Chapter 279

I grip the edge of the table, my breath in my throat, as Mom circles around the table to hand Mia over to the Alpha King.

Archer is still standing, but he doesn’t make another move. Neither does the guard in the doorway, his gaze on Archer, his hand disappearing under his suit coat where I know his gun is holstered.

By this point, I’m about ready to jump across the table. Only that guard with his hand under his coat keeps me sitting where I am – for now. If the Alpha King even blinks wrong in Mia’s direction, I’m going to lose it, to hell with whatever that means for me personally.

But, for now, Mr. Hayes seems to be doing the right things. He seems somewhat curious as he holds out his hands. He picks Mia up from her sides and holds her in front of him. He studies her face, tilting his head slightly as if trying to understand.

Mia stares back a moment, but then she starts fussing again.

The curious look in Alpha King Hayes’s face shifts into one of disgust. His eyes darken. He inches the baby farther from him.

It reminds me, a little, of how the brothers used to hold Mia at first, way back before the nanny lessons. The brothers had no idea how to hold a baby. Neither, it seems, does their father.

Perhaps on the nannies gave the Hayes brothers any affection in their infancy. I struggle to imagine Mrs. Hayes being any better, knowing how cold and callous she is.

The Alpha King’s disgust even looks similar to how Neil reacted whenever Mia did something kind of gross. Babies are gross, it needs to be dealt with. Neat freak Neil did not appreciate that. He still doesn’t, I imagine, but he’s learned to do what he needs to do for the baby.

Because Neil loves Mia. All the brothers do.

That is the difference between the brothers and their father. Where the brothers were willing to learn for Mia’s sake, their father only seems to grow more and more agitated. And the way he’s looking at Mia right now, with a deepening darkness in his eyes…

He kind of looks like he wants to strangle her to keep her quiet.

Even Mom notices. “I can take her back,” Mom offers. She outstretches her hands.

The Alpha King shifts Mia sharply away from her. “She’s fine.”

Mia doesn’t like the sudden, sharp movement. She kicks her little legs, fussing again.

“She’s going to cry,” Mom says gently. “Truly, I don’t mind.”

“She’s fine,” the Alpha King says in a loud, booming voice.

That scares Mia and she immediately starts to cry. The waterworks start, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. The wailing builds up from the back of her throat. It makes something uncomfortable lurch in my chest.

Someone please get that baby away from him.

I push my chair back.

“Stop crying!” the Alpha King snaps at the baby, which only makes her cry harder and louder. Then he starts to shake her.

Neil stands up. Archer takes a step away from his chair. The guard enters the room.

And then, surprising us all, Mom snatches the crying Mia straight out of the Alpha King’s hands. She pulls Mia against her chest, holding her correctly with support under her head, and Mia settles almost immediately.

Everyone freezes once again.

Mom’s face pales, but she still stands straighter. I realize, in that moment, looking at my mother with pride, that some of my courage comes from her.

“Excuse me,” she says, and that’s all she says, as she starts to carry Mia away. She doesn’t stop until she’s on the far side of the room, with the table separating her from the Alpha King and two of his guards. There are two more sitting at the table. They look to their boss, likely for direction.

The Alpha King looks surprised for a moment, before his face crumples up in unmitigated fury.

“Mia’s just tired!” I say quickly, drawing his attention away from my mom. He already hates me. Let him hate me more, I don’t care. “She’s had such a long day. What she really needs it a good rest.”

“Yes,” Isaac chimes in at once, his face still stricken after what his wife has done. “Her foul mood is only the result of being so tired. “You know how babies are. They never handle situations with grace when they are cranky.”

The Alpha King considers this. Some of the anger on his face ebbs into mere annoyance. “She needs stronger guidance. I expect you to help train her better, Isaac.”

Train her? Like she’s some kind of dog?

“Of course, sir,” Isaac says, likely just to keep the peace. I can’t imagine a man as kind as Isaac actually wants to discipline a baby for being upset when held incorrectly and yelled at. “Allow my wife to take Mia to bed so that she does not continue to disturb our delightful dinner.”

The Alpha King flicks his hand. It’s permission enough.

“I’ll go with her,” I say at once. “Mia is most used to me.”

The Alpha King makes no reaction to that, so I assume its okay.

“I’ll go, too,” Archer says.

His father immediately shoots him a fierce glare. “How many people does it take to put a baby to sleep?”

Archer closes his mouth.

“Sit,” the Alpha King says. “Let us enjoy the rest of this dinner.”

The brothers have no choice but to sit as Mom and I make our way out of the room.

We move silently up the stairs and into the baby’s room, where Mom arranged the crib she had bought earlier in the day. She really does want grandkids. Well, she’ll have to wait a little longer.

Mom lowers Mia down into the crib, then she turns to look at me. “I’m believe you,” she says.

“What?”

“A good man would not look at a baby like that,” Mom says. She lowers her head. “I thought he might try to kill Mia right there if she didn’t stop crying. The way he handled her… it’s not normal. There was something so… off… about him in that moment.”

“I’m glad you saw it too. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Mom. He’s straight up evil.”

Mom considers my words. “He really embedded silver in Neil’s chest?”

“He has scars, Mom. We can ask him later. I’m sure he’d show you.”

Mom shakes her head. “What a disgrace of a man…”

We closed the door behind us, so it startles us when the knob turns. I didn’t lock it.

The door opens and one of the guards steps into the room. He’s not holding a gun, thank Gods, but what he is holding still makes my heart drop and my adrenaline kick up.

That’s a stun gun in his hand.

Instinctively, I step in front of Mom, who is standing straight in front of Mia’s crib. My movement protects them both.

“Chloe,” Mom says, like she wants to argue, but she’s also too shocked, I think, to move. She may have had her realization that the Alpha King is a bad guy, but she may not have yet realized the very real danger we all are in.

The guard readies the stun gun. It makes a sharp, charging noise. An electric pulse flickers at the end of it.

“Now. Don’t make this difficult, ladies.”