Page 29 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

“Are you listening to me, Callum?”

I blink at Isabella. “What?”

She puts her hands on the desk. “Luca needs a proper mother. You picked this one up off the side of the road.” She slides off the desk. “There’s nothing she can teach him. He gets no name out of her and no standing. Send that woman home. I’ll help you raise him. You know my family will provide good backing.” She’s watching my face. “That child is your heir, and that woman is of hardly any pedigree. You can’t possibly intend to have her raise your son. She’s a nobody, a flopped-out dancer who can barely make ends meet. Just think about it. Send her out, keep the child, and I’ll help you raise him.”

“That’s enough.” I scowl at her until she stops. “I’m not separating the two of them. She is his mother. She’s raising him.” I set down the pen I was fiddling with. “I called you because I had questions.”

She looks up. “About what?”

“About the day Maya went missing.”

She makes a disgruntled sound. “I already told you everything, Callum. You keep wanting me to repeat it, and nothing’s going to change.” She sighs through her nose. “She seemed fine in the morning. Then she started asking questions about how to access the money. I know you gave her the PIN code, but she was asking things like what if she wanted to withdraw the whole amount. So I told her it was one of those cards you could take to an ATM and withdraw as much as you want but only at our banks. That’s it. I didn’t think she would leave. She was agitated for some reason.”

I don’t know why I expected her story to change, maybe one small detail that could provide more insight, give us a clue, anything.

“Did we manage to recover any of her files?”

Isabella puts her head in her hands. “No. I tried. I did my best, and I even had some top IT experts look into it. But there was no recovering the files. Everything was damaged too much.” She lifts her head off her hands. “How did you even find him?”

“Maya died after the birth, and her sister adopted Luca,” I tell her. “She doesn’t know what he is. And I don’t want you to antagonize either of them.”

“Why would I antagonize them? I have nothing against them.” She rolls her shoulders. “He’s going to be the next alpha. I’m just worried about his upbringing.”

“He’s my son. I know how to raise him. I will not have anyone question that.” I meet her gaze squarely, and she flinches.

“Fine. That’s fine. Do what you want. I have to head home now anyway.” She walks over to the door and then pauses. “Callum. Now that you have Luca, you’re going to have to introduce him publicly to the pack.” She turns around. “There’s going to be pressure to take another mate to help you raise him. Are you ready to deal with that?”

“I’m not interested in taking a mate.” My voice is calm. “And if I ever am, the pack elders have no say in it.”

She sighs. “Very well. But just so you know, they’re going to be very adamant.” Then she’s gone, leaving behind that thinly veiled warning. A pack without a luna is unheard of. But my luna was a fated mate, and it’s normal for the remaining mate not to take another partner. I’ve never felt the loneliness; my entire life is run on a tight schedule that doesn’t leave me room for anything else.

After a few minutes, I summon Reid.

He appears in my doorway. “Alpha?”

Leaning back in my chair, I study him. “Where are Luca and Ariela?”

“I believe they’re still in their room.”

“Did they have lunch?”

He shakes his head.

Should I go and check on them? I muse to myself.

I really didn’t expect to be a hands-on father, and I don’t know what to do with the boy. I had planned to have him raised the way I was, but now since that plan has been derailed, I don’t know how to deal with him. He seems equally wary of me.

I return my attention to the butler. “You overheard the conversation that took place this afternoon.”

Reid is silent, and I continue, “So did several other staff members. If word gets out, I will kill every single one of you, do you understand?”

My voice is calm yet ruthless, and Reid pales. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Your loyalty is to me and my orders. Make sure everyone understands that. Ariela is Luca’s mother, and that fact will not change. If I catch anyone gossiping, or if Ariela hears, the punishment will be the same, and everyone will suffer. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Reid whispers hoarsely.

I get to my feet and stroll over to the window, peering outside at the vast garden. “Ariela is human, and she doesn’t understand how we function. She will not know that I will rip out someone’s heart for disrespect aimed at her or Luca. So if someone upsets her, she will tell me, and I will deal with that person. If the staff wants to stay alive, you are to serve her properly. Don’t give her a reason to come to me.”