,” he said. The ground dropped out from beneath me. I was falling and falling and falling and no one was going to catch me. I could only stare at him, utterly speechless. What could I say to that?

“You think I’m lying?” I finally choked, my eyes filling with tears. His hand was around my arm again, and he yanked me close to him, leaning down so that our faces were level. There was nothing in his expression but rage, and I could hear the growl beginning to grow in his chest.

“You’re not going to trap me, got it?” he hissed. “Whatever trick this is, it’s not going to work.”

“But I thought—I thought—”

“You thought what?” he snapped. “That I was going to gather you up in my arms and bring you home to my father? You thought I was going to announce to the Pack that my mate is a half-breed nobody?”

I had. God help me, I had thought that. I was so, so stupid. A sob ripped itself from my chest as he turned back to his friends, clearly done with me. I made a feeble, pathetic attempt to make him stay, my hands grasping at the loose fabric of his workout tee, but he only batted my hands away, disgusted.

I didn’t hear what he said to the little gang still waiting on him. It didn’t matter. My ears rang, my stomach turned, and tears dripped from my chin; I was completely alone, completely hopeless.

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