Page 41 of Rejected Mate Bride
“I moved in with Stella and Ben when I was a little older than you are now, and we moved away just a few months before you were born.”
“You lived here when I was in your tummy?” Sofia asked.
Flora nodded. “Yes, I did. This is where your father lived, but Stella and Ben moved me away before he found out about you. Now that we’re back, I think it’s time that you were told about him.” She glanced nervously at Camden and reached out her hand to him. “Sofia,thisis your father.”
“Cam is my dad?” Sofia asked.
“I am,” Camden answered with a smile. “Your mom told me earlier today, and I couldn’t be happier. Ever since I met you, I knew we were going to be friends. But now I know we’re more than that.”
Flora held her breath, bracing for whatever emotions Sofia would have. She was fully prepared for her daughter to be mad that she had kept the secret from her, just as Camden had been, or to feel sad about not having a dad for the first few yearsof her life. But unlike her parents, Sofia had never been one to hold grudges or get upset when things turned out better than she expected. Sofia’s face broke into a wide grin, her eyes lighting up as she glanced between her parents.
“You married my dad!” she told her mom excitedly. “Now we get to be together forever! Right, Mom?”
“Yes, honey,” Flora said, relief evident in her voice.
Sofia jumped off the couch and ran toward Camden, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Camden returned it, his eyes closing as he hugged his daughter for the first time. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, their blond hair mixing. Looking at them together like this made it impossible not to see the resemblance. Flora could hardly believe she had been worried about how either of them would take the news. They were family, meant to be together. Only Flora’s fear had prevented this from happening sooner.
“I was thinking the three of us could go out and do something together,” Flora said.
“What did you have in mind?” Camden asked.
“The park!” Sofia exclaimed. “Please? Can we go to the one you took me to last time?”
“Actually, that’s a really good idea,” Camden agreed, grabbing his phone from his pocket. Flora saw him checking his calendar and peeked over the armrest of the couch to look at it. “Yes! I’m not sure they’ll still have it going on, considering what happened yesterday, but there is supposed to be a fall festival at the park tonight. Nothing crazy, just some games and activities for the kids. Should we do that?”
Sofia bounced up and down at the mention of games. Her excitement was contagious, and soon the three of them were beaming at each other and heading into town.
Sofia walked between her parents, alternating between holding their hands and skipping ahead of them. Flora’s heart nearly burst every time Camden and Sofia held hands as hopeful feelings about their future filled her mind.
Despite the incursion of the Ironbrand pack the night before, the town park was a hive of activity tonight. A face-painting booth, pumpkin decorating, and a handful of other games were scattered around. Another line of tables had been erected where people were selling their homemade wares and produce. Flora’s feet crunched on fallen leaves as the smell of kettle corn and apples wafted through the crisp autumn air.
“What should we do first?” Camden asked.
Sofia immediately tugged on his hand, pulling him toward the face painting. With a laugh, he grabbed Flora’s hand, pulling her along behind them. When Sofia had been turned into a purple and blue butterfly, they made their way over to a food stand where Camden bought caramel apples for each of them.
Flora had never felt relaxed while in the company of the pack before, but tonight was different. Camden, the father of her child, was by her side. His steady presence calmed her and made her feel more protected and at peace than ever before.
“Camden Hughes!”
His uncle, Alpha Harold, was striding towards them. His face was red with anger, and his eyebrows turned down, displeasure apparent on his face. As he came up to them, Flora looked around, aware that the confrontation was drawing the attention of nearly everyone at the festival.
“Do you care to explain why I’m hearing rumors that you wantwomento have a vote in the pack council?” Harold continued. “Haven’t you and your human girl done enough to endanger the pack without striking it from within? I’ve tried to be patient with you, but your negative opinions about how things have been run for decades are influencing the pack. I can’t have it!”
“Alpha,” Camden said, his voice a quiet warning that was barely above a whisper. “Now is neither the time nor the place for this conversation.”
He looked around meaningfully, trying to show the alpha that they had an audience. Flora didn’t know much about pack politics, but she had a feeling that a public disagreement between the alpha and the leader of his top-ranking special ops team wouldn’t be good for morale.
“I decide when things happen!” Harold shouted. “I am the alpha! You’ve been back in town for two months, and you suddenly think you run this place!”
“Enough!” Camden interrupted. “Keep yourself in line, uncle, or I will do it for you.”
His threat hung in the air, and a few of the people watching looked at each other with alarm. Was Camden really threatening the alpha with violence? What did this mean? It reminded Flora of their previous confrontation, when members of the Silverrose pack had taken sides with Camden and Harold. This time, though, Camden’s following seemed to have grown. It made her wonder how much work he had been putting in behind the scenes to influence the pack toward a new way of life.
“You want to talk about how my ‘negative opinions’ are influencing the pack, but you haven’t considered that your opinions are outdated and harmful,” Camden said. “I have donenothing except try to help you and our people. It seems like no matter how much information I give you or how helpful my ideas will be, you cast them aside because they don’t allow you to keep other people down. We haveallhad enough of it,” he finished with a growl.
“Things were going great before you came back here,” Harold scoffed.
“No, they weren’t,” Camden argued. “The threat from Ironbrand started long before I came back home. Just because you don’t have information about what he has been up to doesn’t mean our pack is safe from him. We have to stick together and trust each other if we are going to make it.”
