All Chapters of Hiding The Alpha's Son: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sarah Our days had fallen quickly into a quiet routine. Jareth was gone before I dragged myself out of bed in the morning, but he always miraculously reappeared when food was on the table. Sometimes he came back with game meat, other days he came home empty handed. I cleaned up after breakfast and then left the man with his son and made the trek to Poppy’s tavern. I washed, and cooked and served up whatever food Poppy gave me to work with. Sometimes it was wild game she bought from hunters like my husband, some days it was a side of beef or pork she bought from the butcher. I stayed through the dinner rush, and then I untied my apron to walk home, usually escorted by Jareth and his son. They ate dinner at the tavern, and Poppy let us carry home the leftovers.A few easy and comfortable days had lulled me into a false sense of security. Maybe Scarlet had been too embarrassed to tell Jasper about the confrontation at the clothing store. Perhaps Jasper had finally grown tired of playing

SarahI awoke with a convulsive jerk, like the thunderbolt had struck my body directly. Sweat was pouring from my body and I immediately felt like I was going to get sick. I had no idea how I had gotten to my bed, but I rolled off it and ran to the bathroom where I heaved up the contents of my stomach, mostly bile and acid that burned my throat.I wish I could say I didn’t remember what had happened, but unfortunately, I remembered everything.I killed four men.I rinsed my mouth out and staggered from the bathroom. My body felt weak. My head pounded with every beat of my heart. And I was very, very thirsty.Pulling electricity from the atmosphere was one thing. Channeling lightning direct from a storm was more than I had ever attempted before.I killed four men.I had never taken a life, either. What was perhaps the most terrifying part of it all, was that I felt no regret. They would have killed Kevin, they would have gang-r.aped me, all to fulfill an Alpha man-child’s vengeful whi

JarethI watched the heavy door click shut behind Sarah as she set off for Poppy’s, an empty bucket for her chicken’s scraps swinging at her side. She walked with a tension that hadn't left her since the lightning hit the yard.I turned back to the kitchen table. Kevin was staring at the space where she’d just been, his small face unreadable. He hadn’t touched the last bit of his pork belly."She’s strong, Kevin," I said, my voice sounding more like the General and less like the Hunter."I know," he whispered. "That’s why they’ll come for her."He didn't need to specify who 'they' were. In his world, 'they' were the shadows that took parents and destroyed the life he knew. I felt a familiar, cold burn in my chest—the protective instinct that had kept men alive under my command for a decade. But this was different. Kevin was the mission. Sarah… Sarah was the complication.By claiming her, I’d broken the first rule of deep-cover survival: Stay invisible. Every eye in Crimson Falls was

JasperThe scent of gardenias and Scarlet’s expensive perfume was making my head ache.I stood on the dais of the Great Hall, my hand resting on the small of Scarlet’s back. She looked perfect. Her gown was ivory lace, her hair was a masterpiece of coppery red curls, and the mark I’d carved into her neck just days ago was a proud, fresh shiny red scar. This was what I’d wanted. A respected, powerful, dignified woman. A mate who didn't smell of lightning and rain. Not the village freak, the daughter of a condemned and executed witch."You're distracted, Jasper," Scarlet whispered, leaning into me."I'm fine," I lied, my eyes scanning the crowd.Attendance was mandatory. She had to be here.I expected Sarah to be here in some pathetic, home-sewn rag, hiding behind a pillar. I wanted to see the regret in her eyes. I wanted to see her realize that the simple hunter she’d run to was nothing compared to the future Alpha of Crimson Falls. My wolf paced restlessly in the back of my mind, scra

JasperThe sound of my own bones grinding together was the only thing I could hear over the roaring in my ears.The hunter’s grip wasn't just strong; it was absolute. It felt like my wrist had been caught in a hydraulic press. I lunged, my wolf screaming for blood, for the right to tear the throat out of the man standing in my father’s house, but I couldn't move. I was pinned by a "peasant" who hadn't even shifted his weight."Touch her," McCloud whispered, "and I will take your hand off at the wrist."His eyes weren't the eyes of a hunter. They were cold, flat voids of professional brutality. For the first time in my life, my Alpha instincts didn't tell me to fight. They told me to run.But I couldn't run. Not with that mark staring me in the face.Now that I was inches away, the dark purple bruise on Sarah’s neck was a taunt. I could see the slight swelling, the raw evidence of how much pressure he’d used. My wolf went into a frenzied tailspin. I’d marked Scarlet with a ceremonial b