The Alpha Wolf's Secret Baby (Wolves of Anchorage 3)

Violet

Oh God no. She could feel him. She could feel Tristan.

He was in town, or even maybe close by. Had he followed her? Or had he tracked her down?

Her stomach rebelled, burning with acid.

Instead of hiding or leaving Alaska like she wanted to, they had taken the job that the owners of the fishing boat had recommended. She hadn't even thought that they might share that information.

But why wouldn't they? Jobs were hardly top-secret information, and he was a respectable firefighter who had saved all of their lives. It made sense that he would have found out from them, if that's what happened. She was the idiot for not expecting it. She'd just been on her guard for so long. Sometimes it was exhausting.

She considered ignoring him. But she could feel him getting closer. If he lived close by, she would not be able to stay. She held herself together long enough to finish her work. She sent a text to her pack.

Ex is close by. Keep a very close eye on Arabella.

She got several thumbs up and a few cautions to be careful.

She left work, ready to confront him. But first she stepped by their new campsite and got the magical artifact, the one meant for a vampire.

She could not let him find out about her daughter. She refused to share Arabella with anyone. She pulled a drawstring bag over her shoulder and tucked the artifact inside. Then she started walking. As she walked through the small-town square, she could feel his presence getting stronger.

Thirty minutes later, he appeared in front of her, stepping out of a small café.

This time she would not run. She would take care of her family.

“Violet!” he exclaimed. “Don’t run. Can I talk to you?”

He still looked the same. Actually, he looked better. Maturity looked good on him. But that did not matter. Looks were irrelevant. Only behavior mattered, and he had proved that he was willing to follow her and stalk her to get what he wanted.

She told him she did not want to be together, seven years ago. He could not take no for an answer.

“Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” she asked. She needed to be far away from cell phones and security recordings so she could use the artifact if necessary.

“Why don’t we take a walk?” she asked.

He nodded eagerly. “That sounds great.” They left the town area and began to walk.

He was unable to stay silent. “So tell me what you’ve been doing. I want to hear all about it.”

“I’ve just been working.”

He clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer. How long would it take him to bring up the past? Not long apparently because that was the next thing he asked about.

“Will you tell me why you left all those years ago?”

“Why do you need to know?”

He was starting to get agitated. She wasn’t scared of him, but she could tell that this was a really big deal to him. And that was what scared her.

“Isn’t it enough that I ended the relationship? Why do you need specifics?” she asked.

She wasn’t used to being this mean, but it was necessary. She had to make him understand that he did not have the right to pry into her life.

He didn’t seem to be getting it. “You feel like you want to know the answer, so you should get it. But that’s not how life works. I don’t want to be with you. You need to accept that.”

“No, I haven’t gotten everything that I want in my life. Because I didn’t get you. You were the thing I wanted most.

“Wait,” he said, “that came out wrong.”