A Broken Contract (Alpha's Secret Regret)

I could not make sense of what my beta had just said. I was trying to fake interest too, so I asked,

"What do you mean I'm being charged?"

"This is a summon, Nick!" He held out the envelope in his hands.

The only thing disturbing about the bit of newsflash was the look on my beta's face.

"Jake, sit down. Calm down. It's gonna be okay. It's a summon, you say?" I asked him.

"By a government agency, Nick! It says the judge must see you in two hours. Apparently, they're in a hurry to get to you before you leave town," Jake replied, still frantic.

"What's it about? What agency is this?" I asked.

"Women and Child Protective Services," he said, eyes never leaving mine...

Now, my interest was piqued.

"What could that type of agency possibly want with me? I'm already protecting my woman AND child!"

The words fell out of my mouth absently.

My eyes had now reverted to Sara's three-word text where her signature should've been.

I only realized what I had just said when no reply came from Jake. Instead, his pause caused a silence that echoed all around us.

When I looked at him again, his frown had deepened. It looked like he truly feared for my sanity.

His tone was gentler when he finally spoke,

"She's not your woman, Nick."

He might as well have been talking to little Alex. More awkward silence followed, and then I began to ramble.

"Sebastian has to be behind this. He is, isn't he? I believe he would go to any length to keep his daughter and my son from me. Or maybe it's halfblood police man? Or the both of them walked together on this. Well, what do they want?" I barked.

Jake waited till he was sure I was done ranting.

It was clear that he knew I refused to acknowledge any thought that Sara was going this far to get rid of me on her own.

"You're probably right," Jake said. "Maybe her father showed her the way. But only a "victim" could file a complaint with this agency. So it's safe to say Sara went to them herself."

His words gave voice to my anxieties.

"I hate to say I told you so, but the forced proximity was a bad idea from the start. The letter from the court actually mentioned that phrase. Forced Proximity."

"So you're telling me that they have a problem with father, mother, and child living together?" I was outraged.

"Goddess! Humans are the worst! They have agencies to break up families? And they call it a protective service agency?"

I rose from my chair as my ire started to heighten.

"This situation is different, alpha, and you know it! You could've handled it differently," Jake pointed out.

"Sounds like you're on their side. Should I get another lawyer, beta?"

"I'm on your side, Nick. If you had just listened to me, we could've avoided this. But I guess that's too much to ask once Sara's involved."

As I looked at my best friend and right hand male, I found myself truly concerned about how upset he seemed. This "summon" must be a big deal then. Beta Jake was hardly ever this perturbed. "I could ignore it," I said simply.

"Bad idea!" he argued. "They're being

respectful and discreet now. If you ignore them, you may lose that courtesy Think about the little one and what the slightest publicity could lead to. You'll make everything worse if you don't go. Keep in mind that we don't want any problems with the humans too."

***

A few hours later, I sat in a small, quiet courtroom with Jake beside me. My gamma and his men were about, making sure that no press or werewolf came anywhere near the courtroom. I tried so hard to listen as Sara's lawyer argued her case.

Jake had cautioned that we weren't here to fight. It was safer that way. He advised that all of this would get resolved faster if we avoided any argument about taking little Alex from his mother. That was never my plan. I wanted my son to have both his parents.

Soon, both sides had stated their case. The judge, an older human male, was now giving the verdict. But I couldn't take him seriously. I was a werewolf. An alpha. This judge was unqualified to teach me how to run my family! As he spoke, all I could hear was a frail, old human spouting rubbish. He's implying that I made a bad move, claiming my son the way I did.

At least, Sara got some scolding for hiding the little one from his father for four years.

Jake had begged me to pretend the judge was interesting. But it was so hard that I kept zoning out till I tuned him off completely. I might seek a human's counsel on business matters, not family. My mind was in shambles. How could Sara go to these people with our business?

I looked her way for the millionth time. Her eyes were fixed ahead at the judge.

When I recalled her odd goodbye earlier, I caught myself before smiling.

She knew I was staring at her. I

willed her to look my way. Maybe I should mindlink her. But that sort of intimacy was not a bright idea. With this act, she was proving how much she hated and wanted me to stay out of their lives.

We were sitting at that courtroom, not because Alex was

uncomfortable. But because SHE didn't want me near. As these thoughts race through my mind, it caused a lump in my throat. quickly swallowed it, keeping my eyes on her.

Look this way, I willed her.

She turned and was going to give me a quick glance, but when our eyes met, I winked. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she looked away. Soon, the court was dismissed.

'I don't understand a word of the man's bullshit, Jake,' I mindlinked my beta.

'Don't you mean you weren't listening at all?' he replied, gathering his files from the table.

I looked at Sara again. A half smile was on her face. A hint of triumph in her general manner. But she avoided looking in our direction.

"Joint custody, and she gets more time with the pup!" Jake said. "That's the verdict."

I gave a brief laugh. "How's that different from what we've been doing?"

"Yeah you can't force her to live with you anymore!" he replied firmly.

The words not only soured my stomach some more, but also caused a pang more painful than I wish to admit.

I quickly reminded myself that there's no cause for alarm. There was no need to be distraught about this. Sara had no choice but to visit Rain Resorts often. It would be her second home because Alex lived there for now. This thought was followed by a strong need to defend myself against my beta's remark.

'You know I have never forced her to live with me, Jake! She's there for our child, and she'll keep coming because of him!'

My beta sighed before speaking aloud but in a gentle tone,

"Little Alex is moving back to his former home today!"