Read Online The Alpha's Heart (Wilde Creek Two) by R. E. Butler - Free Book Online Page A

knew about Brynn’s pregnancy was Mia, and she had only told him the night before.  There was no way on earth that Mia would betray Brynn to Rufus or anyone else.  Brynn had most likely sworn her best friend to secrecy anyway.  Which meant that someone was listening and had overheard Mia’s confession and Acksel hadn’t realized anyone was around.
    As Sam called out the names of six protectors who followed him as he strode toward the woods where he stripped and shifted, Acksel said, “I want four protectors to come with me to Brynn’s office.  I think she was taken from there.  Dad, you come, too.”
    Nodding, his dad and four males stepped forward.  He divvied up duties to the remainder of the pack members, ranging from patrolling around town to alerting the other pack members of the situation.
    “Wait.  Don’t tell the females.”
    Hollis, one of the council members who was in his seventies, arched a gray brow.  “Do you think you were betrayed by a female, Alpha?”
    “I don’t know, but my gut is telling me that the females should be kept in the dark.  Any males that are mated are to keep the news to themselves for now.”
    Nodding, the members moved into action and he, the four protectors, and his dad headed for the clinic in town in two vehicles.
    Acksel sat in the passenger seat of his dad’s pickup.  The protectors were following them in a Jeep.  The silence was heavy between him and his dad.
    “I’m talking to you as your father right now, Acksel, not as a member of your pack,” his dad said, and Acksel’s chest tightened.
    “Alright,” he said, knowing his dad was probably going to say some not-so-nice things about his behavior.  Which he couldn’t deny.
    But instead of berating him, his dad told him that he was proud of him.  Acksel had remained quiet for several moments, unsure of what to say.
    “I fucked up,” Acksel said finally.  “If I’d just had half an ounce of courage to admit my feelings for Brynn in the first place, she would be by my side and safe and not kidnapped, terrified, and hurt.”
    “You stayed away because you believed it would keep her safe.  I can’t say I would have done the same thing, but I’m a pretty selfish guy.  If I was in your position with your mother, I don’t know if I would have had the strength to walk away.”
    Acksel’s hands clenched into fists.  “Mia said that I should have changed the laws about the alpha female immediately so that Brynn would have been safe from the females.”
    His dad hummed in his throat.  “That would only have changed one issue.  Regardless of whether Brynn is a wolf or not, clearly Rufus and his friends have been plotting some kind of revenge for the banishment.  Even a she-wolf couldn’t go up against three males intent on taking her.”  He felt his dad glance at him.  “You think female wolves are better at protecting themselves because they’re naturally stronger and faster than humans and can shift.  But a female caught off-guard, overwhelmed by three males intent on taking her?  It wouldn’t matter if she was a bear shifter.  So yes, you made some mistakes, but your heart was in the right place and when the time comes, you can tell Brynn why you walked away and she’ll forgive you.”
    Acksel snorted.  He highly doubted that Brynn would be so easily forgiving.  She probably hated his guts.  And if she hadn’t before she’d been kidnapped, then she most certainly would afterwards when she was safe once more.
    His dad pulled into the clinic parking lot next to Brynn’s car and the protectors joined them.  Acksel circled the car slowly and then squatted down in front of the driver’s door.  Leaning forward on his fingertips, he looked under the car and reached for two small objects.  One was a cell phone and the other was a package of cinnamon gum.  The cell was locked with a code, but he could smell her scent on it and knew it was hers.  Either Rufus and his men had kicked it