Page 19 of Alpha Wolf’s Arranged Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #1)

The next morning, I wake up feeling like a new man. Even though I still hold all of yesterday’s worries, my mind is clear, and my soul feels renewed.

I look at Scarlett in my arms, and I know I’ve truly never been happier. For so many years, I carried memories like these in my mind. A perfect world I thought I’d lost and could never return to.

But here we are. And it’s better than I ever thought it could be. We fought through our struggles, and we’ve come together stronger on the other side.

Without disturbing Scarlett, I slip out of bed and head downstairs to make breakfast. I know that Jarrod likes thinly sliced bananas on his pancakes and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Even though these facts seem incredibly simple, they bring me unbelievable joy.

I want to find out everything there is to know about my son—and I can’t wait to watch him grow up!

I hear a footstep in the hall and catch Jarrod’s scent. When he wanders into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes, my heart soars at the sight of him, looking small and fragile in his fuzzy monster truck pajamas.

I open my arms to him, and he runs across the kitchen, throwing his arms around my neck. We squeeze each other hard, and I feel like my chest is going to crack from the love pouring into it.

“Hi, Dad,” Jarrod mutters.

I squeeze him even tighter. “Good morning, son.”

“I can’t believe you’re really my dad!”

I pull back a little so I can look into his pale brown eyes, and I’m stunned by how much like mine they are.

“I would have loved you as my own, no matter what. I want you to know that.”

“I know it,” Jarrod says. “But I can feel the blood tie. I know you’re my father, and that I’m like you. Somehow, I just always knew I was the son of an alpha.”

I snuggle Jarrod against my chest again, trying to kill the hurt inside me with the force of our hug.

“I’m sorry I left you,” I mutter.

Jarrod tightens his grip on me. “I know it was complicated, grown-up stuff, and you don’t want to tell me. That’s okay. I hope one day you will. And it really doesn’t matter if we’re all going to stay together now.”

“You bet we are!” I answer. “I’m not letting you or your mom go, ever again.”

“That’s good to hear,” Scarlett says, watching from the doorway.

“Hey, Mom,” Jarrod says. “Dad and I were catching up.”

“I can see that,” she replies, coming into the kitchen to join the hug. “It’s great to see you two getting along.”

I give Scarlet a brief kiss before she pours herself some coffee and sits at the table. While Jarrod energetically talks about last night’s dreams and his hopes for the day, I sit next to Scarlett, feeling her love for me and seriously wondering how I got this lucky.

I don’t deserve her forgiveness, but I will earn it every day for the rest of our lives.

“So, how are you feeling about today, Jarrod?” Scarlett asks.

“Good,” Jarrod answers. “It’s time to get back to school, I guess. I’ve had like a week off.”

“Longer than that,” I say. “But you were settling into your new home. No one will mind.”

“We should get ready,” Scarlett says, pointing at the clock. “You don’t want to be late on your first day.”

“Okay, Mom,” Jarrod says, shoveling the last of his pancakes into his mouth before rushing upstairs.

“I never saw anyone so excited to go to school,” I mutter.

Scarlett chuckles. “You don’t understand how hard school was for him back at Eccles. The other kids were mean to him, and the teachers were always on his case. I often thought he’d actually enjoy school if he just got the chance.”

I can’t respond to that without expressing my anger at her pack, so I just give her hand a squeeze and kiss her cheek before clearing up the table. While Scarlett gets dressed, I throw together a lunchbox for Jarrod, even though the school has a cafeteria that serves everyone for free.

Every kid in the world deserves free lunch at school—that’s not even a question. But in this town, it’s just another way for the guild leaders to show off.

The morning is bright and clear, one of those days when the blue sky goes on forever and the horizon looks close enough to touch. I want to believe it’s an omen of the future, bestowing good fortune on us, but as we drive to the school, my phone buzzes several times.

I’m pretty sure that’s not Celeste texting me about a bake sale.

When we get to the school, I go in with Scarlett and Jarrod, stubbornly ignoring my phone. Mrs. Florence comes out to give Jarrod and his mom a tour, so I go with them, holding Jarrod’s hand most of the way.

The first bell for class rings, and Jarrod lets go of me to run into the classroom with the other kids. Even though he’s barely gone twenty feet from me, I feel a sudden, intense ache of loss.

“That takes some getting used to,” Scarlett says gently.

“What?” I ask.

“That feeling when your kid lets go of you. Even if they aren’t going far, it still hurts. Makes you want to chase them down, wrap your arms around them, and never let them go.”

“You got that right,” I say, relieved that my reaction is normal. “I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“That being said,” Scarlett adds, smiling, “I think you have some life stuff to take care of? Your phone has been going nuts in your pocket.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Alpha stuff, I’m sure.”

“Well, you go do your alpha stuff and pick us up later. I’ll stick around here and make myself useful.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’d like to get to know everyone, and I’m sure they can use an extra hand. Schools always do.”

