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I could hardly blame Harry for opening up to Christa about what he knew of the Dark Alphas’ plans. She was a charming and charismatic novelty to the young man, not to mention gorgeous. But I was still furious at her.

“I know you’re trying to escape again,” I told her quietly as we walked back to the house.

“Of course I am,” she replied. “Just because I’m being forced to stay in your territory doesn’t mean I have to obey your orders. You didn’t expect me to just do whatever you say, did you? I thought we knew each other.”

“I thought we did, too,” I said. “Which is why I thought you would understand how serious I was when I told you to stay inside the territory. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I’m not an idiot, Colson. All I was doing was trying to get information about how to get out of here safely. I would never put Jenny at risk.”

“There is no safe way for you to leave,” I stressed. “If there had been another way to get you out of here, I would have taken it. But you were the one in the back of that transport van, and the group needed there to be consequences for that. There is only so much I can do to protect you, so just let me do that. Please.”

“You expect me to believe that you care about keeping me safe? You—the man who abandoned me even when I had given you everything?”

“Of course I want to protect you. That is my duty, just like it was when I left,” I explained.

“You think leaving me was your duty ?” she scoffed.

It hadn’t escaped my notice that I had never explained why I left all those years ago. She probably had a million questions about it, but the last thing I wanted to do was rehash the past. We had arrived back home, and my main concern was getting her to go inside and stay there.

“You’ll have to take my word for it,” I continued. “I did what I had to do.”

Her face transformed from anger to heartbreak in an instant, and I felt my heart break in solidarity with hers.

“Whatever you say, Alpha ,” Christa said quietly.

***

I hated to see how my words had affected Christa over the coming days. She became quiet and withdrawn, and I worried that my dismissive attitude about our past had broken her spirit. There was a vulnerability in her that I hadn’t seen before, and it worried me. Especially since it was all my fault.

Still, the last thing I wanted was to allow her to see my own vulnerable feelings about the situation. It was best for both of us if I kept my distance, so that was exactly what I did. Luckily, my house shared a border with the forest. The pressures of being the alpha, on top of being a member of the Dark Alphas, often left me feeling pulled in too many directions. The forest was my haven, the one place I could go to be truly alone.

It was on one of my walks in the forest that I heard the unmistakable sound of shoes scraping against the bark of a tree. I looked up and to my left, and saw a young girl climbing from branch to branch a dozen feet above the forest floor.

“Whatcha doing up there?” I asked kindly, expecting to see the face of one of the young pack members. “Jenny!” I exclaimed as the girl turned her face toward me.

“Hey!” Jenny shouted down at me with a smile. “Did you see how high I climbed? Pretty good, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, doing my best to keep my uneasiness from coloring my words. “You did really good. What are you doing out here by yourself, though? Does your mom know you’re out here?”

When I saw the young girl grimace at the mention of her mother, I knew what she was going to say before the words came out.

“I snuck out,” she responded sheepishly. “Mom’s been so tense and strict. Ever since we got here, it’s like she’s turned into this overbearing monster. She’s no fun. Not like she used to be. She doesn’t let me do anything .”

Her legs were dangling from a branch as she sat with her back to the trunk of the tall tree. I wondered if she was afraid of me, and that was why she chose to remain aloft.

“Do you want to come down here and talk about it some more? I’m a pretty good listener,” I assured her.

“Not according to Mom,” Jenny said quickly. “And also… I can’t. I don’t know how to get down.”

“That’s okay, I can help you,” I said. I clambered up the tree until I was perched across from Jenny on another branch. “It looks a lot higher up from here, but I promise it isn’t too far. The trick is to look at where you want to put your hands and feet instead of the ground. Watch me and try to copy what I do.”

Facing the trunk, I found a foothold and lowered myself down, then moved my hand down to another branch. One after another, I continued until I reached the forest floor. Jenny nodded and made to follow, but hesitated.

“What if I fall?” she asked.

“I’m standing right under you,” I assured her. “If you fall, I’ll catch you. I promise, you won’t get hurt.”

She took a deep breath and began her descent, slow at first, then increasingly more confident. When she reached the bottom, she turned to look at me, beaming with pride.

“I did it!” she squealed.

“High-five, kiddo!”

She smacked my hand hard in excitement, and I sucked in a breath while shaking my hand.

“You’re strong!” I exclaimed, making her giggle.

“Mom says that, too,” Jenny said. “What’s the deal with you two anyway? Why does Mom not like you? You seem alright to me.”

“I’m glad you think so,” I said with a smile. “But your mom and I have… a history. We knew each other a long time ago, and I hurt her feelings. Have you ever done something like that?”

“I had a friend that kept wearing this old hoodie with holes in it, and I teased them,” Jenny admitted. “I told them it looked stupid. They were really sad. But I apologized, and we’re friends again. Was it like that? Did you apologize to Mom?”

She may only be nine years old, but I had to give it to Jenny: she was smart.

“You know what, I don’t think I ever did,” I said thoughtfully. “Do you think I should try that?”

“Definitely,” Jenny said.

“I’ll try to do that soon,” I promised her. “Now, do you want to tell me why you’re out here in the forest by yourself? It’s not the safest place for a kid to be alone.”

“I feel more like myself out here,” Jenny said with a shrug. “More in touch with being a shifter. It sucks that I can’t shift yet. So many other kids my age can, and I’m so jealous. I want to know what my wolf looks like, and what her name is.”

“Everyone shifts at different times,” I say.

“I just feel like I should be able to by now. Mom’s a strong shifter, and my father is a powerful one, too. So, what’s wrong with me?”

I wanted to reassure her that nothing was wrong with her, but I was too focused on what she had just admitted. Her father was a powerful shifter. Not a human.

Jenny probably didn’t realize that she had just told me her secret—if she even realized it was a secret. Maybe Christa hadn’t even told her to keep it from me. But then, why did she tell me that Jenny’s father was human? Why wouldn’t she admit that her daughter was a full wolf shifter who was unable to shift? It was a common enough occurrence, especially for kids. Many pack members didn’t obtain the ability to transform until they reached puberty.

The only reason Christa had for lying was to throw me off so I didn’t find out the truth. It was the only explanation, and I needed to hear it from Christa herself. Whether Christa wanted to admit it or not, I knew that Jenny was my daughter.

Suddenly, I felt a protective urge toward the girl. It was important that she knew how special she was.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you,” I gently told Jenny. “I promise. You and your wolf will be running through the forest before you know it.”

My words seemed to resonate with her. Although she didn’t look entirely convinced, she seemed to be in better spirits.

“Listen, though,” I continued. “I know you don’t want to listen to your mom right now, but it really isn’t a great idea for you to be out here by yourself.”

“I know, but there’s nothing else to do,” Jenny whined.

“Have you met the Marsden pack kids yet?” I asked.

“No.”

“I saw a bunch of them playing down by the school. Do you know where that is?”

Jenny nodded.

“How about you go there now and tell them that Alpha Colson sent you to play with them.”

“Alright,” she said. “Thanks, Colson.”

She skipped off toward the town, and I felt a rush of relief that she was heading somewhere that was more easily monitored. Even if she wasn’t my daughter, I wouldn’t want a kid her age playing alone out here. Not when we were surrounded by Dark Alpha packs of questionable morals. Knowing that in all likelihood, she was my daughter made it even more imperative.

Time to confront Christa, Orin said.

I sighed. I had been doing such a good job of avoiding her the past few days. But this really couldn’t wait.