Alpha Alec's Redemption - Chapter 145: Chapter 145

Sadie
The next day came sooner than I had expected or prepared for. I was still on cloud nine after shifting into our other state. It felt so good. Like I had unlocked something fierce. Something divine. After Alec left, I practiced more and each time it became easier than the last.
My mind occasionally drifted to Alec and that moment when I hugged him. That moment kept playing in my head over and over again, no matter how many times I tried to block it. It's just there. When I am not thinking about the mess with Xena and Kaden, my pack, Alec’s pack or Aspen, I think of him.
Aspen’s squeal brought my attention back to the present and I forced those thoughts to the back of my mind.
She was practically bouncing on the bed, kicking her tiny feet in excitement as I tried to get her into a little pink dress she’d insisted on wearing for our outing.
“Are you excited for today, sweetheart?” I asked, tying her curly hair into two neat buns.
She nodded furiously. “So excited, Mommy! Mister Alec said there’ll be lions! And maybe even giraffes!”
I smiled, my heart clenching. She was glowing. Alec had told her about the zoo last night, and she hadn’t stopped talking about it since. I couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in my chest, knowing this day would mean something to her.
She was practically bouncing on the bed, kicking her tiny feet in excitement as I tried to get her into a little pink dress she’d insisted on wearing for our outing.
“Mommy!” she squealed, her curls flopping as she threw her hands up dramatically. “I need sparkles. All princesses have sparkles!”
I laughed, brushing her hair back and kissing her forehead. “You don’t need sparkles to be a princess. You already are one.”
She gave me a scrunched-up, suspicious look. “You sure?”
“Positive.” I reached for the tiny silver butterfly clip I’d hidden behind my back. “But... I might have something just in case.”
Aspen’s gasp nearly made me tear up. “You got me butterflies?!”
I nodded and watched her eyes widen as I clipped them into her hair. “Now you’re royalty.”
She twirled on the spot, arms stretched out, giggling in delight. “Mister Alec’s gonna say I’m pretty.”
That word hit me in the chest. I wanted so badly to tell her the truth. I don’t understand why, but it was like an insistent echo that was pushing me to reveal to her that Alec was her father. Maybe it was because Aspen had already made up her mind and was unknowingly treating him like her dad. To her, he was someone to look up to. Someone safe. Someone hers.
By the time we stepped out into the hallway, Aspen holding my hand with a white cardigan barely staying on her shoulders, Alec was already waiting near the front door.
And goddess help me.
He looked... good. Black jeans, a soft gray shirt that clung a little too perfectly to his frame, and a clean shave that made his features sharper than usual. But it was the way he looked at Aspen—soft and completely enraptured—that unraveled me.
“There’s my butterfly,” he said with a grin, crouching down.
Aspen let go of my hand and ran straight to him. “I told you I’d look pretty!”
“You look more than pretty,” he whispered as he picked her up. “You look magical. Like a little tiny beautiful Pixie.”
They both laughed as he twirled her around in circles, and I found myself smiling—helplessly, stupidly, a little painfully. They looked… perfect together. Natural. Like this had always been their life.
I couldn’t breathe. The way she curled into his arms like she belonged there. The way he held her like she was something precious.
My throat tightened. I wanted to turn away from the scene in front of me, but I couldn’t. I was completely enthralled by them and by the could-have-been’s.
The ache inside me grew. I didn’t know what to do with it even as the bond tugged softly as if it, too, was watching. The desire to hold on to this picture-perfect scene and never ever let go. This is all I’ve ever wanted since I was a kid. It’s finally happening, but not like I’d imagined it and that? That is causing my heart to ache in ways I can’t even begin to describe.
“Ready?” Alec asked, glancing up at me and pulling me from my thoughts.
I forced a smile and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
The animal park was nestled at the edge of the town. The whole drive there was filled with Aspen’s chatter. Alec was engaging, but I found it hard to join them. My head was spinning, my heart was aching, and my soul was torn in all kinds of ways as my past desires and dreams collided with my current reality.
It’s like Alec sensed I was troubled, so he made sure Aspen was engaged enough while I tried collecting my thoughts.
By the time we got there, Aspen could barely contain her excitement. She had never been to an animal park before, since we didn’t have any close to home.
We got out of the car. The air smelled like pine and sunshine, and Aspen was practically dragging us toward the enclosures before we’d even paid the entrance fee.
