Page 1 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Prologue - Rafael
The door slammed behind him as Rafael Buchanan launched himself down the porch steps. His father’s voice yelled after him.
“Don’t you walk away from me!”
Rafael’s lip curled over his teeth, his wolf snarling at the challenge. But not only was Randall his father, he was also the Alpha. Rafael couldn’t challenge him and get away with it. He could, however, keep going and pretend like he didn’t hear his father yelling after him. It was all the same bullshit he’d been hearing since he was twelve years old. Too soft. Unfocused. Needed to work harder. Unfit to lead.
No shit I’m unfit to lead. When have you ever tried to teach me other than to scream?He thought toward his now-silent father. His hands shook, and he felt the curl of fury in his chest, wanting to burst free and scream to the sky. It was always the same thing over and over again. He didn’t even know what had triggered it this time. Randall had been reviewing his final transcript for his first year of college when he began to rant at Rafael. However, his grades had been impeccable, with the lowest score being ninety-five percent. It was impossible to be perfect across the board.
Or maybe that was exactly why Randall decided to start screaming at him. Maybe he’d looked at the less-than-perfect grades and decided that it was proof that his son was a lazy slacker.
Rafael ran his hands through his dark brown hair, tugging at the ends. His entire life had been like this. Anything as simple as fumbling a ball during practice earned him his father’s ire.
He ripped his shirt off, followed quickly by the rest of his clothes, and shifted to wolf form. The salt air blew in from the sea as he raced out of town toward the forest on their little island. If he didn’t burn off some of this energy, he was going to explode.
His claws dug into the earth, the sensation stretching out and feeling freeing in his body. A sense of relief washed through him, and he sucked in the air as he entered the trees. It was earthy and still here, away from the houses, the cars, the low hum of electricity. He’d always found solace here, where there was no judgment except that in his own mind.
The purple-hued light of twilight filtered through the cedars as he ran. The sound of his paws hitting the ground methodically was like a meditation, and slowly the sting of humiliation slipped away. His angry thoughts were replaced instead by appreciation for the scent of earth, the distant noises of small animals in the trees, and the steadiness of nighttime.
It was close to midnight before he turned back. As he reached the outskirts of town, voices reached him. They were distant enough that he couldn’t hear the words, but the jeering tones were clear enough. His jaw clenched as he angled toward the sound.
He emerged from the trees to find a pack of teenagers harassing someone. The teens were laughing and taunting. Typical. His father’s policies did nothing to protect the weak members of the pack.
Rafael growled low under his breath as he crept closer. His father would go ballistic if he got into another fight, despite the circumstances. The two figures the teens were harassing soon came into view. Gwen Parker and Kira Smithson. They both wore the uniform of the diner they worked at, no doubtwhy they were walking the streets so late. They were both seen as ‘dregs’ of the pack. Both of them shifted into small wolves. Gwen had been raised by her single mother and never knew who her father was. Kira was a little better off. Her father and mother had been married, though her father was human and seen as an outsider as well.
“What’s the matter?” one of the teens jeered. “Got nothing to say to us? No ‘thank you’ for that tip we left?”
“What tip?” Gwen asked. She stopped walking. Kira hesitated, but Gwen pushed her slightly, encouraging her to keep going. Some of the teens turned toward Kira, but Gwen’s sharp laughter had them turning back toward her. She put her hands on her thick hips as she tossed her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder. “I thought you boys were from wealthy families. Overspent your allowance, did you?”
“Suck my dick!” one of them yelled, his face twisting in embarrassment and anger.
Rafael hurried forward, a growl building in his chest. Gwen tutted and rolled her eyes. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Seriously! What do you think she’ll say when I tell her about you harassing women late at night?”
Most of the boys started to back away, mumbling to each other, their shoulders hunching.
“What women?” one of them sneered. “I’d like to see proof—”
He never got the chance to finish his sentence, because Gwen gasped and swept an elaborate bow. “Alpha Randall!”
The boys all yelped and whirled, bowing to someone who wasn’t there. Gwen bolted the moment their backs were turned, slipping past the playground and into the forest. The teensyelled and turned, as though they couldn’t imagine where she had gone so quickly. Rafael chucked to himself as he skirted the playground. He could deal with those little punks later.
Right now, he followed Gwen. He quickly caught her scent and tracked her through a path that circled around the town. She moved at a steady jog and kept checking behind her, as though waiting to make sure it was safe before she stripped to shift to wolf form. Nudity was a common thing here on the island, but that didn’t prevent immature teens from turning it into something it wasn’t.
Rafael followed at a close distance, keeping his footsteps quiet and ducking just out of sight. In his wolf form, the darkening night was clear and sharp, but to Gwen’s human eyes, it would be getting trickier to see.
She finally stopped at a small spring, one that flowed in a trickle from here down some fairy-like waterfalls all the way to the ocean. Gwen held her ground, ear cocked as she listened for sounds of pursuit. After a moment, she heaved a sigh of relief, then started to unbutton her uniform blouse.
Rafael took that moment to strike. He crept up behind her and shifted to human form, sneaking closer. The darkness made it harder to see, but he reached into the pouch that held his clothes and pulled out his cellphone. He pressed it on, and light flooded the area between them. Gwen let out a sharp yelp as she whirled, her hands coming up in fists.
“Gotcha,” Rafael purred at her stunned expression.
“Not funny.” Gwen shoved his shoulder. But she was grinning, and he knew she forgave him. He stepped closer and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Gwen rested her hands on his chest, wrinkling her nose at him.“Hmmm, is there a reason you’re sneaking up on me in the dark, buck naked?”
Rafael pressed a kiss to her temple. “Of course. I missed you.”
Gwen shivered in his arms, sighing as her fingers splayed over his bare skin. The contrast of her heat and the cool air made goosebumps break out over his arms.
They’d been sneaking around for a couple of years now. Always hiding, always when nobody would find them. If Randall found out his eldest son was sleeping with one of the dregs of the pack, there’d be hell to pay. Even worse than getting an F on a report card or losing a wrestling match. Maybe even worse than insulting the Alpha of one of the other packs that shared this island.
