Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 301

I'm a prisoner? I hold my chest.

"Great job." Carson glares at him. He looks like he's two seconds away from slow clapping. "Really. You should be proud of yourself."

Ethel opens his mouth, but Carson silences him, turning to me.

"Come here, Mia." He pulls me into his arms, resting his head on top of mine. "Don't listen to Aiden's horrible beta. He's worse than the alpha that picked him." Carson glares at Ethel over my shoulder.

I know Ethel didn't mean it, so we're not being serious serious. That's why I'm surprised when Shen gives me a suspicious look.

I raise an eyebrow. She looks away.

That's weird. Maybe she's waiting for a clear answer. I'd be too if I were in her position, so I ask for her, "So..." I glance at the brothers. I have to pull back a little in Carson's arms to get a good look at him. "Shen's a part of the pack now?"

"The question is the baby," Carson says, completely serious this time.

Axel nods. "With her mindlink intact, she's still a threat."

The words hang heavy in the air.

I stare at the baby. "Why are we not considering Dr. Janice's methods again?"

"Because we're not doing blood sacrifices in the woods," Aiden says matter-of-factly.

I freeze.

Axel waves him off. "That's not it."

"Yes it is," Aiden says.

"We don't know if that's the exact method."

'Wanna bet?' Aiden's cold eyes challenge his brother.

Axel gives up. "You know what?" His eyes sweep the room. "It's getting late."

Carson furrows his brow. "It's not even noon yet-"

"Uh, uh, uh." Axel puts a hand up to silence him. "It's getting late, and I don't think any of us are up for the task of sending a child to the slaughter, so-"

Aiden opens his mouth.

"Uh, uh, uh." Axel's other hand flies up. "We'll decide tomorrow. She's been hiding here for days. One more night won't hurt."

"You're sure about that?" Aiden asks.

"No," Axel says honestly. "But we clearly need more time to think."

Aiden frowns, but he doesn't object.

I smile at Carson, then at Shen, until Aiden says the next thing, "Fine. Then we could use the time to see the elders. Maybe they've dealt with something like this before."

"No," Carson and I say in unison.

Onai's dad's reaction is completely different. "The elders? Wow." He forces a smile. "That's quite a journey." He looks at the door. "Better get started. Wouldn't want you to... feel like I'm keeping you here."

"Not at all." Carson smiles, oblivious to the man's obvious attempt to get us out. "We feel right at home."

"Isn't that... unfortunate." Onai's dad smiles tighter.

"I'm sorry?" Carson raises an eyebrow.

"We've got it." Axel smiles.

Shen gives me another strange look.

Ethel notices. "Is something wrong?"

She shakes her head, quickly.

He glances at her leg. "Does it still hurt?"

"I'm fine," she says.

"Still..." He trails off. "Could I...?"

She pauses before trying, "Could you...?"

"Can I carry you?" he asks.

She studies him carefully.

He takes a step back. "Sorry. It's just." He nods at Onai. "Someone should help while you're healing. He carried you before, so maybe you could let him-"

"I want you to," she says slowly.

Ethel looks like he just won a million bucks. His face turns red, mouth stuttering words I can barely process. Is it that easy to make an imprint happy?

I glance at the brothers, but they're deep in thought. They've been in a mindlink conversation for a while. Onai's been in one, too, with his dad. Neither one of them seems happy. The older man stands in the doorway of his cottage. Onai's in front of him, looking beyond pissed off. I don't know what happened.

I turn away, because I don't want to invade their privacy, even if I can't hear what they're saying. At that moment, a thought comes to mind. Michael. "Hey, Ethel," I say.