“Okay,” I say, giving her a quick kiss. “I’ll be back this afternoon.”

I turn to walk back to the car, feeling a sense of impending doom descending on me. My instincts have always been exceptional—they made me an excellent agent—and right now, they’re screaming that something is extremely wrong.

As I make it back to the car, I pull out my phone and see several coded messages that have to be from WS. And one about the bake sale.

Mary really doesn’t stop.

I type my reply to the WS codes, and a location is texted back. Driving to the outskirts of town, I try to keep myself calm, but my mind is reeling.

I’ve dealt with danger my whole life. It’s not difficult for me, but now that I have Scarlett and Jarrod to worry about, everything has changed.

I leave the car at a campground and shift, loping into the woods until I find the meeting point. Bradley is already there and shifts as soon as he sees me. I shift back to human as well.

“Thanks for coming, boss,” Bradley says.

“I’m not the boss anymore,” I remind him.

“Keep telling yourself that. You’ve been out, what, a few weeks? And here you are, taking on command duties.”

“Brad, what is it?”

Brad sighs, looking at the ground. “There is something big about to go down at Eccles. They aren’t building a parking lot.”

“What could it be?” I ask, fear trickling down my spine.

“It looks like a stone platform carved with runes. This is ancient—like, really old. Possibly prehistory.”

“What the fuck?”

“That’s what our archaeology consultant said.”

“What does it do? I don’t understand why they’d dig it up.”

“We don’t, either, but considering the past reports of power blasts that decimated the country for miles in every direction, I’d say we should take it pretty seriously.”

I swallow hard. “Miles… does that mean we’re in the kill zone?”

“Close to it,” Bradley replies. “I think that’s why you guys have stories about it. Anytime this thing has blown up, your pack was near enough to see it.”

“What are we going to do?”

“At the moment, we are gathering intel and researching. It’s well-defended—we can’t just go running in there.”

“Okay. So, nothing happening yet.”

“Well…” Brad trails off.

“What?” I growl.

“Eccles scouts are on the move. They’re closer to Rose Hollow than they were yesterday.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s a hunting pattern.”

“Why haven’t my scouts reported this?”

“Because the Eccles scouts are deliberately staying out of your range. It’s stealthy as fuck.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah. These aren’t just lower ranks, either. They’re warriors. Killing machines.”

“I thought our marriage was supposed to be an alliance,” I ponder. “Why are they planning to attack us?”

Brad sighs, shaking his head. “It appears that the marriage deal was a complete fabrication. They wanted you off-balance. Relaxed and unaware.”

I repress a shudder. “If you guys hadn’t been watching…”

“I know. They could have cut through your defensive line without you even knowing.”

“Is it a full-scale attack?”

“Uh-uh,” Brad shakes his head. “It’s seven warriors in a stealth formation. This is targeted. They want something in particular, not just to create carnage.”

My heart literally constricts in my chest as I think of Jarrod. The idea of something happening to my son fills me with dread—and incandescent rage.

“We’re going to need to work together,” Brad says. “I think it’s lucky in a way that Eccles have focused on this place right now. We need an alpha that understands military strategy, and we couldn’t ask for better than you.”

“Do you think it’s going to come to a fight?”

“We aren’t sure, but we need you to be ready. The rest of the squad is spread out through the forest, with another unit over at Eccles watching the excavation and anything else that changes in town.”

“Where are these warriors from Eccles now?”

“I’ve sent you their locations in our encrypted chat. They are stationary right now, but they’re clearly watching Rose Hollow, waiting for a sign.”

“Anything else to report?”

“No,” Brad answers, shaking his head. “Not right now. We’ll get back to you immediately when something changes.

Mission priority right now is these warriors stalking your town.

Next is the excavation and how far along they are.

Almost as important as the first two is deciphering those runes to figure out what the stone is for. ”

“Okay,” I say. “I'd better get back. I’ll have my phone on. Message me when you have something.”

“Will do, boss.”

“Be careful, Bradley.”

“You too, Rex.”

We shake hands, then walk in separate directions. As soon as I hit the tree line, I shift and race back to the car, covering the distance as fast as I can.

I’m driving away from the campsite when my phone buzzes again.

One of the messages is from Delia, wanting to know about stall sizes at the upcoming fair, and another is from Bec, letting me know she’s decided to join her mother on her holiday.

It’s selfish of me, but I’m happy to know my mother and sister will be well out of the way of this conflict

The people of this town are so innocent. They are just sitting here, going about their peaceful lives, and Eccles is hanging over our heads, waiting to come down and crush us.

The evil it would take for a person to extend a branch of peace under false premises is beyond my ability to comprehend. As I drive back to the school to pick up Scarlett and Jarrod, it makes me think very hard about Azarian and what else he might be capable of.