A Broken Contract (Alpha's Secret Regret) novel Chapter 14

Nick turned his back on me and stomped back to the SUV, parked some feet from the truck. Jake followed quickly behind him. My heart continued to hammer in my chest as I watched them both.

He opened the driver’s side and sat down. But he didn’t attempt to start the engine. Instead, he seemed to be barking orders at his beta, who kept nodding like a lizard to his every syllable. How I hated them both for showing up here.

I had no doubt that Alex saw his face. He'd strained his neck to see who was calling out my name earlier. I wonder what that meant.

Nick's head was bowed low now as he tapped his phone screen. Then he held it to his ear.

What did he mean to do? He was right when he implied that I couldn’t fight him. This was a powerful figure, not just among werewolves but even humans. Why was this happening to me? He’d made it clear that he didn’t want me bearing his child back then. What changed?

“C’mon inside, Sara,” my father ordered, taking me by the arms and leading me back into the truck. I kept turning around to look at Nick talking on the phone. His eyes did not leave mine as he spoke.

“You both wait here,” my dad said once we were in the truck. “I’ll go talk to him.”

But as he turned around to go back outside, Nick had already started the car. With a reckless u-turn, he drove off into the traffic. The crazed look in his eyes was unmistakable. He was going to come back to take Alex. I was terrified.

My father closed the shop earlier that day and drove us straight home. On the way, I thought about the last few weeks since the rumors started that the town was getting a mall. It hadn't even crossed my mind for a moment that the Reigns might own the proposed project.

Why should it? What could a big corporation want in a town like this? If only I watched TV, I would've seen this coming. But I'd slowly developed a strong aversion to it after we left L.A. The cable in the house was strictly kiddies TV for Alex.

The car was quiet on our way home. I recalled my dad's weird behaviour in the last few days and broke the silence.

“You knew he was coming."

My tone was accusatory. “That’s why you wanted us to move.”

“Jeremy mentioned Reign Corporations in passing,” he replied. “So yeah, I knew, but I didn’t know for sure that he'd come in person.”

“When did Jeremy mention him?” I asked.

“Two days ago. I didn’t worry about it at first. It's hard to believe the alpha himself would come all the way out here to oversee this.”

I switched to mind-link to keep Alex from hearing my next words. ‘I can’t let him take my child.’

“He won’t,” my father replied out loud in a gentle voice.

Alex was watching the both of us. No doubt, feeling so confused by everything that just happened.

I wonder what would happen if Nick and the child come face to face. Though he was only three and a half years old and had merely started talking properly. Would he recognize his father?

He’d never asked me about his dad, but there’s still a lot of time. I doubt he understands that one parent was missing in his life at this age. I’d hoped that the presence of his grandpa filled that void enough to prevent his question for many more years to come. Guess I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. I give a bitter laugh, and my dad regards me with deep worry in his eyes.