Page 39 of Hunted Temptation (Alpha Nights: Unlikely Heroes #4)

MARLOWE

TWO MONTHS LATER

Looking down at the birth certificate, I realize that this is real. I knew it was real when the papers were filled out and signed, but now it’s in print, black and white, right here in front of my face.

Hale is listed as Stellan’s father. There will be a time when he will need to know the truth.

It’s not a secret that I want to keep from him.

I won’t ever pretend like Dorian didn’t exist, but Hale is and will always be his father.

There is nothing in his DNA that can change that. Hale was his father from day one.

I feel like this little piece of paper needs to be framed and hung on the wall.

Staring at it for what feels like hours, I am engrossed in every part of it.

I read every single letter again, memorizing the whole thing, when I feel a hand on my waist. Jumping, I gasp as I turn my head, my heart racing against my chest.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I relax when I realize it’s Hale. “What’s this?” he asks, his voice soft and concerned. Well, slightly concerned.

Smiling up at him, I pick up the document and flip it around to show him. He presses his lips together as he reaches out for the paper. I watch as he takes it in, reading every single letter just the way I did.

Then, without a word, he places it down on the kitchen counter and wraps his fingers around my waist as he picks me up and sets my ass down on the counter next to the paper.

“It’s official,” he states.

“It’s official.”

Hale shifts his face forward, his lips touching mine, his mouth brushing across my own before he rests his forehead against mine. “I love you, Marlowe. I love you and Stellan. Thank you for choosing me.”

I almost laugh in his face, because it wasn’t me who chose him. It wasn’t me who chose anything. Hale came into my life when I was desperate. I thought my world was going to crumble into a million pieces until he appeared.

Then he took my hand and gave me a life wrapped up in a dream.

I didn’t do anything to deserve what he’s given me, but I’ll never walk away from him.

Never turn away from him. This man saved me when I least expected it.

He gave my son not only love but a father’s love, which is more precious to me than anything else.

Then he gave us both his last name.

“I want to fuck you against this counter, but everyone is waiting for us at the restaurant.”

I’m trying to decide if I care about said restaurant or if, since Stellan is being quiet, we could maybe be a little late. Pressing my lips together, I contemplate the situation, then Stellan cries, and my decision has been made for me.

Hale chuckles as if he knows exactly what I was thinking. He takes a step backward, reaching out for me, and gently picks me up off the counter before setting me down on my feet.

“I’ll get him ready. Leave in five,” he murmurs before he touches his mouth to mine, then he’s gone to Stellan’s room.

Once I’ve calmed myself down slightly, taken some cleansing breaths so my heart rate and libido aren’t racing, I gather my purse and check my reflection in the microwave just in time to see Hale making his way toward me with a smiling Stellan in his arms.

“Ready?” he asks.

I’m ready, all right.

I don’t say that, even though I really want to. Instead, I turn around and smile, giving him a nod. If he knows how badly I want him right now, he has the common courtesy not to tease me about it, thankfully.

The three of us walk out of the safe house, climb in the car, and we’re at the restaurant in record time. Hale knows exactly where we’re going. He breezes past the hostess station and walks straight toward the back room, opening the door and holding it for me.

I walk past him, but only a few steps, when the room erupts into applause. “Congratulations,” I hear in unison.

Looking around, I gasp at the sight that greets me.

Everyone in our lives, not only all of Hale’s partners and their women, but their children, and balloons everywhere.

Turning to Hale, I know I look confused.

But he shakes his head once, wrapping one arm around my shoulders while the other has a firm grasp on Stellan.

He lowers his head until his lips touch the shell of my ear.

“Congratulations on your graduation, sweetheart.”

Tears fill my eyes then slide down my cheeks.

I can’t believe this is real life. All I did was pass my GED test, and they’re all acting like I did something huge.

But then I realize that even if it wasn’t huge for them, it’s huge for me.

Nobody in my family has ever graduated from high school, but I have.

That is worth celebrating, Even if it’s not an important accomplishment for some, it is for me.

