Page 45 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

But I won’t let it consume me.

Not even when I climb out of bed and find that the bags Poppy packed yesterday are gone from the floor.

She must have just put them somewhere else, tidied up the room when she woke up, I think, with a dismissive shrug.

I can’t let the pain of the past ruin what happened between us last night.

Something shifted when I followed her into her bedroom and dropped to my knees, begging her for forgiveness. She must have felt the sincerity in my words when I put her hand to my heart, and that’s why she finally gave in.

My lips tug into a pleased smile as I leave her bedroom after picking up my clothes from where I dropped them in a pile on the rug, and as I make my way to the living room, I slip my clothes back on.

I should probably retrieve my bag from my car, but when I look up to see the empty display shelf on the far wall, a shiver runs down my spine.

Rubbing a hand across my nape and loosening the curls that had tightened during the night, I frown.

Why does it feel like something is wrong?

That strange feeling hums beneath my skin, and the primal inner wolf stirs in my subconscious mind as if trying to warn me of something.

Something that has to do with Poppy.

I shake my head, shrugging off the uneasy feeling. The last time I allowed my inner wolf to call the shots, I ended up kidnapping Poppy and forcing her to perform the mating ritual, only infuriating her.

There’s no way I’m going to let the beast take over again and ruin whatever I managed to salvage last night.

Deciding that I have nothing to worry about, I call out one last time for Poppy, but she doesn’t respond. She must have gone off to do whatever she needs to before she returns to Cedar Valley with me.

I should probably do the same—go about my duties and check up on Dorian and his family.

***

“You look different,” Amelia observes, narrowed eyes watching me as I pour a drink before breakfast.

She’s cradling her ripe belly, shaking her head at me, and I chuckle.

“But some things never change.” I lift the glass of brandy and give her a short nod before taking a sip.

“I guess not,” she scoffs dryly, even though her eyes twinkle with amusement. “But still…there’s something about you that’s different, and I can’t tell what it is.”

“If you’re trying to get secrets out of me, sister-in-law, you won’t succeed.”

Her eyes become thin slits as she scowls at me. “Oh, we’ll see about that!”

“What’s going on?” Dorian asks from the other room before entering, carrying Damita in.

“Hey, Dami!” I exclaim, immediately forgetting about my drink on the table as I rush over to my niece.

She giggles and murmurs something only another baby might understand as she reaches out her tiny arms toward me. I scoop her into my arms and lift her over my head, spinning and making whooshing sounds like she’s an airplane.

“How’s my favorite niece doing today, huh, Dam-dam?”

“Dam-dam,” she mimics the nickname with a giggle as she touches my cheek with the smallest hand I’ve ever felt. Her touch is warm, and I nuzzle into her palm, peppering kisses on her soft flesh that tickle her because of my beard.

“There’s something different about your brother, and he doesn’t want to tell me what’s going on. But I know there’s something,” Amelia says as she slips under Dorian’s open arm.

Dorian chuckles. “Oh, is that so? What are you hiding from us, brother?”

I grin sheepishly, biting my tongue so I don’t let it slip that I’ve taken a mate. Not until she’s ready to tell everyone about us. It’s a promise I made to her, and I had better keep it.