CHA 4

That would have been the end of it, if she hadn't had a baby nine months later. She'd kept to herself all those years, not wanting anyone to see her pregnant, and by the time she gave birth, he'd almost had been able to put her out of his mind.

Nearly.

He'd been furious. Even if he had spoken to Sharon or not, she was his pack, and therefore, she was his. That in itself made her son, their son, his son. The fact that she'd hid the fact that she was pregnant from him would make him angry. He planned to confront her, to force her and the child to live in his home where he could witness his boy being raised the way he wanted him to be, but when he went to take her back, she was gone.

Sharon gave birth to a baby and was so desperate to be free of him and the Tenzclaw pack that she left the city the following day. Had he been a better man, he would have been humiliated that she had sunk so low, but he wasn't. He still isn't a better man; he's an Alpha, and the hurt of realizing that she thought she could leave him never went away.

He had searched for her for seven years, and now he had her in front of him. She glared at him, with flames burning in her eyes and a knot in her jaw that told him she wasn't going out quietly. He had prepared for a lot of changes with Sharon Spark, but he hadn't expected courage to be one of them. Not from the woman who had once been shy.

And she was justified in being frightened. He wasn't the same man she'd left years ago, the one who'd been so self-absorbed that he'd failed to wrap his arms around her the way he should have. His wolf was snarling deep within him, urging him to grab her tight and claim her, but he'd learned much in the past few years, and he knew that wouldn't be accepted.

She wouldn't have any choice about coming back with him, but it would be better if she did so on her own terms. Or half on her own terms, anyway.

"I'm going to ask you again—where is my son?"

She flinched a little, as if his words were a knife, and went white, making her dark eyes an even darker color. They were large, too, and fixed on his as if she were afraid to blink.

Good. At least the Omega recognized who was in charge around here.

"I'm alone," she was terrified, but she was stubborn, too. She glared at him, her cheeks flushed and her shoulders tensed. "Why don't you get the hell out of my house?"

"Is that any way to talk to your Alpha?" he demanded. She wasn't his mate, but she was still his, and if he wanted her respect, he'd take it. "Where is the child, Sharon?"

"I told him he's not here," she snarled, taking a step closer. Her small fists were clenched and the flush had crept up onto her chest, climbing up her neck. He wanted to press his lips onto her collarbone and taste that heat.

Sharon swallowed and softened her voice, speaking in a lower tone, "He's having a sleepover with one of his friends. A human one. So don't even think you're going to roll up and pull all this Alpha hooey on them."

She was lying, and that irritated him. But he could see too how much she was attempting to play it cool, attempting to keep him from catching a whiff of his own son. It would have fooled a younger Alpha, but he'd spent years puzzling over the not-enough memories he had of Sharon, and he could see the minute ways she was stepping between him and the corridor, fists clenched and heels raised on tiptoe. She was going to fight for the kid, he realized, and a sick sense of pride swelled his chest.

The pride did not stay with him long, though, charred by how infuriated he was getting her. So if he had rebuffed her after the night they spent together? That was his prerogative, and it was completely unacceptable that she chased after that, depriving him of his child. Sharon and her child were his by right as an Alpha, and the shame of her running had been degrading.

He had nearly lost hope after looking for her year after year, but when he found out where she was, he felt it would be worth a celebration. He should have known Sharon would have changed after all those years, but to this level was unimaginable.

Where was the sweet, tender woman who had almost wept with joy to receive even a little bit of his attention? Where was the Sharon who had clearly expected him to make her his wife?

The woman before him, itching for a fight, lying in her teeth, was a stranger.

He could fight her if she wished, but the idea of his son's first impression of him being one of anger at his mother wasn't one he was eager for.

"Okay, you win," he replied, moving back. "I'll not go near your friend's home."

Sharon did appear suspicious, but she nodded once and crossed her arms, her full lips pursed into a thin line. She didn't believe him, and that was fine. He didn't trust himself right now, either.

"You just happened to stop by to greet me?" she asked, and he could sense her trying to make her voice sound light and carefree. It was the sound of a person desperately trying to hide their fear. And she had every right to be frightened. He was a hothead, and his wolf wasn't exactly famous for being kind. If she gave him even half the chance to let him loose on her.well, it would not be nice.

He had never harmed Sharon previously, and he was not about to start doing that now, but that did not mean he would not scare her to get his way, and he wanted his son. He needed to know how Sharon had the right to refuse him to him after seven years of nothing.

"I was just making sure you were okay," he lied, "and everything seems to be all right."

She nodded once, jerky, uncertain, and took a step forward. He saw her nostrils flare when she tried to smell him, but he knew she'd not be able to detect anything. There was no scent of Alexander on him, and he'd taken care to make sure he didn't have any of the Tenzclaw smells within him either. If Sharon couldn't smell him, she couldn't follow him.