“They’re going to be here soon,” he said. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
I nodded. It would be, I knew it would with them here.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. An older man came in first, then the man from that night behind him behind him. I barely remembered him, but I could see some of Aria’s features in his face.Stephen.His name came back to my memory as I looked at him.
“Hello, Ms. Maloy,” Rolland said. “You look well.”
“I am,” I said.
“Good. You recognize my son, Stephen.” He had a busted nose and a slightly bruised cheek, like he’d been punched.
“Hardly,” I scoffed.
“Right,” he said with a saccharine smile. They sat across from us, getting right to business. “Well, since your daughter is my son’s child as well, we wanted to offer you a place in our pack. Aria would learn to one day take over, and you would get a spot of great power. Our pack is very rich, and we would make sure you’re comfortable.”
“No, thank you,” I said quickly.
“I think you should consider. A child needs a father.”
My fists balled. Was he for real? “Well good thing my child now has three.”
I heard Leo hold back a snort as I said it.
Rolland looked shocked by my words. “That’s not fair, he didn’t know and deserves to be in her life.”
“Are you interested?” I asked.
Stephen looked up at me. “Not particularly.” He sounded so disinterested I knew I should be upset, but I was honestly relieved.
His father looked as if he were ready to explode. “He doesn’t know what he means,” he insisted. “That alpha belongs to our pack!”
I pulled down my top a bit to reveal my mating bite, which was now healed over with little white-pink marks. “I’m marked by the Pack Alpha, and we’re not going anywhere. And from what I heard, you don’t have the means to take onmypack. So I would suggest you go away.”
“Stephen, say something,” Roland insisted. “Don’t you want your daughter back?”
He rolled his eyes. “No. I’m barely home as it is. Sorry it ended up this way, but I promise you, you don’t want me around.” He stood and walked out. I wasn’t sure if I found what he said aggravating or amusing, but it didn’t matter now. I wanted him out of my life just as much as he wanted us out of his.
“Fine,” Rolland huffed. “We’ll be going.” With that, he followed his son out of the room, and it was over.
I slumped to the desk, all my previous adrenaline gone.
“You were so kickass,” Leo said. “Is that what you look like when you’re negotiating house deals? If it is, we might need to do a bit of roleplaying.”
I let out a loud laugh and picked my head up. “You really were amazing,” Jasper said. “You held your own against them. You’re so strong.”
I took a deep breath. “Thank you. I think I’m ready to go home now.”
I smiled. I liked the sound of that.
Home.
HARPER
ONE YEAR LATER
“And there are the keys to your new home!” I told the newly weds who were smiling ear to ear.
This had always been the best part of my job. I loved seeing people’s faces as they pictured their new lives in their new homes.
