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I hadn’t had any intention of seducing Christa when I confronted her about Jenny’s parentage, but that didn’t make it any easier when I was rejected. For ten years, I had been dreaming of this girl—my true mate—and she had the nerve to reject me? The alpha? Furious was an understatement for how I was feeling.

If I was being honest with myself, though, I was mostly upset at my own actions. There was no reason for Christa to trust me after what I had done to her. And, as Jenny had pointed out, I still hadn’t apologized for any of it.

Christa had deserved the apology ten years ago, and I worried that anything I could say now would only sound trite and meaningless. An apology would be the kiss of death for any potential relationship we might have. Now that Jenny was a part of the picture, I couldn’t risk that. I couldn’t risk losing my daughter when I had just found out about her.

No, I wouldn’t apologize. I would continue to be exactly as I had been—fierce, loyal, protective of what was mine.

“Get these tools out of here,” I snapped when I got to the pack house. “Construction equipment stays in the back. Got it?”

“Yes, Alpha,” said the young wolf I had spoken to. He ducked his head in submission and began carrying the toolbox toward the rear of the house.

I sighed in irritation and walked toward my office. I had to do my job, but I needed space from everyone. The slightest problems had been sending me into spirals, and it was becoming cumbersome to deal with.

Anger was at the forefront of my mind, but lurking in the back was regret. I hadn’t been there for Christa when she was pregnant with our child, and that was something I could never change. I had missed an opportunity that I would never get again. One of many. Being there for the birth of my firstborn, watching her grow up—all those memories were Christa’s to carry alone. Jenny would have no memories of a childhood with her father, and I would have no memories of being one.

Added to that anger and regret was my confusion at what had occurred in Sparkle Hollow since my absence. When I left, Christa had been highly regarded among her pack. Something had changed, and she refused to tell me what it was. She had made it perfectly clear that she wouldn’t tell me anything else about her past, but I needed to know.

If Christa wasn’t going to give me the answers I craved, I would find them for myself.

“Reagan, get in here!” I shouted to my secretary.

A moment later, Reagan appeared in the doorway. He looked skittish and afraid, but I hadn’t called him in to berate him for any of the many mistakes that had been occurring in the pack lately. For now, what I needed was his help.

“I have a mission for you,” I said. “Have you ever been to Sparkle Hollow?”

***

Reagan had been gone for more than twenty-four hours, and I was starting to get impatient. After giving him the rundown yesterday of what I wanted him to look for when he went to Sparkle Hollow, he had left in the afternoon with a promise to return as soon as he could. I had made sure he wouldn’t be recognized by anyone in their pack, but part of me wondered if he had gotten caught snooping. I couldn’t afford to confront Alpha Lex head-on, but if I had to do it to get a pack member back, I would.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that , Orin said.

Why isn’t he back yet? I snarled at my wolf. It’s been long enough for him to find out what happened and what her status is in the pack. If he doesn’t turn up soon, do I go after him myself?

No, he’ll be back, Orin said.

I wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t just information about Christa that I needed, either. The ambush on the transport between the Moonstone pack and Sparkle Hollow would have been noticed, but if they had discovered who was behind it, we needed to be ready. A strong pack like Christa’s wouldn’t let it slide if they knew who was responsible for their missing equipment. Although the Moonstones had become more peaceful in recent years, they were still bound to be out for blood. No wolf pack would take the death of their members lying down.

Evening was fast approaching, and I decided that nothing more productive could be done at the pack house for the day. I may as well wait for Reagan’s return at home.

Christa and Jenny were there when I arrived, eating dinner together and watching a TV show.

“Colson!” Jenny said brightly when I entered the room. “Come see what I made for dinner!”

She hopped up from her spot on the couch and pulled me into the kitchen, where a plate of food was waiting for me.

“I call them taco burgers,” she said brightly, pointing to her creation. “I made tiny burgers and put them on soft taco shells and melted some cheese on top. You can add whatever toppings you want. I like them with guacamole and tomatoes.”

Jenny was hopping from foot to foot, unable to contain her excitement at showing me what she had done. Although I wasn’t usually a fan of mixed-genre foods, I had to admit that it looked and sounded delicious.

“That sounds great, Jenny. Thanks for making dinner. You didn’t have to,” I reminded her.

“I wanted to,” she chirped. “Here, come eat with us.”

I grabbed the plate, put her recommended toppings on my serving, and followed her back to the living room to sit in my recliner. The TV was playing a popular show about a single mother raising her daughter alone in a small town. I felt a familiar pang of regret, but since I didn’t want to put a damper on Jenny’s good mood, I ignored it, choosing to eat my dinner in silence while the girls quoted their favorite lines to each other from the couch.

I had just gotten up to take my plate to the sink when someone knocked on the door.

