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Desmond’s request wasn’t one I could even entertain. There was no way I was going to allow Christa and her daughter to be murdered in front of me—or anywhere else. We may not be together anymore, but I still cared for her. No. She would live. I just needed to convince the others that it was in their best interests to allow that.

These guys are more trouble than they’re worth , my wolf said.

No argument there , I agreed. But this is what we have to work with right now .

“We aren’t ready for a battle with Sparkle Hollow,” I reiterated as I rejoined the Dark Alpha group. “These two are under my protection.”

“What do you intend to do with them?” Alpha Julian asked.

They all shifted uncomfortably. I could tell that Desmond was of half a mind to pull Christa out of the car and ensure there were no witnesses to our ambush. The only card I had left to play was a trump. No one would dare hurt an alpha’s luna.

“Christa is my mate,” I announced to the group. “We’ve been separated, but the bond is still there. I assure you, she will be loyal to me when it counts.”

“It didn’t look like loyalty when she was high-tailing it out of here,” Axel pointed out.

“I told you, we’ve been apart for a while. Haven’t you ever been in a lover’s spat?” I joked.

“Looked like more than a spat,” Julian mumbled.

I gritted my teeth inwardly, trying to maintain my position and put off an air of nonchalance. “Either way, I promise it will get sorted out,” I assured them. “She just needs a little time to understand her situation. Do you guys have a handle on things here? If so, I’m going to take them back to my place and get them settled in.”

“Do you need an escort?” Desmond asked.

“That won’t be necessary,” I assured him.

I could tell he didn’t believe that I was bringing Christa and Jenny back to my territory, but I had no reason to lie about that. Of all the members of the Dark Alphas, I had the biggest reason for wanting Sparkle Hollow to stay away. I may have told them that Christa would be loyal, but there was no doubt in my mind that the second she got back to Alpha Lex, I would have warriors on my doorstep.

“Let us know if you need anything,” Axel offered.

“We’ll be by soon to check on you,” Desmond added. The veiled threat was unnecessary, but I could see that a few of the other alphas were in agreement with him.

Looks like battle lines are being drawn here as well, I told Orin.

He growled, ready to spring into action against our haphazard group of unlikely allies. We really needed to find a way to extricate ourselves from the group, but it was going to be a while before we could put that into motion. The area we lived in was simply too volatile.

Someday, I assured him.

I walked back to my car slowly, trying to decide how to approach this conversation with Christa. She wasn’t going to come quietly, but there really was no other choice.

“Take us home,” she demanded when I got in the driver’s seat.

I didn’t answer immediately but gave her a hard look in the rearview mirror. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I told her. “I’m taking you back to my pack house. It’s late, and I’m sure Jenny is exhausted. Once she’s settled, you and I can talk.”

Christa looked down at Jenny and realized that I was right about her. The adrenaline was wearing off. I imagined that the child would fall asleep before we even got home.

“Fine,” she said, admitting defeat.

The ride home was quiet, with only the sound of the road beneath the tires. As predicted, Jenny fell asleep on her mom’s shoulder within ten minutes. By the time I pulled into my garage, even Christa was having a hard time staying alert.

“I got her,” I assured her, reaching for Jenny’s sleeping form.

She looked at me in alarm as I pulled Jenny into my arms. “I can do it,” she argued in a whisper.

“You’re so stubborn,” I whispered back. “Chill.”

She huffed at me but allowed me to carry Jenny into the house. As soon as I set her down on my guest bed, Christa took over, removing Jenny’s shoes and tucking her into the covers. With one last look at her daughter, Christa softly closed the door and followed me out to the living room.

“Does she need anything else?” I asked. I had never had children stay with me before and didn’t know what the girl might need.

“To go home,” Christa shot back.

“That’s not happening,” I reminded her.

“What did you say to the others?”

“I told them the truth: that you and Jenny are coming to stay with me for a little while,” I said, intentionally leaving out the part about her being my mate. Christa was already furious with me, for a number of sins. There was no reason to add something else for her to be upset about.

“Why couldn’t you just take us home?”

“This was the compromise that allowed you and Jenny to live,” I told her. “If I try to take you back to Sparkle Hollow, we all die.”

“That’s stupid,” Christa snapped. “Why would they kill you ?”

“That’s the way things work here. There’s a price to pay for betraying the group, and I’m not interested in paying it. So, you better get used to it.”

“And if I don’t?”

“If you don’t get used to it?” I asked, taking a step toward her. “Well, then your stay here will be very unpleasant. If you do as I say, no harm will come to you. I can promise that.”

She needed to know how serious I was about her following my instructions, but I wanted her to know that she was safe here. Especially since her daughter’s safety was on the line, too.

She had given an involuntary shiver at my threat, but the fire hadn’t left her eyes. She was just as passionate and beautiful as she had always been, but there was a fierceness I hadn’t seen before. She would clearly do anything for her daughter.

“You’ve changed,” she said disdainfully. “What happened to the guy who swept me off my feet and made me see how good the world could be? Why are you being so cold and cruel? You’re not the man I used to know.”

“You have no idea,” I sighed, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. It was a familiar gesture, even after all these years. “You’re not the same as you used to be, either. What happened to that girl? The one with the big dreams and kind heart?”

“She grew up and realized that no one is telling the truth about who they really are,” Christa snapped.

Her words were like a slap in the face, which was exactly how she intended them to be. I couldn’t ignore the decade that had come between us. She may have been my one true love and the woman I would have done anything for, but that was a long time ago. A lifetime.

“It’s just you and me, baby,” I said to Christa. “Forever and ever.”

“I can’t wait for our forever,” she replied, nuzzling into my chest.

We had snuck away from the pack celebration in Sparkle Hollow to bring in the new year and hidden in one of the cabins on the outskirts of town. No one ever came here, Christa assured me. We wouldn’t be disturbed.

It had been all the information I needed to finally drop my guard down and share my whole self with her. I had never been with anyone else, and I had been nervous about my performance. She was inexperienced, too, and together, we had figured it out.

Never before had I felt so content and sure of my place in the world. With Christa by my side, I felt invincible.

The fire burned in the wood stove, keeping out the chill of the air outside. Snow had begun to fall earlier that day, and I knew we would have to leave soon. I ran my fingers over her bare skin, enjoying the sensation of her supple smoothness against my fingertips.

“I wish we could stay here like this,” I told her.

“We have the rest of our lives to be together,” she reminded me.

I smiled at her assurances, knowing she was right. Christa and I were going to be together until we were old and gray. She was my one true mate.

“What if I don’t stay here?” she countered.

“If you leave my territory without my permission, you had better hope that you get to Sparkle Hollow before the Dark Alphas intercept you. If you do happen to get there safely, you’ll get to meet the new version of Colson Marsden when I attack your pack. And no one will be safe from us. No one,” I assured her.