Alpha King’s Secret Baby (The Runaway Mate #1)

Chapter 7

Bastien

My eyes snapped open. The warm body next to me was so soft and right . Casey. It would be easy to roll over, gather her in my arms, and slide into her again. I wanted to feel her around me, breathe in her scent, kiss her lips, and mark her as mine.

I got out of bed as fast as I could without waking her. I shouldn’t have slept with her, no matter how good it felt at the time. And it had been heaven. I could still hear her delicious moans. I would never forget the way she’d clenched around me when she came.

I had to get out of there. She was so much harder to resist now that I’d had a taste. But I couldn’t go down that road. I wouldn’t. Remembering my mother’s pale face as she slipped away was enough to douse the fire within me. My position as leader of the pack protectors put me in danger every day. I wouldn’t leave Casey to mourn me if I died. I’d chosen my path. I’d protect the pack that raised me and keep my heart locked away. Nobody would get hurt—well, no more than they’d been already. Casey’s wounds were still fresh, yet another reason she should leave. I had pledged myself to Kildaire’s pack, but Casey hadn’t.

I dressed quickly and quietly while Casey slept in my bed, her hair fanned out on the pillow. It took all my strength to leave. The whole room smelled like sex, the perfect blending of our scents. She was mine, and my wolf desperately wanted to bask in her glow.

I shook my head and departed, not pausing or looking back until I was outside. The early morning air was crisp, the aroma of pine and damp earth clearing my head. I should never have given in to temptation. She was enticing, but it was my fault for being led astray. I didn’t tolerate weakness, least of all in myself. We lived closer to our primal nature than most packs, but that was no excuse to lose control.

As I crossed the town square, I spotted Tobias walking toward Kildaire’s house. Our Alpha had the largest home in town—a far cry from the modest cabins most of us were content with. Kildaire and Tobias typically met in the town hall, but this was the perfect opportunity to speak with them privately. I’d always followed Kildaire’s orders without question, but this wasn’t something I would budge on, and he needed to know. If he wanted to dole out punishment, I could take it.

Casey’s wounds flashed through my mind. Punishing her for my decision was cruel, and my wolf snarled with the urge to defend her and demand justice. But even as I clenched my fists, I knew I couldn’t do such a thing. Perhaps I could get away with refusing an order to mate, but challenging my Alpha went against everything I’d been taught.

My respect for Kildaire had waned after what he did to Casey, but my love for the pack remained. I wouldn’t throw that away, no matter how much I disagreed with the Alpha’s actions. I was already going against his orders by refusing to mate, but challenging the Alpha would guarantee my expulsion from the pack—if Kildaire didn’t kill me. My wolf would just have to cope, and once Casey left Moon Edge, those protective instincts would probably fade.

I approached Kildaire’s house with squared shoulders and a straight spine. I served the pack and the Alpha, but I was never one to cower. He’d always respected my strength.

Tobias had already disappeared inside, and I lifted my hand to knock but hesitated when I heard them speaking more freely than I’d ever witnessed. I was used to standing on ceremony. Perhaps it was better to wait and petition them more formally. I was ready to retreat when my name caught my attention.

“Bastien is a prime example of how strong the offspring of fated mates can be,” Tobias said in his reedy voice. He wasn’t a powerful wolf, and the herbs he used to access his powers of divination weakened him, but he was invaluable to the pack. Some wolves could wield magic, but Tobias pushed his ability past the natural order in service to Moon Edge. His foresight anticipated threats from wolf packs and other shifters who sought to take our land.

“He’s proved himself many times over,” Kildaire replied. It was high praise from the Alpha, who usually limited his approval to nods. “At twenty-one, he’s barely more than a pup, but you were right when you foresaw the benefits of promoting him to the leader of the pack protectors at such a young age. However, he’s of more use to us than that.”

I bristled at the implication that I was just a tool but tried to brush it off. I was a soldier; it was part of the job. But even soldiers received commendations for their service. I’d protected this pack from many threats in my short time as the leader of the pack protectors, and that should have counted for something. But the other uses Kildaire mentioned worried me.

“We’ve never had a fated mate lineage before,” Tobias continued. “The offspring Bastien and his mate produce will be extremely powerful.”