“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked Christa.

She shook her head, so I answered the door. Reagan stood on the front porch, looking slightly disheveled but otherwise unharmed.

“Sorry, Alpha,” he apologized profusely. “I know you wanted me back within the day, but it took me longer than I expected to find out about—”

“That’s okay,” I said, cutting him off before Christa could hear the end of his sentence. “Come inside. We can talk in the other room.”

I led Reagan through the living room, where Christa gave us a perplexed look, to the small sitting area in my bedroom. Two chairs sat facing a small fireplace, sectioned away from the part of the room where my bed was housed by a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

It was my refuge within the refuge of my home—a place only a few select people had ever seen. Reagan had been working as my personal secretary for a long time, and this wasn’t the first time he had been in this room. He sat down on his customary chair and leaned forward to tell me about the news from Sparkle Hollow.

“We don’t have anything to worry about from them,” he began. “At least, not right now. They don’t have a clue who participated in the ambush of their supply caravan, but it looks like their suspicions are prejudiced toward a pack that is outside of our territory. They think the packs within this area are all safe and under their influence.”

I smirked. It was just like Lex to think that just because he didn’t know of a threat, there wasn’t one. He was so focused on the borders of the region that he didn’t think to look our way—surprising, considering the upheaval of alphas and lunas that had occurred since he came to power. He must think all the threats had been dealt with.

“And what of Christa? Are they looking for her?” I asked.

Reagan nodded. “They are, but she isn’t a priority for them right now.”

“Not a priority?” I asked, surprised. “Even with her daughter being missing as well?”

“I thought it was strange, too. That’s why it took me longer to come back. I thought there might be more to the story, and it turns out there is,” Reagan explained.

“Tell me.”

“I went to the town bar and got into a conversation with one of the more inebriated pack members,” Reagan said. “I mentioned I thought it was a little weird that finding her wasn’t more of a priority for the pack. He told me that she’s considered one of the lowest members in the pack. She lives on the outskirts of town in a tiny, rundown house with only one bedroom.”

The thought of her and Jenny living in such conditions infuriated me. When I had known her, she had been a well-regarded member of the community. It seemed unconscionable that Sparkle Hollow reduced her to those circumstances.

“Did he say why?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Years ago, before her daughter was born, there was an interloper in Sparkle Hollow who caused some sort of scuffle,” Reagan explained. “He didn’t go into details, but I gathered that she had some sort of relationship with the guy. When the old alpha, Lex’s father, wanted to hunt him down and destroy him, Christa stepped in. She defended him, and when Sparkle Hollow kept moving forward with their plans, she set up a distraction—a fire—so he could escape before he was killed.”

“She set a fire in their own town?” I asked, baffled by the revelation.

“If it weren’t for that, the guy wouldn’t have been able to get away. That’s what my source said, anyway,” Reagan said with a shrug.

“So, she was punished for treason with a demotion,” I summarized.

“That’s what I was told,” Reagan said.

“And when the old alpha died his decision remained?” I asked. I had always heard that Alpha Lex was more level-headed than his father was, and that he cared more for his people. It seemed strange to think that he wouldn’t forgive Christa’s wrongdoing in light of her circumstances. “What kind of alpha would allow a single mother to live in poverty and isolation?”

“He might have, if she hadn’t disappeared with the equipment she was supposed to be protecting. The wolf I spoke to said she had agreed to take on this mission, along with her daughter, to prove her loyalty to Alpha Lex and make up for the past. Everyone in Sparkle Hollow assumed that she had betrayed them again, which is why their priority is on locating the missing hardware,” Reagan explained.

Guilt flooded me as I realized everything about her current predicament was my fault. She had defended me, put herself on the line, and saved my life. They had punished her for it, and I imagined that in her mind, she thought it would be worth it. She had believed me when I said I wanted to spend my life with her, but instead, I had completely disappeared.

At the time, I thought I was doing her a favor. I didn’t want her to have to choose between me and her pack. What I didn’t realize was that she already had—and she had chosen me.

I couldn’t even imagine the pain she must have felt when she realized I was gone—and that she was left alone with our child in a pack she had betrayed on my behalf. And now, my reappearance in her life had solidified her status as the lowest member of the pack—if they even let her back in.

“Did you need anything else from me?” Reagan asked, bringing me back to the current moment.

“No, thank you, Reagan,” I replied quietly. “And take tomorrow off. You did great work today, and I appreciate it.”

He nodded his thanks, and I showed him out. Jenny and Christa had finished their show, and I heard them talking in their room. Jenny must be getting ready for bed.

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to let Christa know what my intentions were. There was nothing I could do to go back and change the past, but my daughter was here now . I was going to get to know her, and there was nothing Christa could do or say that would stop me.