Chapter One
Alphonso
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town.
Alphonso looked in the rearview mirror watching Tamia and couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as his three-year-old happily sang along with him before focusing back to the road.
Alphonso was heading home to Vale Valley after being away for twenty years. He and his family had moved away not long after he’d turned ten years old. It was right after his grandfather Trenton’s death.
At the time, Alphonso didn’t understand why his parents wanted to leave, and in some way, he still didn’t comprehend. Over the years he was sure that his grandmother Rosemary wanted his father Kayne to become the next town’s Sheriff, but he’d turned it down.
In Alphonso’s opinion, there was more to the story, and it seemed his parents never wanted to talk about it, no matter how many times he asked. But one thing he knew for sure was how much his parents missed living in Vale Valley. He could see it in their faces each time they talked about the small town or got a call from his uncle, LaMarkus.
“Daddy, sing,” Tamia said getting his attention.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sweet pea, Daddy got a bit distracted.”
He looked at the GPS and saw that they weren’t that far away from their destination. Even if that was the case, he needed to keep her distracted. Humans who knew nothing about supernatural would never find Vale Valley unless the town wanted its presence known. The small town was also a homing beacon to those who left and one day wanted to return home again.
He started singing again as he glanced in the mirror one more time and noticed that she was rubbing her eyes. It was only a matter of time before she fell asleep. Tamia was a real trooper doing the long drive with him.
It would have been easier to fly from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania and would have reached Vale Valley days ago. But after the minor meltdown, Tamia had the first time they flew to Florida for Christmas, he’d decided that their next long trip he’d rather drive, no matter the distance.
Soft, even breathing reached his ears and Alphonso knew his little one had fallen asleep. Tamia was the light of his life. He had gotten a phone call while on a business trip three years ago telling him that he was the father of a newborn baby girl.
Alphonso had always tried to be careful when it came to his bed partners. Not wanting to leave it up to chance by getting a human pregnant who knew nothing about the supernatural world. No need to cause a national emergency because he couldn’t keep his dick out of trouble.
Even though Alphonso was told that with his mixed blood, he’d have a hard time getting his mate pregnant no matter their gender. It had taken his parents years after their mating to have him, and they’d always figured he’d have the same problem.
I guess they were wrong.
Three years ago, Alphonso wasn’t the attentive, put together man and father he was with Tamia. As an entertainment lawyer, he soaked up the life; jet-setting to wherever his wealthy and superstar clients wanted him to meet them or attending lavish, expensive parties hosted by his clients.
He’d given a few of his own over the years as well. Alphonso hadn’t been born with a large silver spoon in his mouth but worked his way up to turning what he had into platinum. With the carefree life he was living, Alphonso thought he was always safe with everyone he slept with.
Truthfully, the only thing he remembered about the night he’d slept with Tamia’s mother was that Assandria was a witch. Alphonso was at a party being given by one of his clients and was so surprised when he’d met another person who knew what he truly was. One thing led to another and the next thing he knew, they’d somehow fallen into bed together.
They’d both agreed it was a one-off and went their separate ways, vowing to keep in touch with each other but never did. Until he’d gotten the call that his daughter was born, and he needed to come and get her.
Alphonso’s gut reaction was to deny the child until he saw a picture of her adorable face that held all the characteristics of a Vale child. From her button nose to her pouty lips, he knew she was his. The memory of holding her in his arms for the first time came back to him as if it was yesterday.
Alphonso threw a few bucks at the cab driver and hurried out of the car and into the high-rise building searching for the name of the law office that contacted him. He’d been living in Los Angeles for a long time and thought he knew most of the lawyers around town, but he’d never heard of Cristyn Brice. Once he found the name, he took the elevator and waited impatiently for it to get to the thirteenth floor.
“A daughter, I have a daughter. How the hell did that shit happen?”
He paced the length of the elevator trying to remember exactly who the other parent could be. He hadn’t gotten a lot of information on the child’s other parent since he was in too much of a shock at the time. He raised his head and stepped off the elevator, almost bumping into someone in his rush to find the office he was looking for.
“Mr. Vale,” a voice said behind him.
Alphonso turned around, realizing that the person who called out to him was the woman he almost bumped into rushing off the elevator.
“Assandria said you were handsome, and she was right. Cristyn Brice,” the beautiful young woman walked up to him with her hand extended.
