Page 30 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
But maybe when the demon is gone, they will go back to accepting us. At the very least, Rafael will be able to concentrate on protecting us that way.
She wrapped her arms around her daughter, trying to hide her internal tension. “It’s going to be okay, baby. Rafaelwill protect us from the demons. And the pack, they just don’t understand things. They’re scared, and sometimes scared people do silly things.”
Lianne buried her face into Gwen’s shoulder. “But what if they’re right? What if it’s my fault?”
“It’s not,” Gwen said firmly. “And anyone who says otherwise is stupid.”
“Oh, Mommy, you used a bad word,” Lianne gasped. When Gwen leaned back, though, Lianne was giggling.
Gwen’s heart eased. Good. At least she was able to get Lianne laughing again. “You have my permission to say the bad words to anyone who tries to scare you.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Ha! I’m going to call the old lady a… a…” She looked from side to side furtively. “A batty bag lady!”
Gwen kissed her forehead. “Let’s get back to Rafael’s house. Maybe we can make a cake.”
Lianne danced on the spot, clapping her hands. “Yeah! Demons are scared of cakes!”
As they headed back, Gwen ignored the way people crossed the street to avoid walking near them. This was going to work out. Rafael was going to protect them. The demons were going to be dealt with. And when it was over… well, she’d deal with the rest of it after that.
Chapter 12 - Rafael
There were two more civilian demon sightings over the next few days, once near a popular swimming hole and a second dangerously close to town. There hadn’t been any further attacks, luckily. He advised everyone to keep their children and pets inside and not to enter the forest, especially not alone. The council was upset with him because the entire pack now knew about the demon, but there was nothing to be done about that.
The special ops recruits engaged with the demon several times, but it had chosen to run rather than fight. They had managed to injure it in the last encounter. That, paired with his own experience of attacking the demon, gave him optimism that they could fight it. He was determined to destroy it before it could harm anyone in the pack.
Especially Gwen and Lianne. They were becoming more entrenched in his life with every passing day. Lianne was always thrilled to see him at the end of the day, and she demanded his attention whenever they were together. She was silly and stubborn and just so excited about everything she saw and did. It was exhausted, he had to admit, trying to adjust to that energy when he was used to coming home to an empty house every day. But he loved it.
And Gwen… Even though he had so much on his mind, he kept thinking about her all through the day. Not just his need to protect her. Oh, no. He found himself drifting off during meetings, remembering the feeling of her slickness on his fingers. The smell of her arousal and the taste of her lips. He ached for her to the point of distraction.
Joshua and Michael noticed, too.
“Stop thinking about sex,” his brother snapped, throwing a pencil at him.
They were in Michael’s office, looking over the budget constraints for the special ops teams. It was costing more money than they initially thought, since many of the recruits were coming with nothing to their name. They had real-world needs that Michael was concerned about covering.
“Hey.” Rafael frowned at him.
Michael glowered in response. “Maybe you need to start going home over lunches if nighttime isn’t enough. You’re distracted and edgy, and it’s making work with you a pain.”
Rafael rolled his eyes.
“You know, the ancient Greeks thought that the measure of manliness was controlling their desires, including and especially sex,” Michael continued. “Which means you and your sex obsession would be considered very unmanly.”
Rafael shook himself. He had, indeed, been thinking about sex. He hadn’t shared with either Mike or Josh the truth about his relationship with Gwen. She was the one who said she didn’t want anything else, and he was trying to respect that. He was trying to keep his distance when all he wanted was to slip into her bedroom at night, get on his knees, and show her how much he wanted to give her.
“What makes you think I’m thinking about sex instead of something else?” Rafael asked instead. He wasn’t about to air his dirty laundry, especially not with something so private.
Michael twisted his face. “Do you really want me to tell you that?”
Rafael took note of his own body, suddenly self-conscious. He currently had no physical symptoms of histhoughts, but waved a hand, brushing off Michael’s words. Knowing his brother, he’d end up taking this conversation too far if Rafael didn’t stop him.
“That’s not what I was thinking about at all,” he lied smoothly. “I was thinking about how people are still blaming my wife for the demons coming to the island. I’ve had the Council explain the truth more than once, and people still blame her.”
Michael shifted uncomfortably. “I wish I could say that wasn’t true, but yeah. They do. The pack is frightened, and Gwen is an easy target. Her showing up right before the demons is damning enough, but people are saying that you and her aren’t married at all, that she’s using magic to make you think that you married her seven years ago.”
