Page 28 of Alpha’s Secret Baby Girl (Nightfall Island Alphas #1)

Gwen’s fingers intertwined with his, grounding him in the moment.

She gave him an encouraging smile as they stepped into the Elder Council’s room in the town hall.

Since Lianne’s display of magic two days ago, there had been no sign of any demons.

Though Rafael was confident that there would be no more issues with that particular demon, he was less assured that it was the only demon on the island.

In his opinion, it had been trapped within the protective barrier of the town when Gwen fixed it, and there had been a second demon on the outside, which led the special ops on a wild goose chase.

For now, though, they had some answers and a plan for moving forward.

“Alpha Rafael,” Elder Thera greeted with a half-nod. “We have been expecting you for a few days now.”

Rafael accepted the jibe. Of course, the Elders would expect him to make reporting to them a top priority. As he gazed at them, he couldn’t stop the small tug of annoyance in his chest. It wasn’t as though he’d been idle. There was a lot of work in town to do to recover from the demon attack.

“We wanted to make sure the borders were safe first,” Rafael said smoothly. “We have done more research after what happened, and we believe we know why the demon has been targeting our daughter.”

Thera laced her fingers together. “Oh?”

Rafael nodded once to Gwen, indicating that she should explain what she had found. “In the old texts, there is a ritual that can be performed to test a person’s magical reserves. Lianne’s is immense. That, and she is already showing signs of getting ready to shift at only six years old.”

This met with rumbles of surprise. One of the other Elders leaned forward. “But if she has magic that strong, how can she have a wolf powerful enough to emerge at such a young age?”

Here, Gwen tightened her grip on Rafael’s hand.

He squeezed it reassuringly in return. This was where they didn’t have solid answers.

It seemed as though there wasn’t actually a correlation between having magic and a weak wolf, at least not in any written records.

Why it was true for Gwen, Kira, and Chelsey was unknown.

“We are still researching it,” Rafael answered when Gwen was quiet for a little too long.

“We have no proof as of yet, but I personally believe that the demons themselves have been attacking the witch-born shifters on the island from the moment of birth, weakening them in both magic and wolves. Since Lianne was raised away from their influence, she was able to come into her true power. The demons must have seen what a threat she is to them as soon as she returned to the island.”

Thera nodded slowly. “That is an interesting theory. And you believe the demon that attacked us is destroyed?”

“I believe that Lianne destroyed the demon that was coming after her, yes. I don’t believe we’re completely in the clear,” Rafael said.

“Whatever barrier the old witches put in place to keep them locked away must be deteriorating for even that one to escape. I believe there are others still on the island.”

Gwen shivered. “We think they will keep coming after the town. Specifically, they will keep coming after Lianne, no matter where she goes. Whether she’s on the island or anywhere else, and it may be that they will focus more effort on the pack to make sure no other children like her are born.”

Thera rubbed her chin slowly. “Hmm. So what does that look like for the town, then?”

“More special ops,” Rafael answered. “Higher training for the wolves on the island, and more effort to find and train any of the pack who might have magic.”

One of the other Elders grumbled. “You mean to encourage witchcraft, them?”

“I mean to protect my daughter by any means necessary,” Rafael shot back.

Gwen drew herself up. “I do, too. And that means we will be here for a long, long time. If you have problems with witches, then you’re just going to have to get over it. Witches are the ones that saved this pack from the demons in the first place.”

The Elder frowned deeply and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Thera cut in.

“If that is what you believe is best, Alpha. These recent events have proven that there is more in our history than we knew.”

Rafael nodded once to her. He, Michael, and Gwen had decided to wait until they revealed the truth of his mother’s witch heritage, as well as how the demon had killed both Isabel and Randall.

They needed time to process their own grief yet, and if the council suspected that Rafael was only doing this because of some latent magical ability of his own, it wouldn’t go down well.

He didn’t think he had latent magical ability, as magic seemed to be passed from mother to daughter, but they also didn’t know much about how magic worked.

“Well, then. It seems as though that’s done.” Thera let out a heavy sigh. “Now, onto another matter. We will need a new Elder Priest. We have been discussing the matter, and I’m sure you’ll agree with our decision.”

***

After a long meeting that felt like it went in circles, with everyone repeating the same thing in agreement, Rafael and Gwen finally left.

They were exhausted from talking, and Rafael took Gwen by the hand and led her through town, toward the nearest beach.

There, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“I hope it’s over,” he murmured.

“I think it is, for now at least. I think the demons will need time to regroup before they try anything else.” Gwen pressed her face into his shirt, inhaling deeply.

“I’ve been so worried. Not just for Lianne, but for you, too.

I tried not to think about it, but whenever I imagined something happening to you… ”

She shuddered against him, and Rafael’s arms tightened around her. As he pressed his face into her hair, he sighed heavily. “I was afraid, too. I know I’m not supposed to admit fear, that fear is weakness—”

“Your dad was a dick,” Gwen interrupted.