“Thank you,” I exhale, turning to look up at him.

His lips are curved up into a grin. “Proud of you, Marlowe. I love you.”

Two things nobody has ever said to me before him.

Proud of you .

I love you .

This man is everything.

Every single thing.

HALE

FIVE YEARS LATER

I watch the kids run around the yard. They’re screaming and having a fucking blast. My lips twitch into a smirk at the sight. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this would be my life.

Stellan has a gigantic smile on his face as he chases after one of the girls. It’s a blur of kids, and I can’t focus on any of them but my own. A throat clears beside me, taking my focus from the kids. Turning my head, I look over to see Theron standing there.

“It’s good, right?” he asks.

“Good?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, seeing them healthy, whole, and loved.”

“No,” I say, which causes his brows to snap together. “It’s fucking great.”

And it is.

These children will never know the horrors their fathers experienced. They will not suffer the pain that we did. It will never touch them. The six of us will protect them all until our dying breaths. Protect them and their mothers.

Theron lifts his drink to his mouth, taking a step backward before he walks toward Lucille, who is bent down speaking to one of their children. I begin to go in search of my own wife when Marlowe appears in front of me. Her eyes find mine as her palm touches the center of my chest.

Dipping my chin, I curl my fingers around her palm, squeezing gently as I take in her wedding ring. A vintage 2.95-carat oval ruby set in white gold with an oval diamond carat on each side. It cost more than my first condo, but I don’t care. It was meant for her, meant to be on her finger.

“What are you doing up here on the deck away from the party?” she asks.

Squeezing her fingers, I shift my attention back to the kids before I turn back to her. “Enjoying every second of this,” I reply.

Marlowe smiles, but it’s a bit sad, maybe a little haunted. I know it’s because of Myla. We got news today that she lost her battle with her addiction last night. I almost canceled the party, but she wouldn’t let me.

“You okay, sweetheart?” I ask.

She hums, her eyes watering for just a brief moment before she blinks them away. “I am, but I wish she could have been part of all this. She missed so much and could have had a good life.”

“Yeah, she could have.”

There’s no reason for me to speak ill of Myla. She’s gone now, and she did what Marlowe and I requested. She left us alone. But I also kept tabs on her, hoping that one day she would clean herself up. It never happened.

“Let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to our boy,” Marlowe says, shaking her head back and forth as if to shake the thoughts away.

I dip my chin, and before I release her, I touch my mouth to hers in a chaste kiss. “Thank you for this beautiful life,” I say, keeping my mouth on hers.

Marlowe takes half a step back, keeping her palm on my chest as she tips her head back to look up into my face. “No, Hale. Thank you. You saved me.”

That’s where she’s wrong. She’s the one who saved me. Before I laid eyes on her, before I brought her into my world, into my life, I was aimless. I was screwing women for physical release.

I never planned on finding out what love was. But she gave that to me. She taught me how to love. Stellan taught me a father’s love. They are my world, have been since the moment I saw her standing in that trap house—clearly where she never belonged—pregnant and scared.

Before I can respond to her words, Stellan’s body slams into my legs. I cup the back of his head, my eyes leaving Marlowe’s to connect to his. My lips instantly form a smile at the sight of his happy face.

“Cake?” he asks.

“Cake,” I confirm with a single nod.

The conversation is over. We walk over to the birthday cake as a family.

I light the candle, and we sing “Happy Birthday” to Stellan.

Surrounded by the people we love, who love us.

I watch as my son enjoys the attention, the song, the focus.

Something that none of us had. Something that we’ve given each of our children.

We’ve healed through them.

I hate the life I had. The childhood that never was.

But seeing all of these children not just survive but thrive in ways that we never could, it heals the boy inside us all.

Every single year that passes, I feel lighter, my pain more distant, my hate nothing but a speck that at any moment will blow away.

I love my life.

I will fight every day to keep this love alive.

While I will never forget where I came from, the traumas that shamed me, I will also endeavor to fight for the innocent so that nobody will ever experience the hells I or any of my brothers have felt.

The cycle ends with us.