Page 2 of Fated Alpha Baby

That’s impossible.

She would have come to me first.

“The healer stopped us as we left the hall,” Callum continues. “Told us a gem was missing, and she needed it for the full moon ritual tonight. And that’s when we went looking for the omega, only to find that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be.”

“Like any petty thief, she ran away,” Kalya adds, and the trio erupts in vicious laughter.

“You expect me to believe this?” Conan rumbles, stepping forward and unfolding his arms. He leans forward so he’s eye-level with Kayla, and the laughter dies as quickly as it began.

“Let me guess…” Conan drawls calmly. “The gem Dorothy is missing is an emerald.”

Kayla gasps. “How do you know, Conan?” She feigns shock, a hand flying to her throat. “Did you find it on her?”

“No.” Conan straightens up. “But I can smell it on you. Empty out your pockets.”

“Conan—”

“Now,” is all he breathes, and that’s when Kayla shoves trembling hands into her denim pockets.

A bright green crystal sparkles on her palm as she stretches out her arm toward Conan, hanging her head shamefully. Conan picks it up, tosses it into the air above his head, then nimbly catches it, closing a fist around the precious stone.

“I thought you said Hannah stole the gem…”

“I—we—” Kayla stammers and glances at Quentin and Callum. “She must have put it in my pocket. She’s trying to frame me!”

Conan grabs the finger Kayla points at me. “Save it, Kayla.” He leans forward. “If my grandfather hears about this—”

“No, Conan! Please! I-I’m sorry!” she yelps, and Conan releases her finger.

He turns around smoothly, tossing the emerald toward me. I catch it, and he winks, then turns back to the trio.

“Go on, you three. I’ll pretend this never happened as long as you leave Hannah alone. But one more wrong move, and I’m taking this to Alpha Bernard. You’ll be banished from the pack.”

The three gulp as they nod their heads timidly, scampering off into the shadows before more threats are made.

As Conan turns back to me, my heart skips another beat as I stare at him and swoon.

Ah…my knight in shining armor, glowing beneath the moonlight’s silvery rays.

“You wanna return the gem to Dorothy, or should I do it?”

I snap out of my daze, reminding myself that I shouldn’t be basking in what just happened, forgetting my place in the pack. If this whole debacle proved anything, it’s that I can’t be left to my own devices without needing a savior. And I hate that it has to be Conan.

Even if I’m grateful that he saved me from humiliation.

Soon, he’ll be the alpha of Iron Breath and won’t have time for someone like me. Least of all to save me from my adversaries, or even be hanging around my cabin when he should be celebrating the full moon with the pack.

I fling the gem from my hand as if it’s an unwanted hot potato, and shiver. “You can take it back to her. I’m not in the mood to face your friends again.”

Conan, who had been inspecting the shimmering stone under the moonlight, flicks his eyes to me. “They’re not my friends, Hannah.”

I roll my eyes as I turn my back to him and head up the porch. It’s been a long night, and all I want is to slip into bed and let the exhaustion drag me into slumber.

“It doesn’t matter,” I shrug indifferently. “What were you doing here, anyway?”

Conan doesn’t respond immediately, and instead, I hear him climb up the porch steps and hover behind me as I unlock the door. An unsettling chill courses down my spine, the tingling in my fingers returning to make them tremble around the keys.

He isn’t making this easy.