Page 42 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Gwen shook her head. She didn’t want this to become a whole thing. “Michelle, you were talking about taking the kids inside for some ice cream?” she prompted.
“I… yes. I’ll do that,” Michelle said, though she looked hesitant.
Gwen gave her a comforting smile. She was grateful for her attempt to get involved on Gwen’s behalf, but she could handle this herself. She hadn’t said anything about Gwen needing respect as the Alpha’s wife. Michelle didn’t think she deserved respect for her position relative to Rafael, but rather as a member of the pack. She was just trying to be the brave person she had wanted to be back when they were younger.
Now, however, Gwen was the Alpha’s wife. She had social currency that Michelle didn’t have.
Once Michelle had taken the kids inside, Gwen turned to Jenny. “Are you alright?”
Jenny blinked, her mouth opening slightly. She snapped it shut again, cheeks coloring. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You did say you lost a pet recently. And I’ve noticed you’ve been avoiding people.”Meaning me,Gwen thought. “I want to make sure that you’re doing alright.”
“I’m fine.”
Gwen cocked her head, studying her, and nodded once. “Alright. But just know that I’m not here to be your enemy, Jenny. I might be holding a grudge from High School, but I won’t let my personal feelings make things more difficult for you. If you need help, tell someone.”
Jenny stared at her for a long moment before she scoffed and shrugged. “Whatever.”
She flounced away, and Gwen didn’t bother to go after her. Instead, she headed toward the house. She wasn’t going to be petty, but that didn’t mean she was going to chase after the approval of people who didn’t want anything to do with her.
Just as she turned the corner, she jumped. Rafael leaned against the house, a small smile on his face. Gwen clutched her chest, backing away from him.
“Goddess! You scared me half to death,” she complained.
“Sorry,” Rafael said, not looking sorry at all. His grin widened. “I thought I might have to intervene. Glad to see that I didn’t have to.”
Gwen chewed her lip as she gazed up at his handsome face. His dark eyes were bright with some unspoken emotion, his lips so kissable that it made her heart flutter. Her stomach tightened, butterflies erupting. Why was it so easy for her to fall back into these feelings? She tried to remind herself of the reasons that she needed to keep her distance, but when he reached out to brush a pale strand of hair from her cheeks, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into his touch.
“You handled that masterfully,” he told her, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m proud of you.”
She shouldn’t feel thrilled to hear it. But she was anyway. She sidestepped him, heat rushing to her face. “Er, thanks, I guess,” she mumbled. Then, because he looked like he wanted to say more, she blurted, “Let’s go inside. Lianne will be happy to see you.”
And she fled into the house, cursing herself for her own cowardice.
Chapter 18 - Rafael
Rafael had planned to spend the evening with Gwen and Lianne. The demon hadn’t been seen for weeks now, and since he’d been training along with other wolves in the pack to get to a point where he could help hunt the demon without putting the special ops team at risk, he thought it was high time to take an evening off and reconnect.
Just when he had just pulled out all the groceries to cook their meal, however, his phone rang. It was Joshua.
“There’s been a sighting,” Joshua said urgently.
Rafael glanced up at Gwen. Her face was pale, but she nodded once at him. “Go.”
He took off, using the motorcycle he’d imported—it moved faster than the cars. Soon, he had met up with the special ops team, and they headed out together. The tall trees of the island went by in a flash as they made their way through the forest trails. As they reached the reported location, the scent of blood hit Rafael hard. His stomach flipped, and he pulled his motorcycle to a stop.
“Spread out,” he ordered.
His wolf itched to be freed and to engage as well, but he kept his human form as he joined in the search. The forest was utterly still and silent. So where was the blood coming from? He moved through a patch of fern fronds, higher than his head, and his foot nudged something on the ground. A hand.
Rafael bent and brushed aside some forest debris, revealing the body. He called for the special ops, and they gathered up the body, pulling it into the clearing.
“That’s Robert Goodchild,” Paul breathed.
Rafael nodded, recognizing the man. He was from a pack on the other side of the island. A dead shifter was bad enough, but from another pack… He had to fight down the urge to curse out loud as he lifted his face to the sky.
“Let’s get him back to town,” he ordered. “I’ll contact his Alpha to arrange for the delivery of the body.”
