A Broken Contract (Alpha's Secret Regret) novel Chapter 58

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.

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!”