Total pages in book: 202
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 968(@200wpm)___ 774(@250wpm)___ 645(@300wpm)
Grey takes a step back and my heart sinks.
He frowns. “Things can’t always be perfect, Stacy. That’s life.”
I feel myself slump. “I’ve been afraid you’d reject me.”
As if I didn’t even say that, he says, “Take it Kimmy’s mother’s uncle wasn’t an alpha?”
“No…”
“Well, we’ll have to look into all of that, I suppose.” He’s looking at me with a very guarded, still hurt expression. “Wyatt born before your father became alpha of this pack?”
“Yeah,” I say. “We both were.”
“Your father may have been considered beta until he took over for your grandfather. Was he the firstborn son?”
I shake my head. “No. He had an older brother that got killed by human hunters.”
“That’s likely it,” Grey reasons. “Traditional shifter packs often have strong betas that’ll become alphas in the right environment. Your grandfather’s firstborn was likely intended to be the alpha of this pack, but your father took on traits when your grandfather died.”
I absorb this.
“Our pack is unique,” he reminds me. “The way our pack operates is a little different. Since most packs have one alpha, the rest betas and omegas, the strong betas can transition to alphas. Usurped alphas can eventually transition to beta, lose their alpha traits. It’s conceivable a shifter could become a father before he takes on alpha traits.”
“Oh?”
His eyes work over my face, and I can tell he’s not okay with all this information. Even less okay with the fact I didn’t share it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Grey. I’m ashamed. Ashamed of who I am, where I come from, how I grew up and what my life looks like. Especially compared to looking at who you are, where you come from. I was going to ask your sister to help me find out the truth through her genealogy project, but I was going to wait until all this was over with Wyatt.”
“So you were going to tell me?” he asks acidly.
“I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. Or upset you, if I’m honest. I really don’t like upsetting you.”
“Not wanting me upset doesn’t give you the right to keep things from me, wife.”
“You’re right,” I say.
He gives me a disapproving look, but pulls his phone from his pocket and makes a call.
And I feel lost. Lost and sad. And disappointed that I’ve disappointed him.
“Bailey,” he greets. “Hey. Yeah we’re figuring it all out and lots goin’ on so I can’t give you the skinny right now, but listen… I need you to dig into genealogy records for the Silver Hills pack as far back as there are records. Particularly for the Meadows family. I want you to call me once you’ve got it all. I want as much information as you can dig up about Stacy’s parents and Stacy’s brother’s parents. Half. Same father. If you run into roadblocks, involve Mitch. I’ll give him a heads up. I need a complete picture.”
He listens for a minute, thanks her and says goodbye before he pockets his phone and folds his arms over his chest. “Anything else I need to know?”
“How angry are you with me?” I ask.
“How about you answer me first, wife?” he presses, and his voice definitely holds a hint of accusation. “Then we’ll talk about how I feel about all this.”
I swallow hard. “I… I hid some food and other supplies at your house. I… put a little stockpile away in the garage in an empty tote that I found.”
He frowns, jerking back with confusion, so I explain. “I’m terrified of running out of supplies. After living here. Going hungry so many times. Seeing how it is here, maybe you can understand that?”
He licks his teeth behind closed lips, and I really want the hardness out of his expression. I want to touch him, too, but I’m nervous.
“I don’t like making you angry,” I add. “It might be because of what I’ve been through, so I’ve found myself trying to keep things from you that might make you angry.”
“You think I’d hurt you?” he asks, incredulous. “You still think that?”
“No. Not that. It’s not because I fear you, but because I want to make you happy. I want to be your reward in the way you described which is very different from the way women are treated as rewards here. I don’t want to cause you any unhappiness. I just want to make you happy and be someone you can’t wait to come home to every day. I don’t want you to reject me.”
Pain slashes across his features and he gruffly orders, “Come here.”
I step forward and look up into his beautiful eyes.
He doesn’t reach for me, just looks down into my eyes searchingly, so I reach for him and put both palms on his chest.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him honestly.
I am sorry. I’m sorry I’ve kept things from him and I’m sorry if I’ve lost some of his trust.