Page 13 of Alpha’s Secret Baby Girl (Nightfall Island Alphas #1)

Rafael rubbed his forehead as he glared at the reminder that had just popped up on his phone.

Lianne was nearby, ‘reading’ picture books as Gwen napped on the couch.

After the Council meeting yesterday and the demon attack before that, he wanted to stay with them for longer.

But he had an important meeting, one that couldn’t be ignored.

With a silent sigh, he reached over to touch Gwen’s shoulder.

She groaned and buried her face in the pillow, her wavy blonde hair a frizzy mess from sleep.

A smile touched his lips at the sight. He remembered the first time they had slept next to each other—completely innocent, having fallen asleep during star-gazing—and she had done the same thing when he woke her the next morning.

Only then, it had been him that she had buried her face into.

“Gwen,” he urged softly.

She wrapped one arm around her head. Her dark green skirt had ridden up slightly on her legs. If she rolled over, she would expose herself. “You’re an adult. Take care of it yourself.”

Lianne giggled. “Mommy’s being the sleepy monster.”

“Sleeeeepy,” Gwen repeated in a zombie voice. She peered through her arms up at Rafael and heaved out a sigh. She pushed herself up and stretched her arms over her head. Her back arched, her breasts pushing out.

Rafael’s wolf stirred. He could see the edge of her bra against her t-shirt and wondered what color it was.

Quickly, he averted his gaze and pushed the dirty thoughts from his head.

There was time for that later. A daring idea slipped in, one where he crept into Gwen’s room after Lianne was asleep—one where he confessed his lingering feelings for her and asked her if she could possibly have the same feelings for him.

A daring idea, to visit his wife in her room after dark. Rafael shook his head at his own high-school fantasy. But even as he did so, there was a sharp tug in the center of his chest, a sting of regret. If only…

“I have a meeting with Joshua and Michael,” he said, focusing on a non-stretching Gwen.

He could still see the outline of her bra and firmly told himself that her being sexy as hell was no reason for him to start sexualizing everyday things about her.

At least, not with their relationship in its current state.

Gwen rubbed her eyes and nodded once. “When will you be back home?”

“Not sure. I’ll let you know if I’ll be back in time for supper. There’s a lot of food in the fridge and freezer, and I can leave my credit card if you want to go shopping.”

At this, Gwen gave him a severe look. “I have my own bank account. I don’t need your credit card.”

“Yeah,” Lianne agreed, though Rafael was sure she didn’t understand what was going on. “Credit cards are bad. They send people to jail.”

“Do they?” Rafael lifted an eyebrow at his daughter.

She nodded seriously. “It’s like that movie. We never use credit cards.”

“Yes, we do,” Gwen corrected gently. “They’re not bad in and of themselves, sweetheart.”

Lianne stuck out a stubborn jaw and narrowed her eyes at her mother. “They are too!”

Rafael chuckled. “Uh oh. I’d better get out of here before a world war starts.”

“Coward,” Gwen muttered.

But they shared a half-smile. Rafael’s heart warmed. He tousled Lianne’s hair, and she punched his leg. Rafael laughed, holding his hands up in surrender before he headed for the door, feeling lighter than he had in a while.

***

Joshua and Michael were already waiting at the town hall.

Not in the office as he expected, but in the main hall of the building.

An obstacle course had been set up, and a group of four wolves was taking it, moving in perfect coordination.

It was an impressive and artistic sight.

The four pulled up at the end of the course and shifted back to human form.

All four of them wore stretchy boxers that had stayed in place during the shift, and they saluted to him.

Rafael cast a look over the four. “I take it you’re the four special ops recruits that we called for.”

The tallest of the bunch nodded, a grin stretching over his face.

“Yes, sir. Liam, Kit, Paul, and Daniel,” he said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

They weren’t much younger than Rafael was, but all four of them burst with a youthful eagerness to please.

It was understandable, since most special ops recruits were considered low-class members of their own packs.

“Thank you for coming here, gentlemen. You all know why you’ve been brought to the island, yes?

” Rafael asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

Joshua and Michael were more casual, leaning against the wall.

Both were smirking in the way that meant they were going to mock his ‘over-professional attitude’ later. Bastards.

