After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 21
The corridor lights were harsh, illuminating every fine line around his eyes and the strands of gray at his temples.
Six years ago, he had just taken over as Alpha. In Gray Harbor, everyone spoke of Gideon Locke as White Ash River’s formidable new leader—sharp, decisive, and destined for greatness.
The man standing before me was only thirty-four, and there was already white in his hair.
“Whose child is he?” I asked.
He was silent for a long time.
“Ophelia refuses to say. I’ve been chasing the truth for six years, and every lead ends with her. The blood sample taken at birth, the kinship testing records, the pup registration listing me as the father—it was all arranged under my name.” His voice was low and rough. “Neither White Ash River’s records officer nor the physicians’ procedures showed any obvious irregularities. The child was born while our pact was still in effect. Under pack law, until the record is corrected, I am his father and the guarantor of his inheritance.”
At that, he gave a short, bitter laugh. There was nothing left in it but fatigue.
“For all official purposes, for the last six years, I have been that child’s father.”
“Gideon,” I said, using his name for the first time in six years.