Page 19 of Alpha Bully

I smile. “She means well. She always has.”

“That is very true,” he relents, turning toward me. “How is she? Harper? She really is very cute.”

I glance over toward the swings and listen as Harper shrieks with delight as Sarah pushes her. “She’s great,” I reply. “We’ll figure things out, and she’s going to have a great life. Wherever we go.”

He turns to face me fully, and I see him properly for the first time in years. He’s noticeably older now and more mature. His beard is thicker than the last time I saw him, and I can see why Callum has picked him as a beta with his large frame. “You don’t think you’ll stay here?”

I can’t help the sigh that slips out, but I see no point in lying to him. “I have nothing here, and I want Harper to have everything.”

He winces at my honesty, but he doesn’t outright deny my words. Instead, he seems to mull something over before speaking again. “I think you should try to have something here. The rogues have only stepped up the attacks over the last few days,” he begins. “I don’t know everything, but Callum thinks the kid they’re looking for is Harper. I think you should let us try to protect her. For now, anyway.”

I want to bite back and tell him we don’t need his protection. After all, he didn’t care about protecting me when it mattered. But I don’t. I also don’t tell him that not everyone in the pack shares that sentiment. Honestly, I just feel blindsided by his statement and know I need time to think. Besides, what if Charlie already knew about the meeting that was going against Callum? What if saying something actually only makes things worse? So, I simply nod, and I turn to find Sara and Harper running back over to us.

“Harper was telling me you have to go because you’re baking a surprise?” Sara asks, raising her brows at me.

I blush but nod, pulling Harper in for a cuddle. “Yes, Harper wanted to bake Callum something nice for letting us stay.”

“Well, could you save some for me?” Sara asks and smiles. “Maybe I could pop around and check on you both tomorrow?”

Harper claps, and I can’t deny it feels nice to know someone wants to spend time with us. I nod and say goodbye quickly. It feels awkward to drag things out with Charlie, and he obviously feels the same as he nods, smiling at Harper. As we leave the park, Harper begins to ask questions about who Sarah’s friend is and how I know him. I try hard to change the subject without lying to her, but I can’t quite bring myself to tell her the truth about the brother I loved more than anything who broke my heart.

The one thing I do know, though, is that I can’t let Callum walk into a trap. Whatever he has done to me in the past and how he feels about me now is irrelevant. He’s still Harper’s father and has helped us. I owe him my loyalty in this.

Chapter 12 - Callum

Seething doesn’t even begin to cover it. Byron watches as I pace the full length of my office, the steps doing nothing to calm me down. “How is it that Jake and his idiot friends think they know better?” I rant.

Byron begins to chuckle, but his laughter dies when I focus my glare on him. Instead, he clears his throat. “Well, we’ve both known Jake a very long time. When did you ever know him not to be an idiot?”

“And surrounded by fucking idiots,” I mutter, finally sitting back in my chair and leaning back.

Of all the things I thought Ava could possibly want to talk to me about when she appeared in the kitchen last night after putting Harper to bed, this was not it. I briefly hoped she was feeling the same way as me and itching for a repeat of the other night, but the look of sheer concern on her face quickly quelled that notion.

We had been enjoying the cake that Ava and Harper had made earlier, and she didn’t give away any signs that something was bothering her. Harper had told me all about seeing Sarah and meeting her ‘friend’ Charlie. I raised my brows at Ava but didn’t say anything. She obviously didn’t want to confuse Harper about having a surprise uncle—or put Charlie on the spot, I guess. Still, I was glad to hear they’d seen him; it had to happen eventually. Besides, a cloud of guilt follows Charlie around over how he treated Ava, I think they would both benefit from finding a resolution to their shared history.

Ava hadn’t mentioned anything about the conversation they’d overheard in the store until she came back downstairs. She’d stood in the doorway, shifting nervously, and I could instantly tell she was weighing something up heavily. I waited for her to begin speaking, suddenly afraid she was going to say they were leaving despite the risks. When she began to tell me about the conversation they’d overheard, the pack’s dissent, and Jake’s plans for a secret meeting, I had to fight to keep my expression neutral.

I’m going to kill that idiot. It’s not the first time his loud mouth and half-baked ideas have caused problems, but deliberately going against the alpha…that’s just plain stupid.

Ava disappeared upstairs as soon as Byron arrived. She’s still so skittish around other members of the pack—though most people are nervous around Byron due to his size and the mean looking scar that runs down his left cheek. Under his rough exterior, he’s more fun than he looks, but even that’s not true tonight. He looks as pissed as I feel.

Byron glances down at his phone. “Charlie has the details,” he tells me with a grimace. “Seems to be fairly small, but this needs quashing. I’ll have him round up the other betas and we’ll get over there.”

I nod, standing. It’s not unusual for an alpha to have to assert his dominance, I just didn’t expect it to be this soon. Jake’s wolf is no match for mine, though, and he knows it; we’ve been sparring since we were kids. He’s an even bigger fool than I thought if he actually makes an official challenge.

“You told your brothers?” Byron asks as we’re leaving.

“Hell no,” I snap, “I don’t need them lording this over me at the next meeting or thinking I can’t run things right.”

Byron sighs. He grew up with all of us and knows how feisty our dynamic can be. We love each other, no doubt, but we can’t work together on anything. The alpha council is a tentative attempt at building something stronger as adults, but the scars Ralph left still run deep. “Your brothers will no doubt face similar trials eventually,” he says. “Everyone is suffering from the rogue’s disruption.”

Walking out of the house through the quiet, dark streets, I see the other betas waiting in the distance. "But no one more than us,” I reply. “The two rogues caught last night weren’t even from the island, but they were still looking for a child with magic. You and I both know that’s Harper. But she’s not the only magical child ever born. I think they were being paid to hunt her. Why?”

Byron shrugs. “One thing I do know, Jake and his idiot friends don’t know shit about this situation. Or how to handle it.”

I bite my tongue. There’s so much more I want to say, but I‘m saving all my rage to direct it to the right person. And also because I don’t want to push the conversation toward things I don’t want to talk about—Ava. Do we protect Harper because we don’t know why the rogues really want her, and it’s in our best interests to figure the situation out? Do we protect them because I don’t want to let them go? Do I have to admit my feelings either way?

We join with my betas and walk in relative silence to the spot in the woods where Jake and a small group are, faces shadowed by hoodies and trees. As we approach, many spin around instantly, standing up straight, respectful but defiant. Byron and the others take their places beside me, unfazed by the group's show of force.

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