“Yes, sir,” Kit said eagerly. He had shoulders as broad as any Rafael had seen and had loose sandy-brown hair that looked as though it had never seen a comb. “There are demons on the island that you need us to track down and destroy.”

His eyes gleamed with a determined light. He held himself straight.

“And you don’t find demons strange?” Rafael probed, making sure they were taking this seriously.

Kit shook his head once. “My parents were killed by demons when I was a kid. That’s where I got this.” He pointed at a long, jagged scar across his torso. “Safe to say I’m eager to take out any of those bastards that I can.”

Liam and Daniel both nodded, their expressions both fierce. Paul, on the other hand, smirked.

Rafael focused on him. “Got something to say?”

He shrugged. “Kind of a dumb question if you ask me. We’re being trained to fight demons, why would we find demons strange?”

Michael burst out with a laugh. “He’s got you there, Raf.”

Rafael shot his brother an annoyed look before focusing on the recruits again.

He described the location of the attack and the previous locations where demons had been spotted.

He was just finishing up when he caught Joshua frowning across the hall.

Rafael turned to find Gwen standing near the back entrance.

Her arms were wrapped around her middle, as though she was trying to avoid attention.

She shrank deeper into herself when she saw him looking.

“Go ahead and start your patrol,” Rafael told the bunch distractedly. “Check in regularly.”

With that, they were dismissed. Joshua and Michael sidled closer as Rafael walked over to Gwen.

How much had she heard? This business didn’t concern her.

He would take care of the pack’s security and protect Lianne.

He didn’t want her to get any more worried than she already was.

They hadn’t had the chance to really talk since the previous night, since Lianne had been stuck to Gwen’s side ever since.

Speaking of… “Where’s Lianne?”

“I left her with Chelsey and Kira at the house. I needed to talk with you, and I didn’t want it to be in front of her,” Gwen answered stiffly. “I did call.”

“You knew I was busy,” Rafael answered. His own voice was stiffening despite himself. The tension radiating off Gwen wasn’t her normal tension. But what could have happened in the brief interlude since he left the house?

“Anything we can help with?” Michael asked lazily.

Rafael opened his mouth to tell him to scram, but Gwen spoke first. “Actually, yes. You two can go back to the house and keep an eye out for demons trying to attack Lianne while Rafael and I speak.”

There was a ring of authority to her voice that made Rafael smirk.

When she acted like that, it made him glad she had left the pack when she did.

Being on her own had given her a confidence boost that Randall would have tried to deny her.

His smirk faded as the truthfulness of it hit him.

The former Alpha would have done everything he could to beat out the ‘disrespectful attitude toward her betters.’ His jaw tightened, and he looked away.

Joshua and Michael both glanced at him, both of them clearly unimpressed with the order. It was almost as though they expected him to chastise her for giving them orders in the first place. But when he nodded, they left the hall without a fuss.

“What’s wrong?” Rafael asked once they were alone.

Gwen’s cheeks colored, and she avoided his gaze. It was almost as though now that she had the chance to talk to him, she no longer wanted to.

“Gwen.” Rafael reached to touch her hand but stopped himself. “Tell me.”

“There was a call after you left. Jenny Carps,” Gwen said. Her shoulders hitched, but she met his gaze once more. “She thinks a demon killed her pet raccoon. When she realized it was me she was talking to, she started screaming that it was my fault and I’m the one who brought the demons here.”

Rafael’s jaw tightened. “So word has spread. That is… unfortunate. I will make sure that the pack knows that I and the Council aren’t blaming you. I will speak with Jenny personally, if you like.”

“You should send someone. It’s possible that a demon really did kill her raccoon,” Gwen said. She swallowed hard and glanced around. “Is there somewhere more private we can speak?”

The hall was empty. Rafael frowned but nodded toward the stairs. Gwen turned on her heel and marched toward the stairs, her shoulders stiff.

“Is there something else?” Rafael asked once they were in his office.

Gwen strode to the window and stared out. Her shoulders hitched upward. Not a good sign. Worse, she held her breath as she watched the people outside. Rafael sat on the edge of his desk, waiting. She would speak when she was ready, not before. He hated the intermittent shudders that shook her.

The silence wore on until he couldn’t stand it anymore. “Gwen—”

It was a mistake. She whirled on him. “What were you thinking?”

Rafael tensed at the look on her face. “Sorry?’