“Looook!” she squealed. “That one’s got a funny tail!”
“That’s a lemur,” Alec said, keeping pace with her tiny footsteps. “They live in Madagascar.”
Aspen frowned up at him. “Where’s that?”
“A magical land very far away,” he teased, tickling her side.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “He means it’s an island off the coast of Africa.”
Aspen’s eyes widened. “Is that where giraffes live?”
Alec and I exchanged a glance before he said, “Close enough.”
Alec then lifted her up and put her on his shoulder so that she could have a better view of all the animals. Her eyes were wide with excitement. She pressed herself forward on Alec’s shoulders, peering over the fences and into each exhibit like she was hunting for treasure.
“Look, Mommy! An elephant!” she gasped, pointing dramatically.
Alec looked at me and grinned. “Wanna tell her about elephants or should I?”
“Go ahead,” I said, already amused.
He adjusted Aspen slightly so she could see better. “Okay, little butterfly, elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They can weigh over six tons, and they’re really smart—kind of like Uncle Jason when he’s not talking.”
Aspen giggled. “Do they have wings?”
“Nope,” I said, coming to walk beside them. “But they flap their ears like wings to cool off.”
“Whaaat?” Her jaw dropped in disbelief.
We moved from the elephants to the lions, where Alec pointed to the large male resting beneath a tree. Before he could say anything, Aspen screamed, “Mufasa!”
We both laughed softly as those around us smiled at her.
“That’s a lion, but I guess you already know that.” Alec commented with a wide smile on his face.
“Yes. Mommy and me watch lion king all the time.” Aspen answered without taking her eyes from the lion. “But where are Simba and Scar? And Timon and Pumba?”
“They are probably around here somewhere.” I answered, “Maybe they are shy and don’t want to come out.”
“Oh, okay.”
We passed flamingos, tigers, wolves—even a small reptile house where Aspen made us all jump by shrieking at a snake that moved suddenly.
After that, we walked past a row of game booths and stalls filled with candy and stuffed animals. Aspen gasped at the sight of pink, fluffy cotton candy and tugged on Alec’s sleeve.
“Can I try it? Pleaaase?”
He looked at me first. “Mind if I spoil her a little?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re already doing that.”
Still, I nodded, and soon Aspen was holding a giant puff of sugar, licking it like it was the most magical thing she’d ever tasted.
“It’s so cloudyyy,” she murmured, eyes wide. “It tastes like hugs!”
We both laughed, and Alec reached out to wipe some sugar from her cheek with a gentleness that made my stomach twist.
As we passed one of the booths, Aspen’s eyes locked on the wall of stuffed animals. She gasped again. “Mommy! Look! A monkey! And a big elephant!”
“Which one do you want?” Alec asked, already stepping forward.
“The monkey! But… can you win it?”
“Challenge accepted,” he smirked.
I crossed my arms and watched as he handed the man behind the counter a few tickets. It was a classic ring toss—easy to play, nearly impossible to win.
“Good luck,” I teased.
Alec threw the first ring. Missed.
Second. Missed again.
“Are you gonna embarrass yourself in front of your little Butterfly, Alpha?” I said, arching an eyebrow.
He narrowed his eyes playfully and huffed, “Do I get something in return?”
Before I could tell him that he’ll get Aspen’s adoration, said girl jumped in.
“You’ll get kisses from me!”
“Deal,” he said immediately as determination set in. He threw one more… and landed it.
Aspen squealed again. “You did it!”
The booth attendant handed over the plush monkey and Alec presented it to her with a dramatic bow. “For the bravest butterfly in the kingdom.”
She took it with reverence, hugging it tightly.
“Now it’s your turn, Mommy,” she said, pointing to the next booth.
“Oh no,” I laughed. “That’s not—”
“Pleaseee?”
Alec was already smirking. “Come on. Show us what you’ve got.”
I sighed, stepping up to a balloon-dart booth. I’d had some training. Not a lot. Just enough. I threw the first dart and popped one. Then another. And another.
Aspen cheered like I’d just saved the world. When I handed her the stuffed elephant, she squeezed it in one arm and her monkey in the other. “Now I have both!”
Alec looked at me and pouted, “Now I feel like a sore loser.”
Can you believe that? Alec pouted! That’s completely insane.
I glanced at him and stuck my tongue out. “That's because you are.”
He laughed, but there was something soft in his eyes. The way he looked at me in that moment, it made everything else around us blur.