Page 4

Uriel squirmed and tried to push him off. “No, I have to go.”

“Okay.” Bruiser stood back, pulling out all those inches. Friction whispered between them.

Uriel tried not to think about it. He yanked up his pants and fumbled with the door latch.

“Hey,” Bruiser said behind him. “That was—That was good. Thanks.”

Uriel didn’t answer. His heart was still pounding.

He needed to escape before Bruiser could track him down.

The moment he was out of Bruiser’s sight, he pushed magic into his finger, weaving a quick silencing spell around himself. This hid his pulse, breathing, and footsteps. He ducked into the furthest cubicle.

Someone opened the restroom door. The pounding beat of the club’s music filled the air; Uriel used the distraction to close his cubicle door. In that cramped space, he began to spell his clothes—first to return them to their original size, then to change his shirt from green to blue. He undid the spell that turned his hair red; it went back to dark brown, and he made it grow a little longer.

On the other side of the restroom, there came the sound of whispered cursing.

The last of Uriel’s shape shifting spell unraveled. His body grew, muscle and bone expanding, scars digging their way back into his skin.

He didn’t glance down at himself.

He didn’t have to, to know he looked like an alpha again—taller and broader now, albeit still smaller in size than other alphas.

Why the fuck is this my life? Uriel thought, his hole feeling used. At least his heat had subsided into something manageable.

He slid the latch back and opened his cubicle door, only to freeze when he glimpsed movement in front of him.

Bruiser looked up, shock coloring his face. “The fuck? You don’t belong here.”

The high from Uriel’s orgasms came crashing down.

“Neither do you,” Uriel growled, his voice lower now, gravelly and ugly.

In this shape, Uriel belonged nowhere—too much of an alpha to pass as an omega, too small in size to have other alphas respect him. Not that he wanted to be an alpha at all.

“You should get out of here before I call the staff on you,” Bruiser growled, as though he belonged in the omega restroom.

The remnants of Uriel’s goodwill from earlier—from all the soft touches and care—they evaporated.

“Fuck you,” Uriel hissed, stalking out. Seriously, fuck him.

Two weeks later, his body went nuts. He took a pregnancy test.

It came back positive.

2

PRESENT DAY - THE SECRET BABY

One-year-old Cassie giggled, yanking down Uriel’s lower lip so it would bounce back.

Uriel sighed. “Hon, you’ve been at this for hours.”

She gave him a toothy grin and stuck her fingers back into his mouth.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Uriel said with his lip still pulled down.

He did love her, despite the roller coaster of emotions he’d had because of her conception. Back then, he had thought briefly about terminating the pregnancy—he had escaped his captors not too long ago, and he hadn’t known who he was anymore. Then he had considered giving her up for adoption.