Page 164 of A Second Chance for the Beta

Silas’s stance relaxes. “I apologize,” he mutters. “I truly lost all my faith in others.”

“I know,” I say bitterly.

Silas looks at me, opening his mouth like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t. It’s silent around us until—“He believes the child died,” Silas says. “He can never learn the truth.”

“That’s why you are hiding her here?” I ask.

“I couldn’t have her stay with me,” he says. “I don’t want to leave any traces. But here in this pack with her adoptive mother, the child is safe. After Aloysius killed the mother, he strangled the baby.”

“But it didn’t die,” I conclude.

“Yes, it did,” Silas says. “But my lieutenant and I managed to resurrect it. Have you ever done resuscitation on a newborn?”

“No,” I say quietly. “And I can’t imagine.”

“It’s the most devastating thing I’ve ever done. Seeing this helpless tiny little being, feeling how its body got colder. I couldn’t give up.”

“You were successful,” I conclude.

“Yes,” he says. “You know the rest of the story. I hid the child immediately and took it with me when my plan to overthrow Aloysius failed. I never told Julianus about it…” he pauses. “I didn’t trust anyone to keep this secret. The smartest decision I made back then,” he adds bitterly.

“Trusting Julianus wasn’t your fault,” I say quietly. “He was the one who betrayed you.”

“Still…” He shakes his head. “But the child is alive, and everyone who knew what Aloysius was doing thinks it’s dead. That’s all that matters.”

“But what if it grows older?” I ask. “Like Charlie… her powers started to appear when she was close to sixteen.”

“You are right,” Silas mutters. “Even if it’s only half a vampire, Aloysius’s offspring will still be powerful. I need to find a way to protect it.”

“We,” I say.

“Sorry?”

“Weneed to find a way to protect it.”