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I had been doing my best to avoid Colson ever since he told me he left me in Sparkle Hollow to “protect” me. Even if I had believed him, his excuse was flimsy at best. Nothing could have been worse for me at the time than him abandoning me in my time of need. No matter what he claimed to be true, I knew he had wronged me. He hadn’t even had the decency to apologize.

I had never been one to sit around and mope, though, so I had ordered Jenny to stay in the house and gone to the pack house to look for something useful to do. That was where I ran into Sienna.

“Hey!” she said, her flaming red hair giving her away at once. I hadn’t known her well, but our paths had crossed back in Sparkle Hollow. “Christa, what are you doing here?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” I muttered.

I wasn’t sure exactly what story I wanted to tell her. After all, she had recently gotten married to Alpha Franco Stone. Everyone in Sparkle Hollow seemed to have welcomed them with open arms, but their pack shared a town with my captors. There was no way I could get Sienna and her mate to take my side and help Jenny and me escape without facing severe consequences. I knew my plight wasn’t worth the risk for them, and telling her about it would only make her feel bad.

“Well, I’m happy to see someone from back home,” she said. “I’m just checking in with the Marsden pack’s beta. Gotta keep the peace between these packs. What are you up to?”

“For sure,” I agreed, my suspicions confirmed. “Honestly, I’m just looking for something to do.”

“The beta said they’re working on some renovations out back if you wanted to check that out,” she replied helpfully.

“I might. It’s been a while since I worked with my hands, but I could use the distraction.”

“If you get bored later and want to come visit, anyone in the pack can point you toward our pack,” Sienna said with a smile.

“Um, sure thing. Sounds great,” I said, but something told me that visiting the Redeeming Light pack would be totally out of the question.

Sienna waved goodbye, and I headed out the back of the pack house, where I was greeted by a flurry of activity. Some pack members carried lumber and tools, while others were hard at work. The young wolf I had run into a few days ago was there. He waved as he rushed over to greet me.

“Hey! It’s you,” Harry greeted.

“Sure is. What are you guys doing?” I asked.

“Building an extension. We’ve been growing in numbers, and Alpha Colson wanted to make sure our pack house could still hold everyone when we all get together. Are you here to help?”

“Just tell me what to do,” I offered.

Harry set me to work with a group of wolves who were nailing together supports that would later be inserted into the walls of the houses. It wasn’t difficult work, but it felt good to be doing something besides being cooped up in Colson’s house. I felt myself begin to relax, but that feeling dissipated when Colson himself arrived. His mood was tense, and my first thought was that something had happened to Jenny.

“What happened? What is it?” I demanded.

“You need to come with me,” he told me in a low tone.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” I demanded.

I crossed my arms, but he ignored my protest. Colson grabbed my elbow and forcibly pulled me through the pack house.

“Hey! Cut it out!” I protested.

Members of the pack were looking at us, but no one stepped in.

Did you expect them to? Cassia asked.

I guess not, I conceded.

Colson continued to drag me until we reached his home, where he flung me through the front door.

“What the fuck, Colson?” I shouted. “Do you honestly think you’re acting like a respectable person right now? Like an alpha ?”

“I’m done, Christa,” he said, his chest heaving with emotion. “I don’t care what you think of me right now. I’m done with your lies and deceit.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but the way you are treating me is awful. I’m not going to stand for it.”

“Jenny,” he began.

“Jenny?” I asked, my tone changing from anger to worry in an instant. “Did something happen to her? I told her to stay in the house. Is she here? Jenny!”

I started to walk toward our bedroom, but Colson followed hot on my heels.

“She’s fine, Christa. I sent her to play with some of the pack kids down at the school,” he said.

“Why would you do that?” I demanded, whirling toward him. “I’m her mother, and I told her to stay in the house. I don’t trust your pack, and I don’t want her out there without me.”

Colson cornered me against the doorframe of the bedroom, towering over me as he leaned one arm over my head. I gave a sharp intake of breath at how close he was. Despite living in the same house for days, we hadn’t been eye to eye like this before.

“I sent her to play with the other children when I found her in the forest alone,” he explained. “You’re lucky it was me who found her, not one of the other Dark Alphas. Did you really think telling her to stay in the house would work?”

I swallowed, choking down my emotions as I stared into his deep brown eyes. “What was she doing in the forest?”

