Page 13 of Alpha Wolf’s Arranged Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #1)

Looking down on the silent, slightly shocked faces of the women, I don’t want to believe that something secret was going on—but it really looks like I’ve walked in on something they didn’t want me to hear.

Calm down. It’s probably women’s business; I wouldn’t even want to know.

I keep trying to convince myself of that even as people clear their throats and compose themselves, but my suspicion rises even as I try to fight it.

I have enough to deal with in my new role—as well as getting messages from WS!—to have my own pack members keeping things from me!

“We’re all done out back,” I say. “Are you ready to go, Scarlett?”

“Sure, yeah,” she answers, smiling. “Let me get Jarrod, and we’re on our way.”

“How was the meeting?” Mary asks. “Did you set a date for the next fair?”

“I don’t—I mean, yes. Of course we did. I just can’t remember.”

Mary chuckles. “I’m not surprised that a little thing like our market fair isn’t the most important task on your list. I’ll talk to Celeste this evening.”

“Thanks, Mary,” I say. “I thought being pack alpha would be more about tactics and defense than bake sales.”

“It’s not a bake sale!” Ana says with exasperation. “She just wins so often, people forget about the other stalls.”

“People gotta eat,” Mary laughs, shrugging.

“Dad!” Jarrod suddenly shouts, charging at me. “Check out what I made!”

He lifts a large sheet of cardboard, and I’m stunned to see a complex drawing with delicately layered colors portraying the horizon and skyline visible from the café window.

“You did this?” I ask.

Jarrod nods, smiling proudly.

“With crayons?” I say in disbelief. “Kids, crayons, and a crappy old cardboard base?”

“Do you like it?” Jarrod asks, his eyes shining with emotion.

“I love it!” I exclaim, unable to keep my excitement in check.

I’d love it if all he did was make a few squiggly lines, but this is a work of genius!

“He is talented,” Scarlett says, smiling. “We were trying to get him into an art program at home.”

“Well, he’s in one now,” I answer. “Don’t worry about that for even a second. I can’t wait to see what you can do with canvas and oil paint, Jarrod.”

“I’ve never used oil paint!” Jarrod says, jumping along beside me as we head for the door. “Can you teach me?”

“Not my forte, kiddo, but Mrs. Florence will have all the information you need. We’ll get you set up at the school soon.”

“That sounds great!”

As Jarrod and I head out the front door, I hear Scarlett saying goodbye to the other women. Even though I’m still a bit worried about what they were talking about, I’m also happy that she seems to be fitting in.

Maybe they can help her feel more secure here, and she’ll be able to open up to me. Our relationship can’t progress with all these secrets between us.

As I open the car for Jarrod to get in, I realize that statement also applies to me, and if I want the situation to improve, I’ll have to share my secrets, too.

I’m keeping secrets from the entire pack. What if Scarlett tells the others? What if she rejects me? What if the pack rejects me?

My stomach bubbles a little with anxiety as that idea takes hold. It’s not something I’d ever considered, but it has happened before. An alpha deemed unworthy of leadership can be expelled from the pack entirely.

If I tell Scarlett and she spreads the information, I’ll be known as a rogue Shadow. I’d have to go underground to protect myself, and if the pack decided they couldn’t trust me, I’d have no safety here, either.

As Scarlett gets into the car and we leave the café, I wonder how my life got so complicated so fast.

As if reuniting with Scarlett and finding out she has a kid wasn’t bad enough. Now we’ve got war, even more complicated secrets, and potential exile.

On the way home, Scarlett chats with Jarrod, seeming very relaxed after her day with the other women. Even though I’m emotionally bruised, Jarrod draws me into the conversation, and I can’t resist his bubbly, enthusiastic energy.

“Did you know octopi have no bones?” he says as we arrive home. “They can squish through tiny little cracks, and they’re smart enough to open their tanks. They even steal stuff and put themselves back in, then pretend like they never escaped.”

“I didn’t know,” I answer, laughing as I open the front door. “But that is kind of cool.”

“What do we want for dinner?” Scarlett asks, leading us into the kitchen.

“What have we got?” Jarrod replies.

“Hmm, good question,” Scarlett says, opening a cupboard door and peering inside. “Well, you’ve actually got quite a well-stocked pantry. I’m impressed!”

“Don’t be,” I laugh. “Mom often fills it up, and sometimes the housekeeper does, too. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to cook any of it.”

“Well, you’re about to learn,” she says, shoving a jar of pasta sauce into my hand. “I’ll help you get this started with some spaghetti and pesto, then I’ll fry some steaks. Jarrod, can you make a salad?”

“Sure thing, Mom!” he answers, rushing over to the fridge to start pulling out vegetables.