Rafael snorted, then sighed again. “I wish things had been different. I wish that I could be standing here, missing him and not being angry at myself for missing him.” He kissed her temple, his thoughts turning to his mother.

Perhaps he was starting to understand more about why she hadn’t left him.

But he would never know that, either. “But you’re right.

I shouldn’t be afraid to admit how terrified I was of losing you and Lianne. ”

Gwen lifted her face toward him. “It’s been a lot, hasn’t it?”

“You can say that again.” Rafael gave her a pained smile. “I just wish we could have come back together without the demons.” He pulled her closer, his hands lightly running up and down her back. “I love you, Gwen Parker. I have always loved you.”

Gwen lifted her hand to trace his lips with her fingers. “I love you, too.”

They kissed, soft and gentle. It sent warmth flooding through Rafael’s body.

For the first time since all this started, he felt whole once more.

When was the last time he’d felt like this?

Even when they made love, he’d had the lingering fear at the back of his mind that she was going to leave him.

Now, he saw nothing but a fullness of life ahead of them.

When they broke the kiss, Rafael pressed his forehead to hers, so close their lashes brushed against each other.

“Will you marry me?” he asked, his voice low.

Gwen laughed. “We’re already married.”

“Yes, but will you marry me again?”

Gwen searched his gaze, growing more serious. “You mean have another wedding? Or do you want to tell everyone that we weren’t married to start with?”

Rafael let out a shaky breath. “I want to do what you are comfortable with. If you want to tell the truth, I will deal with the fallout.”

“I understand why you did it. But I think it’s probably a good idea to start being honest. With that in mind…” She kissed him again. “Yes, I’ll marry you again, Rafael Buchanan.”

Their lips touched again, and they did not speak again for a long time.

***

Lianne clapped her hands and danced from side to side. Her green eyes sparkled with delight. “I’m going to be the flower girl of honor!”

Rafael chuckled as he ruffled his daughter’s hair. Though he had expected Lianne to be pleased, he hadn’t realized how excited she would be. She started to sashay about, describing what her ‘princess dress’ would look like in increasingly detailed and contradictory terms.

Gwen and Rafael exchanged amused and pleased looks.

They joined hands, and Gwen ran her thumb over Rafael’s knuckles, her gaze softening.

He gazed back, so very grateful that his hot-headed and misguided actions when she had first returned to the island hadn’t destroyed everything.

He wasn’t certain that he deserved her forgiveness, even for how certain he’d been that he was doing the right thing.

Should I tell her? Gwen mouthed to him.

Rafael’s heart skipped a beat. Whenever you think is right.

Her palm turned toward his, and their fingers tangled together. Gwen’s green eyes glowed with happiness.

“Lianne, there’s something else we wanted to tell you,” Gwen said, turning back to Lianne.

Lianne was too busy dancing to pay attention at first, but when Gwen called her a second time, the little girl dropped her arms and came back to them, beaming angelically. “Yes, Mommy?”

Gwen smoothed her hair from her face. “Well, you know when you asked about your father and I said that he lived far away from us?”

“Yeah. You mean Raf-el, right?” Lianne asked blithely.

Rafael’s eyebrows shot straight up. Gwen glanced at him, startled and maybe just a little bit accusatory.

He lifted his hands quickly. He wasn’t the one who told her!

They had thought it would be difficult to keep the truth from her with everyone in the pack knowing, or at least making that assumption.

Lianne looked between them, her brows pinching together.

“It was pretty obvious,” she said, a note of impatience creeping into her voice.

Gwen laughed. “Was it?”

Lianne nodded. “We live with him now. So I knew then. But there’s other stuff, too. He smells a bit like me and nobody else does, not even Michael.”

Funny how she could say Michael’s name just fine, but tripped over his. Rafael picked her up and settled her between him and Gwen. “Scent is a powerful thing for us wolves.”

“Yeah. And also, you just feel nice. In here.” She touched her chest. “I’m happy when you’re around, and I just knew you were my dad.”

“And you didn’t wonder why we didn’t talk about him as your father?” Gwen asked.

Lianne huffed. “No. I just thought it was because you were mad at each other. I’m glad that you’re not mad anymore. Can I start calling Raf-el Dad now?”

Rafael’s heart skipped a beat. His throat swelled as emotion washed through him. He’d never thought that a single word could sound so very happy. He nodded soundlessly, afraid that he’d choke on his words if he tried to speak.

“You are a very special girl,” Gwen said, pulling Lianne into her arms.

Lianne smiled, looking quite satisfied with herself. “I really am, uh-huh!”

Rafael laughed. He wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter and pulled them both over until Gwen was half in his lap. As he breathed in their scents, he felt so happy he could burst. After all of his mistakes, he still managed to end up here. He was the luckiest Alpha in the world, he decided.

“I love you both,” he murmured.

“Love you, too, Dad,” Lianne said.

Gwen grinned at him. “I love you, too.”

And those, Rafael decided, were the best words in the universe.