“She said she felt more in touch with herself when she was in nature,” Colson said, leaning even closer to me. “She also mentioned how upset she is that she hasn’t gotten her wolf yet, considering that her father is a powerful werewolf. Odd, don’t you think? I distinctly remember you telling me that her father was a human.”

My heart skipped a beat, realizing I hadn’t explained to Jenny that she should keep information about her father a secret. Not that she had much, but I had made a mistake in not bringing her in on my lie.

“She must have been mistaken,” I offered.

“Cut the shit, Chris,” Colson commanded. “Just admit it: I’m Jenny’s father.”

“Don’t call me that,” I demanded. “You lost the right to do that, as well as the right to know any of my secrets, when you left us!”

Colson dropped his arm to his side and took a step away, placing his back against the opposite side of the door frame.

“Us,” he repeated softly. “I knew it was true. I hoped it was true.”

A strange sound emanated from my throat, halfway between a sob and a snarl, as my lie came crashing down around me. I hadn’t meant to admit anything to him, and I was devastated that my emotions had gotten the better of me. How did he always manage to do this to me?

“She is my daughter,” I said possessively. “You haven’t been a part of my life in a decade, and you think you have the right to know anything about me? About us? You have no right!”

Colson raised an eyebrow, and I knew before he said anything where his mind had gone. “You think I have no right to your secrets? To you?”

He closed the distance between us in a second, wrapping his hands around my waist and pressing himself against me. As much as I hated to admit it, the feeling of his warmth against me felt so safe and familiar that I was immediately aroused. His sweet, musky scent enveloped me, and my eyes closed as I took a steadying breath.

“You lost your right to me,” I whispered.

“Who are you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?” he whispered into my ear.

He moved one hand up to my face, caressing my cheek before running his fingers through the hair at my temple and coming to rest at the nape of my neck. I heard myself sigh contentedly as my eyes closed.

I missed this, I admitted to my wolf. Not just being touched by a man, but being touched by him. Is that wrong? To miss him?

If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right, Cassia murmured in agreement.

“I’ve missed you, Chris,” Colson murmured against my lips, kissing them gently as he pulled me into the bedroom.

We ended up on the bed as his hands roved over my body, taking in the feeling of my full breasts, soft skin, and willing lips. His hands moved toward my waist, and I couldn’t stop myself from allowing him to unbutton my pants. I didn’t know if I wanted him to stop.

“Admit it,” Colson whispered. “Tell me I have a right to your secrets.”

“No,” I panted.

His hand moved inside my pants, his fingertip brushing the hair between my legs teasingly.

“I have a right to you,” Colson said again.

“No,” I repeated.

“Christa, look at me,” he ordered, removing his hand from my garments and cradling my face instead. “Tell me I have a right to all of you.”

I could see the need on his face, and I knew it was echoed on my own. I could practically feel the air pulsing between us.

“Yes,” I told him. “You can have me.”

He grinned, placing his hand back where it had just been and continuing down until he reached the warm folds between my legs. His pointer finger pressed between them, and I moaned lightly in anticipation. His face pressed into my neck as he kissed me and continued his ministrations to my labia and clitoris.

“Yes, baby,” he whispered. “I love feeling how wet you get for me.”

I moaned again as his finger went inside me. Even though it had been years since I had been intimate with anyone, there was no self-consciousness when it came to Colson. All of my firsts had been with him. Once upon a time, I had truly believed all of my lasts would be with him, too.

“Say it again, baby,” Colson said. “Tell me I have a right to you and all of your secrets.”

At the mention of secrets, my eyes snapped open and my body froze. “Get off,” I commanded, pushing him away from me.

“Woah,” he said, scooting away from me on the bed. “What did I do? I thought you said yes?”

“I did, and now I don’t,” I said, hurrying to rebutton my pants.

“The fuck, Chris?” he murmured, clearly confused by my sudden change of heart.

“I’ll spell it out for you, shall I?” I said snarkily. “You still have no right to any of my secrets, or to any part of me. We aren’t together—you made sure of that when you abandoned me and our daughter. That’s the only secret of mine you’ll ever get, and only because I was too stupid to keep hiding it from you. Don’t worry, I won’t make any of those mistakes again. Especially not the mistake of allowing you to touch me.”

“Chris, don’t do this,” Colson begged. “Just give me a chance to—”

“No, Colson. You don’t get a chance. You lost your chance ten years ago. Now get out.”