True Alpha (18 page)

Now, she recognized the man whose photo she’d poured over so many times, though about thirty years had passed and he no longer smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

“See me? You already saw me in Gatlinburg.” She lifted her chin, refusing to break eye contact. “You were following me.”

He nodded. “I wanted to meet you.”

Standing there, scarcely three feet from the father she’d never met before, everything felt almost surreal. “After all this time, you want to meet me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t back down when she narrowed her eyes, didn’t move. He just stood there, staring with eyes that were a mirror image of her own, save for the faint lines that time had etched around their corners; she hadn’t lived long enough to acquire those yet.

“Why? I’m twenty-nine years old. You—”

“I know how old you are. I—”

She raised her voice a little, cutting him off as he had her. “If you wanted to be a part of my life, you could’ve stepped in at any time. Why would you be interested in meeting me now?”

“You’re my daughter. My only child.”

Well, at least he hadn’t run off and had a family with someone else after abandoning her mother. What
had
he been up to over the past thirty years? A part of her wanted to ask, but she had a feeling that was what he wanted, and why should she give him that after what he’d done? Loyalty to her mother had gotten her hackles up as soon as she’d realized who he was. Besides, there was one burning question she had to ask. “You’re a shifter, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” He shifted his stance and readjusted his backpack.

He answered so casually, as if he hadn’t knowingly passed on a condition to his daughter that could’ve shattered her sanity, not to mention her life, and then left her with no one to let her know who she really was, or how to cope with it. But that was in the past; things had worked out fine for her, and if he’d cared at all he never would’ve abandoned her in the first place. Just because he’d emerged from the shadows of the past to strike up a conversation with her didn’t mean he was truly interested in her life or welfare. Maybe he was experiencing some sort of mid-life crisis. “Have you by any chance been hiding out in the woods at the edge of Half Moon territory?”

“I have.”

Just as she’d begun to suspect over the past few minutes. “Then you’re the one who hurt Daniel.”

He raised his hands, palms facing the screen. “I was under the distinct impression that if I didn’t defend myself, that wolf would rip my throat out.”

“Well…” Mandy lowered the broom just a little, suddenly aware that her arms were aching. “Look, I don’t know why you decided to make an appearance after so many years, but this isn’t a good time. I have company coming over soon, and if any of my packmates find you here, they’re going to be upset.” That could prove to be the understatement of the year, depending on who showed up. She could only imagine the disaster that would ensue if Jack, Daniel and Noah came face to face with the mysterious outsider who’d kept them all on edge for days.

“I’m not here to hurt anybody.”

It was decidedly too late for that, but Mandy bit down on her inner lip, choosing not to voice the obvious. “What do you want?”

He gripped his backpack straps a little more tightly. “Can we talk a little more?” His gaze swept past her, searching the cabin. “Can I come in?”

If only he didn’t sound as if he really wanted to talk – as if he feared that she’d say no. She was starting to feel bad for him, though she knew he was the last person who deserved her pity. And then there was the curiosity she was trying hard not to give in to; here, right in front of her, was the man she’d wondered about all her life, the father she’d often longed for. As an adult, she’d come to terms with the fact that she’d only ever have one parent. Then she’d met Jack and discovered her true nature, and she’d started wondering about him all over again. He was a shifter – had her human mother simply been a dalliance, a fling he’d abandoned after it had become more serious than he’d intended? Did he belong to a pack? “Wait right here.”

She retreated to the bedroom, faced the dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Beneath layers of lingerie, two sleek, cool items contrasted with the soft textures of lace and cotton. She left the gun where it rested and picked up the second item instead – pepper spray. She’d often carried it in her purse when she’d lived in Nashville. Now, she tucked it into one of her pockets. Letting a stranger into her house seemed risky, even if the man was her biological father. She wasn’t going to take any chances with her own or her unborn child’s safety.

“I won’t stay long,” he said when she approached the screen door again. “I promise.”

“Just passing through?” Mandy asked, her tone coming out a little cooler than she’d intended. Would this be the only time she’d ever see her father?

“Yeah.” His voice held a note of sadness, but he didn’t elaborate.

Mandy unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Leave your backpack on the porch, please.” She wouldn’t have let him in if she’d thought it a likely possibility, but it was possible that it contained a weapon of some sort.

He unslung the backpack from his shoulders without hesitation and lowered it onto the porch before entering the cabin. Once inside, he walked slowly, looking around as if taking in every little detail, like he was interested in her home and her life.

“Would you like something to drink?” She’d let him in; she might as well be at least minimally hospitable. Besides, the little ritual of politeness gave her something to do other than simply staring as her cool resolve crumbled, revealing a pit full of a thousand questions, a thousand pangs of longing she’d felt for
him
– the stranger she wanted to pretend no part of her needed. It was hard to keep up the façade, even in the privacy of her own mind, when each passing moment made her feel more and more like the little girl who’d clung to an old 5x7 photo, dog-earing the corners.

“Water’s fine.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge.” She didn’t know if he liked iced tea, but it was a Southern staple, and his accent marked him as someone from well below the Mason-Dixon line. Georgia, to be exact.

“That’d be nice.”

She poured him a glass, and one for herself while she was at it.

“How did you find me?” He’d settled on one end of the couch, and she took the other, perching near the edge of the cushion. “Have you been keeping track of me for long?” Had he been keeping tabs on her all her life, observing from a distance as she’d wondered endlessly, hopeless about him?

He shook his head, and she told herself she wasn’t disappointed that he hadn’t cared enough to do so.

