Page 30 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

I pour another glass of what’s left in the bottle, emptying it for a half-filling of whiskey. My wolf burns through the effects of alcohol long before it can do what I need it to, and I groan, sulking and dropping my face in my hands.

I hate how much I let Dorian’s departure affect me. It’s why I lost Poppy in the first place, and now, she’s the one who hates me for it, holding a grudge against me because of my hesitation.

Did she know?

Did she know we were fated mates?

Did my hesitation break her more than I could have possibly understood at the time?

I don’t know how I’m ever supposed to truly forgive my brother for leaving if it landed me in this predicament. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to forgive myself…

Now I’ve gone and made it worse by kidnapping her, all because my inner wolf wouldn’t let me have it any other way.

I take a deep breath as I lift my face again, disgusted by the empty bottle and the futile attempt to drink my problems away. It’s not like alcohol can do much for a wolf with a hyperactive metabolism. It’s a temporary fix.

So is kidnapping the woman who’s supposed to be the most precious thing to my heart.

Kidnapping her?

That was nothing but an impulsive, temporary solution to have her by my side. A foolish, reckless one at that.

Perhaps her setting a boundary between us tonight is what makes it possible for me to see things through a clearer lens.

I wasn’t thinking at all, and even though I’ve claimed my fated mate as mine, she wants nothing to do with me now.

Great!

I’ve made a mess of everything, and Poppy is right. I am a mess.

Pushing myself off the barstool, I stroll to the window, staring out at the forest ahead, at how the dark sky is littered with only a few stars tonight, and I close my eyes.

My inner wolf is relentless, and I’ve somehow become madder than I was ten years ago. But this won’t do. I’ll only end up hurting Poppy more than I have in the past.

Even though I can’t understand why she’d been so quick to disappear from my life simply at my hesitation, I do understand that if she’d felt the intensity, the weight of our fated mate bond back then, it would only make sense that she’d been hurt enough to leave.

I can give her that much grace, that much understanding. She doesn’t deserve my wrath, but rather, my support.

She needs to know that it had nothing to do with her. Not my hesitation, not my indifference.

If I can give her understanding, maybe she can award me the same.

And maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to move on from the past and forge a future together.

I need to remind her that it was never her status that kept me hesitant, but only the weight of becoming the alpha under my father’s skeptical eyes. I never cared that she was an omega, and I always assured her of it.

But she forgot.

That’s why I have to remind her.

“Damian…?”

Mother’s voice from somewhere behind prompts me to open my eyes and glance over my shoulder.

“Yes, Mother?”

“Is everything alright? It’s late…”

“I know,” I sigh, hanging my head forward as I shove my hands into the pockets of my slack pants. “I’m gonna go to bed now.”