Page 11 of Alpha Bully

“She would be taken easily from there,” I snap. Murmurs continue around the hall. Admitting that she couldn’t protect herself or her child only reinforces the narrative about her, but it’s true. “I will have no one questioning my decision on this. Understood?”

I hear a few “yes, alpha”sfrom around the room, and that will have to do for now.

“Tough crowd,” Byron mutters as the pack disperses.

“They’re restless about the rogues. Ava is an easy target,” I admit.

Byron pauses for a moment before replying, “You know, it might work better if she was out and about. That’s a cute kid. Let people see that, and they’ll ease up.”

“Did they ever ease up on Ava?” I ask dryly.

“Oh, I don’t know, I guess you must have at one point,” Byron replies, already walking away. I stare at his retreating back in surprise; I didn’t think anyone knew what had happened between us. For the first time, I wonder if it’s as secret as I thought.

Returning to the house, I find it almost shrouded in darkness except for a small lamp in the kitchen. Ava stands at the sink washing the dishes, some leftovers covered on the counter. She half-turns as I enter, drying her hands. “We ate. Harper was so tired,” she says with a small smile. “But I kept this warm for you.”

The soft lighting makes her look even more beautiful; her small, curvy frame makes my hands itch with the urge to grab her and pull her close. She looks like she’d weigh nothing at all.Weak.My wolf growls in frustration, and when I look back at her, I see the uncertainty in her eyes.

“You know,” I say, stalking toward her. “A lot of the pack meeting was about you. I think it would be better if you and Harper were seen out in town. Stop hiding away.”

She takes a deep breath and glances around. “We can leave if it’s easier. I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“Goddammit. That’s not what I said,” I snap. “You just need to act…normal. The pack functions better when everyone fits in, you know that.”

Tears well in her eyes, and it only pisses me off. Why can’t she just be normal and get the pack to accept her? Charlie managed it. “I won’t expose Harper to their hate. She deserves so much better.”

I run my hand through my hair, exasperated and annoyed. “It’s nothate,” I say, stepping closer to her. To my surprise, she doesn’t shrink away.

“What would you call it, then?” she says, eyeing me defiantly. She’s pissing me off. The meeting pissed me off. Everything is pissing me off.

My eyes flicker to her mouth, and I know the exact moment she realizes as her breath hitches. She finally diverts her eyes, but I find that’s the last thing I want. Leaning down, I capture her lips in one crushing movement. My hand tangles in her hair, and she melts into me with a soft moan. I can taste the fear on her lips, but it only makes me more determined to take her.

She gasps as I deepen the kiss, her hands coming up to my chest in surprise. She leans into me more, and I feel her body starting to melt against mine. My other hand slides down to her small waist, pulling her closer, feeling the soft curve of her ass beneath my fingers.

Suddenly, she pushes me away with surprising force, and I stumble backward. “We can’t do this,” she gasps out between breaths. “If you don’t want us here, we’ll leave. But you’re never having me like this.”

With that, she turns and runs from the room. I don’t go after her because what would I say? This is exactly how I want her.

Chapter 7 - Ava

Harper is clearly thrilled with the new clothes Callum left outside our door this morning, but they only make me nervous. It means he isn’t giving up on his insistence that we go out into town and try to integrate. I tried telling him we’re still not staying; there’s no point. But he’s right about one thing—we can’t go anywhere with the rogues still potentially looking for us. I won’t risk Harper’s safety.

I help Harper pull on a cute fleece jacket and watch as she beams with pride. At the Collinses’, she only had four items of clothing, and I’d had to beg for those. They were stained and the wrong sizes. I want to hate Callum so much, but that’s increasingly hard to do when I look at my daughter and see the healthy color in her cheeks from good food, her laughter from having somewhere safe to play, and now these lovely clothes.

Even her magical outbursts have been less frequent, which makes me wonder if she was doing it so much out of fear. Another way that I have failed her. Tears begin to well in my eyes, and she seems to notice straight away, rushing over to me and wiping them away with innocent determination. I smile reassuringly at her and get her to twirl for me again.

It is hard to hate Callum when he’s done so much for Harper, yet I burn with rage for what he has done to me. He destroyed me. He rejected me, and I lost my wolf. And then, he kissed me and made me feel everything that I had tried so hard to forget.

Harper dances around, impatient to get going. I’ve told her we’re going to go to the shops and she’s excited, if a little confused. She’s never been to any shops before. We talked about it and made it a game, explaining how they work, and now she’s even more excited. She’s eager to see the world, and I know I shouldn’t hold her back. But I also know how cruel this particular world can be.

I check my reflection in the mirror. Again, I’m grateful that Callum picked up a few things for me, too, so I don’t look a complete mess. My hair hasn’t been cut in over three years, but it’s in fairly good condition now that I’m able to wash it properly, and it falls in waves down my back. Harper seems to have taken my coloring, and it makes me smile at how similar we look. I just wish she hadn’t inherited her father’s magic. I fear it’s only going to put her at risk.

I heard Callum leave after breakfast, and I’m glad I don’t have to face him again right now. In some ways, I’d rather face the whole pack than see his face and think about the way his lips felt against mine last night again. Breakfast was hard enough, but I managed to occupy myself with Harper and try to ignore the way his eyes seemed to bore into my soul, or at least my body.

The kiss did more than ignite my body; it briefly brought my wolf to the surface, too. She clawed and whined for him even hours later. And that pisses me off more than anything—where was she when I needed her strength? Where was she when Harper needed her? That she would return just forhimafter all we have been through is an insult. I feel like I don’t even want my wolf anymore, and I’ve never heard a shifter say anything like that.

Grabbing Harper’s hand, I head downstairs. I can feel my trepidation rising as we leave the house and set the alarm as Callum showed me. I haven’t been out since we arrived in town, it feels all wrong walking down the porch steps. So many memories of the last time I stood here before fleeing the pack linger. It’s like the trees are mocking me as the leaves rustle. I’m determined not to let my feelings affect Harper, so I plaster a smile on my face and swing her arms gently as we walk. She’s giddy with excitement as we turn onto the main square, and I point out all the different shops.

The hardware store that hasn’t changed at all since I was a little girl, the general store with the biggest range of stock on the island by far, and the bakery that old Mrs. Richardson used to own; she always gave Charlie and me free buns when she saw us loitering. We could never go in, as we had never had any money.

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