“No. No, I couldn’t stand to do that after I left. I had to distance myself, couldn’t let myself anywhere near Nashville.”

He was honest, if nothing else.

“I found out a couple months ago that you were here. News travels among shifters. You hear things from other shifters; wolves, bears – it doesn’t matter. When I heard there was a wolf shifter in these mountains who’d found a mate with the last name Foster, I knew it had to be you.”

“So you came to find me.”

He nodded. “Maybe it would’ve been kinder of me not to bother you, but I wanted so badly to see my daughter.”

His daughter? Biologically, yes … but he seemed to be taking the term a little too personally. “Why didn’t you want to see me when I was a child?” There – the question was out. “Was it because you wanted to avoid my mother?” Did he think she’d keep his visit a secret? She buried her eyetooth in her inner lip. Maybe she would, if she thought it would keep her mother from being hurt again.

“Yes and no. I wanted to avoid both of you.”

Mandy gripped her glass a little more firmly. During her childhood, she’d fantasized about sitting down with her father like this. Of asking him these same questions and demanding his honest answers. She hadn’t expected him to be straight-forward, or the truth to be so brutal.

“It was for your own safety. Your mother doesn’t know what I am, and I couldn’t tell her. Leaving her – especially while she was pregnant with you – was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“Why would you leave? Shifters can take human mates.” Deep down, she’d always expected his excuse to be flimsy – what good reason could there possibly be for what he’d done? – but it was still exasperating to hear him try to justify his actions.

“It’s a long story. I was being pursued by some very dangerous people – mostly because of what I am, and partially because of things I’d done.” He must have seen the doubt in her eyes, because he spoke more quickly, locking gazes with her. “You don’t understand what sort of sick freaks those people were. Violent and ruthless – they would’ve killed you and your mother in a heartbeat if they’d known you were associated with me. I left you before anyone found out that I had a mate and a child on the way, to protect you both.”

Though he’d seemed honest so far, it was a bit much to swallow. “You really thought we’d be better off without you?”

“Anything’s better than dead, isn’t it? When I first met your mother, I couldn’t bear the thought of ever leaving her. Circumstances forced me to realize that as her mate, I’d do anything to protect her. Anything.”

Anything. Would she do the same, if in some crazy, twisted way, leaving Jack and her child behind became the only way to save them from a gruesome fate? It was too much to contemplate; it hurt just to think about. And she didn’t even know if she was hearing the true story of why her father had left her and her mother. She didn’t know this man.

The faint sound of a motor hummed in the distance. It was too quiet to be Jack’s truck – it probably belonged to a car. “That’s probably my pack mates’ car,” Mandy said. Clarissa had said they’d be driving down the mountain so they could haul the shower supplies in their vehicle. “You can’t hang around here all day if you’re really planning on disappearing again; my mother will be here soon, and you’ve already broken her heart once.”

He froze, his blue eyes widening. “Your mother is coming here?” He looked as if he’d been slapped across the face.

“Yes. For my baby shower, and the wedding tomorrow.”

“Your wedding?”

She nodded.

He leapt up from the couch.

“You’re leaving?” she asked as he turned his gaze toward the door.

“I have to.”

“So this is it?” She stood too, exasperated. “I won’t see you again?” Some reunion. She still had questions. Lots of them. As he took another step toward the door, she tried her best to seal off that pit, the void inside her heart where she felt nine, not twenty-nine.

Chapter 10

“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head and meeting her gaze again, his eyes apologetic. “But I have to get out of here – I can’t do that to your mother. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry.”

A part of her wanted to stop him as he set his iced tea down on the coffee table and rushed toward the door, pausing for the briefest of moments at the threshold. “Congratulations on the baby and the wedding.” The door banged shut behind him as he seized his backpack and took off, his hiking boots pounding against the porch floorboards. With a rustle of vegetation, he disappeared into the forest, leaving Mandy staring from the doorway.

She could have gone after him, but it wouldn’t have mattered – no doubt he’d shift into his wolf form and be long gone in a heartbeat. He had an athletic build and was clearly in good shape. Pregnant, she wouldn’t have a chance of catching up with him. And if he was that intent on leaving again, trying to stop him wouldn’t be worth it.

The sound of tires on gravel interrupted her thoughts, and the little car with the Alaskan tags turned into the driveway.

“Hey Mandy!” Clarissa stepped out of the car a moment later, beaming. “Ready to let us transform this place?”

Mandy donned a smile, hoping that it reached her eyes and masked her whirling emotions. “I sure am.” There was no point in ruining the baby shower by telling the girls about what had happened between her and her father. Clarissa had worked so hard and was excited about throwing the celebration, and if everyone knew, her mom would probably pick up on the fact that something was wrong when she arrived. The best thing Mandy could do was to keep quiet – she’d talk to Jack about what had happened later. It wasn’t like her father was a threat to anyone; he was probably over the mountain already and well on his way to God-knew-where.

“No peeking!” Clarissa said as she climbed the short flight of porch steps with several oversized paper shopping bags in hand. “I don’t want you to see the decorations until they’re all up.”

Mandy held the door open for her. “Does that mean you’re kicking me out?”

“Oh, we’d never do that to a pregnant woman,” April said, approaching the porch with her arms just as full of bags as Clarissa’s. “We were thinking that maybe you’d like to take a nap. Or a bath. Or read.”

“Basically,” Violet said, balancing a large cardboard container that looked distinctly like a cake box, “anything that involves spending some time in either your bedroom or the bathroom.”

Mandy had already showered that morning. “When you put it that way, I guess I’ll do some reading.” There were certainly worse fates than being confined to her room with a book.