Cruel Alpha Daddy (Silver Meadows Wolves #4)

Chapter 22 - Fiona

Jack picks me up off the ground and carries me to the other side of the campground where Bae’s truck is waiting. We squeeze into the front, and Bailey guns the engine, speeding out of the parking lot.

“It’s going to take at least an hour to get back,” Bae says. “Can you text Gina and get her started on this?”

“Way ahead of you,” Jack says, already texting on his phone. “Lena’s awake and calling everyone right now.”

“I don’t like just letting Tobias go,” Kyle says uneasily. “He’s really bad news. It would be a good idea to tail him and see what he does.”

“Well, unfortunately, we only brought the one car,” Bae says wryly. “And it’s damn hard for a wolf to track a truck.”

“I know. That’s the only reason I didn’t go after him,” Kyle replies. “But you can be sure he’ll have a nasty surprise waiting for you tomorrow night.”

“I don’t remember seeing him either of the times we messed with Sawpit,” Bailey remarks.

Kyle shakes his head. “No, you wouldn’t. Tobias was just a low-level grunt five or six years ago, another face in the crowd. In Jethro’s time, Tobias kind of ran his own racket, but he stayed out of Jethro’s way.”

“What’s his overall plan?” Bae asks. “What motivates him?”

Kyle looks uncomfortable, glancing at me.

“It’s okay, Kyle. I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to say,” I tell him.

“Women,” Kyle says with a sigh. “The old alpha didn’t have a mate, neither did Jethro. Jethro, in particular, saw females as a weakness we didn’t need; he was all about the brotherhood. Tobias stayed in Sawpit a lot, running the bar and surrounding businesses. Whenever we hit a place, it was women he took more than anything else.”

“Jesus,” Jack says softly.

Kyle nods. “When a couple of the guys started to pick up mates, it burned Jethro up. He made it as hard for them as he possibly could. But I’m pretty sure Tobias was jealous.”

“He wants a mate of his own,” Bae suggests.

Kyle shrugs. “I doubt that. He wants women in the pack for sure, but he has no intention of looking after them.”

I see Bae’s hands tighten on the steering wheel as he processes this. I lean on Jack’s shoulder, letting the motion of the car rock me back and forth. Even though the boys keep talking, I drift off into a light doze.

When I feel someone shaking my arm, I jump away, shrieking. Jack reaches out to me, trying to be reassuring.

“It’s okay, hey, you’re alright.”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, it’s me. We’re back. You scared us a bit. We were worried you had a concussion.”

“Oh.” I reach up and feel around the back of my head. There is a bit of dried blood, but the wound seems to have healed. “I’m alright.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No, it’s okay.”

I’m starting to look around. As my eyes clear, I recognize the house we’re parked in front of.

I’m home!

CALEB!

I leap from the truck, shoving Jack out of the way. Racing across the lawn, I see Bae and Kyle turning to watch me in surprise. The door cracks open, shedding light across the front steps, I take them all in one leap and barrel straight into Lucy.

“Fiona!” she screams, wrapping her arms around me. Both of us are crying and hugging each other hard enough to leave bruises.

“Where is he?” I demand, but Lucy doesn’t get a chance to answer me.

“Mommy?” a soft voice calls.

I practically shove Lucy out of the way, and when I see my little boy standing at the end of the hall, I completely lose control.

“Caleb!” I shriek, stumbling forward.

“Mommy!” he yells, running into my arms. I collapse onto my knees as he charges at me, slamming into my chest. I lock my arms around his small body and squeeze him, crying so hard, I can barely breathe.

“Oh, my baby,” I sob, stroking his soft blond hair. “I’m home now, baby. Mommy’s home.”

“Where did you go?” he moans, pulling back to look at me. His eyes widen in fear when he sees my torn clothes and the dried blood from my wounds. “What happened to you?” he cries.

I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to give him a reassuring smile. “I got roughed up by some enemy wolves, but I’m okay. I just need a shower and some clean clothes.”

He tries to talk, but tears streak down his face, and he just throws himself at me, hugging me as tightly as he can. Behind me, I hear the others talking.

“We’ll be holding an official meeting at the hall tomorrow afternoon,” Bailey says. “I’m heading off now to make a few stops and put in some calls. I need Decker and some of his guys, and I’ll get a hold of Sasha, too, so she can bring in those lone shifters.”

“Wow, you’re calling in the whole army,” Lucy says.

“Yeah,” Bae agrees. “I’ll have Kelta and her wild ones come in from the mountains to guard the town and work out full defenses with Decker before the meeting. Then we head into Sawpit with force. I’m finishing it this time.”

Still holding onto Caleb, I turn around to ask Bae how far he’s willing to go—if this means he’s going after Rider, too. But he and the others are already walking away.

“I have to go to that meeting,” I tell Lucy.

“What?” she cries, slamming the door shut as she turns to me. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re home safe now. All you have to do is rest and be with your son.”