As I watch my son setting up his ingredients on a chopping board with a small knife and slicing with ease, I stare at my jar of sauce and packet of pasta with some confusion—and a good dose of inadequacy.

“I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed,” I admit as Scarlett oils a frying pan.

“Here you go,” she says, putting a pot on the stove. “You’re going to use that sauce and this pesto to make a base. I’ll show you.”

“Uh-huh,” I mutter, feeling completely out of my depth. “Are you sure you actually want my help? You don’t think I’ll screw it up?”

Jarrod and Scarlett burst out laughing, making me feel even more ridiculous.

“Don’t be a wimp, Dad,” Jarrod says, rolling his eyes. “You gotta give stuff a go, and make mistakes. You can’t just cop out before you even start.”

“You’re so wise,” I say, feeling humbled. “I promise to give this sauce my full effort and attention.”

As we cook dinner together, the conversation flows easily between us, and I can see Scarlett beginning to relax. By the time we sit down to eat, I’m feeling incredibly hopeful that we can navigate our relationship through all the obstacles, no matter how impassable they may seem.

The bright mood carries on when we clear up, get Jarrod into a bath, and tuck him into bed. As we slip quietly out of his room and shut the door, I reach out to Scarlett to take her hand.

As my fingers touch hers, she jumps back, looking up at me with fierce eyes. I shrug, and she shakes her head, hurrying past me up to our bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, following her inside as she shuts the door.

“Why would you do that?” she asks, folding her arms and shaking her head. “What made you think I wanted to hold hands with you?”

I stare at her, my chest aching a little as I watch her visibly shrink away from me.

“We had such a great night… I was going to ask you to come downstairs for a nightcap, maybe some dessert…”

“Dessert, huh?” she snaps. “What exactly did you think you’d be eating?”

Cherry pie, of course.

“Uh,” I gulp, forcefully holding myself back from making a reference to her pussy being the only dessert I’d want to eat. “I’m not sure…”

“Rex. I need you to get this into your head. I don’t trust you.

Why should I? You lived with my pack for a year, under a fake name and in disguise.

You let me fall for you, then you disappeared the morning after we had sex.

Nothing will change these facts, and even if you explain yourself—truthfully—there is no guarantee I’ll forgive you. ”

“Wow,” I mutter. “Okay. That’s a lot.”

“Try getting fucking abandoned!” she hisses, trying to keep her voice down. “Trust me, that’s way worse!”

“Okay!” I say, catching myself at the last second so I don’t yell. “I get it, and I’ll talk, alright? You deserve some kind of explanation.”

Scarlett stops in surprise, her eyes wide. I can tell she didn’t expect me to give in on this.

But I want to encourage her to talk to me, too. I deserve to know who Jarrod’s father is, and if another man has a claim on her heart.

“I was concealing my identity when I lived at Eccles because I couldn’t have anyone know where I’d come from.”

“So Rose Hollow was spying on us?”

“No,” I answer, trying to mince my words so I don’t completely give up Wolf’s Shadow.

“My pack didn’t know. This was something else.

I went to find out more about the strange powers that are alluded to in the old stories.

Rose Hollow itself has some legends, but these stories about Eccles are known outside of this area as well. ”

“What?” Scarlett mutters, her eyes widening even more as her arms fall slack by her sides. “What stories?”

“Something about ancient powers,” I say, wondering how much I should tell her. “That the elders, and alpha, are able to harness some kind of energy, and it’s made other packs fear them. No one has ever been able to find out any details about it.”

“Did you?” she asks, taking a few quick strides towards me. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing,” I reply. “I was there for a year and never found any information.”

Scarlet lowers her head, pinching her lip. She mutters something to herself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” she says too quickly. “These ancient powers—does anyone know how they work? Is it spirits, magic items, what?”

“I don’t even know that much.”

“But you know it has to do with the elders?” she says, giving me a steady look.

I nod in affirmation. “Do you know anything?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No. Nothing.”

“Scarlett—”

“I’m not talking about it, okay! I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Actually, I think you do,” I say, challenging her. “Something is going on over there.”

“What?” she asks, her voice thin and scared. “What do you mean?”

“I was told there are lots of wolves working just outside of town. Clearing a field, maybe, or excavating.”

“Looking for what?” she asks frantically. “How many wolves are out there? Was my uncle involved? What about the other elders? Did he have a woman with him?”

“I can’t answer any of that,” I reply carefully. “But it sounds like you know something about this.”

Scarlett shakes her head desperately. “Rex, just leave this alone, okay? You don’t need to know what’s going on there—so long as they stay where they are, and we keep Jarrod safe here. Do you understand?”

“Sure,” I answer, not understanding at all.

She’s acting like she’s protecting someone back at her old pack—and she still won’t tell me who Jarrod’s father is.