I grimaced. I didn’t want children for the same reason I didn’t want a mate. I’d seen what the mate bond had done to my mother, sapping her of her life after my father died. I refused to put my children—or my mate—through that.

“They will be a boon for the pack,” Kildaire said. I heard the self-satisfied smile in his voice. His whole focus was on strengthening the pack so we could defend ourselves against our many enemies.

“As long as everyone knows their place,” Tobias said. My disobedience must have rattled them.

“Have you foreseen this?” Kildaire asked, voice gruff with worry. I’d never seen or heard Kildaire be anything but confident or angry.

Is he concerned about being challenged as Alpha? That’s the last role I want.

In the quiet moment that followed, I heard rustling and risked a glance through the front window. Kildaire was looming over Tobias, his hand fisted in Tobias’s shirt.

“Tell me,” Kildaire ordered.

“You know my visions don’t work like that,” Tobias squeaked. “There are too many variables. I can only see the immediate future in the haze of the herbs. I see events, not people’s minds or hearts. But the pack is loyal; you know this as well as I.”

Kildaire nodded and released Tobias. I shrunk away from the window but remained near the door. I’d only ever seen them present a united front. This was a new side to Kildaire.

“I’ve led this pack to prosperity and safety,” Kildaire said, more like the controlled Alpha I was used to.

“You wield the power of the Alpha well,” Tobias confirmed.

For wolf shifters, Alpha wasn’t just a title. The position increased the strength of whoever took the mantle. To defeat an Alpha in combat took immense power, ensuring the contender was worthy of assuming the role. Kildaire became Alpha long before my birth, and none had sought to overthrow him. He was strict, but he protected our pack, and we respected him for it. At least, I used to respect him. After he attacked Casey, it was hard to view him as I once did. But his worry about being challenged didn’t make sense.

“You said you had news?” Kildaire asked, referring to a part of the conversation that must have happened before I arrived.

“Yes,” Tobias answered. “Bastien and the girl have consummated.”

My skin prickled with discomfort at the reminder of my failure to resist temptation and the discussion of my private life. How had Tobias found out? Was he spying on us, or had his herbs helped him see? The thought of either left a sour taste in my mouth. I’d never liked the little rat, but this was a violation I couldn’t forgive.

“Then the plan has worked.” I could hear the smirk in Kildaire’s voice. “I knew that girl would play her role. She was dripping with the need to mate. A little incentive was all she needed to wrap him around her finger.”

I bit back a growl, and my claws dug into my palms. I hadn’t lost control of my wolf since I was eleven. An older kid had made fun of me for being an orphan, and the ensuing fight put him in his place. It also got the attention of the Alpha and started my path to the pack protectors.

“Instructing the pack to ignore her was ingenious, and Bastien responded exactly how you predicted when you attacked her,” Tobias confirmed.

My vision blurred as I tried to process what I’d heard. It was all planned. They’d manipulated me into sleeping with Casey. Did she know? Kildaire said she’d played her role. Was that how Tobias knew we’d slept together? Had she gotten word to him somehow?

“Male fated mates are protective, and the females are always eager to please,” Kildaire said.

And Casey had been eager from the moment I’d touched her. She’d gone from upset to wanton in a matter of seconds. My mind was too clouded with desire to see it at the time. She knew I didn’t want to mate with her. Had she gone to Kildaire for help or inadvertently followed his plan?

I thought back to the previous night. She’d known how to push my buttons. She’d seduced me, and I’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.

I stormed away from Kildaire’s door, my blood high and vision hazy with anger. Kildaire’s betrayal was one thing—I was used to being at his beck and call, even if it rankled. But for my mate to betray me—to manipulate me and force me to bond with her? Did she think I’d cave once she got me into bed?

Sex might have brought us closer, but a mate bond needed a ritual to become unbreakable, and nothing could make me do that.

If anything, this proved I was right to refuse the bond. Fate had decided we were a good match, but it clearly cared nothing for loyalty. If my mate couldn’t respect my wishes, then I was better off without her. Fuck what Kildaire wanted. I would give my life for the pack that raised and protected me after my parents died, but I wouldn’t give them this.

I needed Casey gone, and I wasn’t about to ask for permission.