“Oh, I’m not letting go for a second,” I say, snuggling Caleb against my chest. “But there are things I need to discuss with Bailey before he goes.”

“Why?” Lucy asks.

I shake my head slightly, flicking my eyes at Caleb. Lucy nods in understanding. This information is not for Caleb’s ears.

Lucy goes into the kitchen to make us a ridiculously early breakfast. We’ve been out all night, and the sky is just starting to fade from black into pale blue. I take a long shower, luxuriating in the basic comfort of having hot running water.

We have the facilities for full indoor plumbing up in our town. Just no resources to make it happen.

One of the first things we did was connect generators and plumbing hoses, but most of the water comes from deep wells. And clearly, gas hot water heaters and solar panels weren’t a thing when the place was built.

After my shower, I eat a huge breakfast of bacon and eggs with Caleb and Lucy while sharing a heavily condensed version of my kidnapping. Afterwards, I cuddle up with Caleb in his bed, and he falls asleep in my arms immediately.

Even though tiredness creeps up on me quickly, I don’t want to fall asleep. I missed his sweet face so much. The heavy warmth of him in my arms is the greatest comfort I’ve ever known.

I try to stay awake, but I can’t fight the wave of exhaustion that slowly floods through me, forcing my eyes to close. I wrap my arms around Caleb and give in to it, completely relaxing for the first time in over a week.

When I wake, the sun is very bright and slanting through the blinds.

It’s late afternoon!

I slip free of Caleb, rushing to the door. “Lucy, what time is it?” I call out.

“It’s about five, Fiona,” she calls back as she emerges from the living room.

“Has the meeting started?”

“Probably.”

“What the hell, Lucy! I said I had to be there.”

She glares at me. “I don’t want you involved in this! You’ve been through enough!”

Her voice is full of anger, but it doesn’t upset me. Instead, I reach out to my friend and wrap my arms around her.

“I know you were scared, Lucy,” I whisper. “But I’m okay, and I have to do this. Just trust me, I have a good reason, and I will tell you everything as soon as I can.”

Lucy pulls back and gives me a puzzled look, but she doesn’t get a chance to answer.

“Go where, Mommy?” Caleb asks from behind me. “Are you going away again?”

“No, baby! No way!” I exclaim, turning around and hugging him. “But we have to go to this big pack meeting, okay?”

“Okay,” he says. There is worry in his eyes, and he clings to me.

He’s so scared. My poor little man.

I pick him up, even though he’s a bit unwieldy for that at six years old. “Wherever I go, you’re coming with me,” I say reassuringly. He hugs me even tighter, and I don’t let go of him as I find my shoes and head to the car with Lucy.

When we reach Shelley’s, the place is packed. I come through the back doors and see grim faces on every person in the room.

This is a war meeting.

“Hey, Caleb,” I say, bending down to look into his eyes. “Can you do me a big favor? I really want an ice cream. I haven’t had one the whole time I was away. Can you go with Auntie Lucy and get me one?”

“Why can’t you come?” he implores.

“Because I have to have an important talk with Alpha Bailey,” I answer. “I’ll be right with you, I promise.”

“What are you doing, Fiona?” Lucy whispers.

I give her a reassuring smile. “I just don’t want Caleb to hear all this. I’ll meet you out front in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay,” she says, still watching me with suspicion.

I bend down and give Caleb a fierce hug. “Get me triple chocolate, okay?” I ruffle his hair a bit and give him my biggest smile. He grins back and happily goes with Lucy, looking back at me to wave as they round the corner.

You are the worst piece of shit in all existence. How can you do this to your son?

Tears trickle down my face as I turn to go inside.

I have to. I have no choice.

Bailey is at the front of the room, talking about strategy. The meeting has almost wrapped up, and groups of people are arming themselves and getting ready to leave. I step boldly to the front of the room.

“I’m going with you, Bae,” I state.

He frowns and shakes his head. “Out of the question. You’ve been through enough, and I won’t put you in danger.”

“I have to go. Rider will be wondering what happened to me. If he thinks I’m dead, he might attack you.”

“We’ll tell him everything,” Kyle says. “I promise.”

I stare at him, shaking my head. “What if he doesn’t believe you?”

“I don’t like this,” Bae says.

“Too bad! He’s my mate, and I deserve to be there to fight with him!”

And I don’t trust you not to kill him.

Bae sighs, looking at the floor, then back at me. “I don’t agree. But I will let you come.”

“Good,” I say. “What are we waiting for?”

Bailey gives the order, and everyone moves out. I join Lena and Leslie, both armed to the teeth and ready for battle. As we go through the back doors, I look over my shoulder, hoping Caleb doesn’t see me go.

I’m so sorry, little man. But I have to go and save your dad. I can’t let him die.

I swallow my pain and rush to get in one of the trucks. The quicker we get this done, the sooner I can get back to my son.