“It doesn’t matter,” snarls Stevens. He points at Luke. “He’s not the rightful Alpha, so I don’t need his approval.”
“What do you mean?” asks the cleric.
A dark smile spreads across the older Alpha’s face. “I killed Randall. Which meansI’mthe Alpha of the Sweet Water pack.”
Fifty-Eight
Keir
Cansomethingtrulybecalled your ‘worst fear’ even if you never previously considered the situation a possibility? I’m thinking the answer to that is yes. Because that’s definitely how I feel about being a baby maker for my sociopathic ex…notboyfriend.
I still haven’t fully gotten my head around the fact that male omegas can get pregnant and now an unpleasant blast from my past wants to impregnate me? That’s terrifying. On multiple levels.
Having Julien’s baby would be one thing. Weird as it is and as much as I’m not sure I’m ready for kids—or even entirely sure Iwantthem, but that’s an issue for another day—Julien is my fated mate, so he and I making a baby would make sense.
Or at least the idea doesn’t make my skin crawl.
Having a baby with Zachariah is another matter. I spent a long time coming to terms with what he did to me when I was younger, and the thought of his hands on me now utterly repulses me. I might have thought I was in love with him when I was a teenager, but a lot has changed since then.I’vechanged.
Mainly, I’m not a naïve idiot anymore.
And then there’s also the possibility that any child of Zachariah’s that I bore might not be an alpha. Sure, Ben said the odds of an alpha birth are pretty high, but not one hundred percent. Should worst come to worst, what would Zachariah do to me if I didn’t give him an alpha heir?
From what Doc said, Zachariah seems to have a habit of killing mates who don’t deliver what he wants. My stomach churns and my entire body goes cold as something even worse occurs to me: What did he do to thebabies?
A memory of the coldness in Zachariah’s eyes the last time I saw him flashes through my mind and a shudder travels down my back. Even if hehasa conscience—something definitely up for debate—I doubt it would be enough to keep him from killing a defenseless infant.
And if I failed to deliver an alpha, he’d just make me try again.
And again.
Bile climbs the back of my throat and now, more than ever, the direness of my situation registers. I need to find a way out of this.Quickly.
A small, cylindrical package lands in my lap, startling me out of my spiraling fears. I glance down to find a stack of crackers still wrapped in their plastic sleeve. The minion must have taken my request rather literally.
“Thanks,” I mumble.
“Eat up,” says Doc. “As soon as Zachariah gets here, we’re leaving.”
Yeah, I figured that much.
“Where are you guys taking me?” I ask as I open the package and start shoving crackers into my mouth. I need whatever strength I can get.
Surprisingly, Doc answers without hesitation. “We’ll be staying in a secure location nearby until the hearing is over.”
Well, it’s nice to know they’re not dragging me across the country back to Alabama.Yet.
That gives me some time to find a way out of this. Hopefully.
“A secure locationhere?” I ask. “How did Zachariah end up with property in Wisconsin?”
“He didn’t,” says Doc. “The location has been provided by the hosting pack’s council of elders. Or it will be. Zachariah is meeting with them now.”
Fucking William.It’s no surprise he’s involved in this somehow. I should have let Julien strangle him.
“And once the hearing is over?” I ask.
Doc shrugs. “Then you come home with us.”
