Page 31 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Rafael ran his hands through his hair.
“It would help if you formally declared Lianne as your daughter.”
“No,” he answered instantly, shaking his head. “No, Gwen doesn’t want to do that yet. She wants us to have more time before she tells Lianne.”
Michael folded his arms. “Maybe this is one thing where she doesn’t get to make that decision.”
Rafael grimaced. “I think I gave up any right I have to veto decisions when I forced her to marry me.”
“Yeah, that was a dick move,” Michael drawled dryly. He folded his arms and shook his head, his eyes sharp as he gazed at his brother. “And wasn’t that because you wanted everyone to know that Lianne was your daughter? So by not telling the pack, what was the point of the rushed marriage in the first place?”
“At the time, it seemed like the best idea,” Rafael said. He ran a hand through his hair. “Once this demon stuff is taken careof, I’ll give Gwen a proper apology and give her the choice as to whether she stays or leaves.”
“Why not give her that choice now?”
“It’s not safe for her to leave the island when a demon is after Lianne,” Rafael barked, agitated.
Michael gave Rafael a knowing look. “And what makes you think she’ll leave and put Lianne in danger now?”
He had no answer to that, so Rafael ignored him. It wasn’t any of Michael’s business as to why he was doing what he was doing. He did bring up one good point, though. The pack did need to be better introduced to Lianne. With the tension the demon was causing, he wanted to make sure that the pack was willing to stop up and protect her.
Not to mention, they needed something to see that he was in control. They needed something to let off some of the pressure and relax. With the constant threat of demons, it was no wonder that the pack was restless.
He had just the thing, too. He smiled as he straightened. “I’m going to throw a party.”
***
Lianne clung to his hand, chewing her lip as she looked around at the freshly decorated town hall. Though it was still summertime, the decorating committee had pulled out the fall-themed décor from last year’s Halloween party. No spooky skeletons, but lots of red and orange leaves, pumpkins, and other such things. The lights were set to just the right brightness, and a long table of refreshments lined the back wall.
“Why don’t you go play with those children?” Rafael encouraged Lianne, gesturing to a group of kids her age.
Lianne looked at him as though he were crazy. “No, thank you, Raf-el.”
She pressed in closer to him, ducking her head the same way Gwen did when she was feeling particularly stressed. Rafael loosened his hand from hers and tousled her hair. The way she looked around at the people around them reminded him of the way Michael was always terrified of any sort of public event when he was the same age. Randall’s answer to this terror was to make Michael more terrified of his own father than of the crowds.
Rafael knelt beside her. “It’s a lot of people, isn’t it?” he asked, trying to mimic the gentle way Gwen would talk to Lianne.
Lianne nodded, her lip trembling.
“Would you like me to go with you to see the other kids?”
She nodded again.
Rafael kissed her forehead and stood again. Holding her hand, he led her over to where the kids played with their parents watching. These parents gave Lianne a surprised look as they approached. When he introduced her, they quickly had their own children come over to introduce themselves as well. Several of the parents, with wide grins, suggested their kids show Lianne around.
Given the confused looks the kids gave them, that wasn’t what their parents had been telling them before now. A little girl, slightly shorter than Lianne, came forward boldly. “I found a bug. You wanna see?”
The girl’s mother flushed, but Lianne nodded eagerly. She seized the girl’s hand and they took off to a corner at once. Rafael chuckled at their departure. After some small talk withthe parents, he made his rounds in the hall, keeping a careful eye on Lianne. She was happily ignoring him in favor the whatever bug it was, but he couldn’t help the nervous flutter of his heart. He trusted the pack, but he didn’t want Lianne to realize she couldn’t find him and panic.
He was so absorbed in watching Lianne that he almost didn’t notice when Gwen arrived. He had told her the party was happening, but from her lack of enthusiasm, he’d assumed that she wasn’t going to come. Now, as she stepped in with Kira and Chelsey, he straightened. One more glance at Lianne—happily inspecting the lines in the cinderblocks for more bugs—and he headed for Gwen.
She was resplendent in a pale blue dress with a ruffled, off-the-shoulder bodice and a skirt that split up to the thigh. Rafael’s eyes moved over her greedily, enjoying the way she’d put her hair up to reveal the neck that he longed to kiss. The two sisters behind her looked nervous but held themselves with a deliberate, straightened air, keeping their heads held high.
Rafael nearly winced to see their darting, fearful eyes. If there were so many whispers circulating about Gwen, who was his wife, how much more hatred would Kira and Chelsey be facing with their much weaker connection to anyone in power? It must have been hell for them over the past few days. Rafael had been so busy keeping track of the special ops’ progress that he hadn’t paid enough attention to the pack’s reactions.
Well, that was a problem he would rectify. The party was the first step to conserving pack unity. He would figure out the next step tomorrow. It was a dangerous time, but they would get through it if they pulled together.
His mouth tightened as he caught sight of Thera eyeing Kira, Chelsey, and Gwen with a distrustful look. It wouldcertainly be easier to keep pack unity if it weren’t for that. For as much as Thera said she didn’t blame the witches in their midst, her actions spoke otherwise. They still weren’t allowed access to any of the grimoires that their ancestors had left behind.
