Page 17 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

“I’ll be paying you very well to raise Luca.”

My spine goes straight. “I don’t want your money for raising him. He’s mine. I’m not being put on a payroll for my own child.”

“The allowance stands regardless.” His voice hasn’t moved a degree. “You don’t need to work.”

“I don’t work for the money. Well, I won’t now.”

His eyes come back to me, and I keep going before he can cut in. “I’ve supported myself since I was eighteen. I’ve always made sure my work didn’t cut into my time with Luca. It won’t change now either.”

I expect him to end the conversation and have me driven out. Instead, he uncrosses his leg, gets up, and comes across the room. I don’t step back because I don’t want him to think he can walk all over me. He stops near enough that I have to tilt my head all the way up.

“I’m not fond of argumentative women, Miss Reyes.” It’s almost a murmur.

“And I’m not going to be caged like a canary, Mr. Vance.”

“I could put you out of this house tonight.”

My breath catches on the way in, and his pupils widen at the sound. It takes me a second to get anything out at all.

“You need me here,” I manage. “That’s what you said.”

He’s quiet. Then his hand comes up, his thumb and forefinger taking my chin, and heat goes straight down my spine.

“Very well.” He lets go. I get my hand behind me for the handle. “Reid will help you build Luca’s schedule.” Callum steps away and picks his jacket up off the chair. “He starts at Marchmont Academy tomorrow morning.”

My head comes up. I know exactly what Marchmont is. It’s one of the top academies in this part of the world. Half the parents in this country would sell an organ to get a child through those gates.

“He’s six, Callum. What is a six-year-old supposed to do at a school like that?”

“The same thing I did. He’ll learn.” He shrugs his jacket on. “His tutors will be here at four when he’s back, then two hours of lessons. He eats at six and he’s asleep by seven.”

I add the hours up in my head twice and get the same answer. “When does he play? You’ve got him timetabled from eight in the morning until he’s asleep. There’s not one hour anywhere in that day that belongs to him. He’s a child, not a machine on a production line.”

“He doesn’t have time to be a child.” Callum’s voice drops. “I’ve lost six years of grooming him.”

“He’s six years old. That’s all he is.” I’m across half the room now. “You can teach him anything you want and he’ll take it because he’s brilliant. He’ll take it faster if his brain gets what it needs. Play is how a child that age works things out. It’s how he learns to be a person.” I stop for breath. “As his mother, that’s what I say is necessary.”

“There was no time to play when I was his age.” He puts his cuff straight. “I turned out fine.”

I take a step closer to him before I can talk myself out of it. “Really.” My voice comes out sweet. “You turned out fine? This is fine?”

His eyes narrow. “What exactly are you saying?”

“Nothing.” I scoff, and I don’t look away. “I’d take a good long look in a mirror, though, before deciding you want Luca to turn out like you.”

He takes a step back.

I don’t wait around to find out what happens next, walking out of the room while every instinct is screaming at me to run. As soon as I close the door behind me, I do.

Chapter 4

Callum

Ariela Reyes is the only woman who dares to look me in the eye and tell me I’m lacking.

I can still feel her soft skin underneath my fingers. She’s not entirely fearless, but when she faces me, there’s a defiance, an unwillingness to acknowledge that fear, refusing to back down. Even in her kitchen, it had been obvious to me that she was aware of the outcome and had been in the few hours I had left her alone. But she didn’t show me the tears she had so obviously shed. Her pride matters to her.

My wolf is pacing, wanting her scent back in the room. His reaction has me pursing my lips. I was sure the first meeting had been a fluke, but now my doubts have been cleared. My wolf is intrigued by this human woman. But why? How is this possible? I turn my head, and my eyes fall on a portrait on the wall. The woman smiling back at me with her dark hair in an elegant knot was my fated mate, my wife. It’s been close to a decade since Elena was killed and my wolf went silent in grief.