“But where’s my daddy?” Adrian asked, his eyes darting around the empty clearing. “You said he was here.”
“He’s waiting for you in the forest,” I lied smoothly, getting out of the car and opening his door. “Come on. He’s been waiting a very long time to meet you.”
Adrian hesitated, his small hands gripping the edge of his car seat. “I don’t see anyone. And Mommy said I should never go into the forest alone.”
“You won’t be alone,” I said, my patience finally reaching its breaking point. “Your daddy will be there. Don’t you want to meet him?”
The child’s desperate desire to find his father won out over his caution. He unbuckled himself and climbed out of the car, his small hand reaching automatically for mine.
I led him to the edge of the forest, where the trees grew thick enough to block out most of the late afternoon sunlight. The air was cooler here, carrying the earthy scent of decomposing leaves and something else -something wild and predatory that made my wolf pace uneasily in my mind.
“He’s in there?” Adrian asked, staring into the shadowy depths between the trees. “It looks really dark.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, crouching down to his level and speaking in the same sweet tone I’d used at the school. “Your daddy loves playing hide and seek. He’s waiting for you to find him.”
I guided him several steps into the forest, far enough that he wouldn’t be visible from the clearing but not so far that I’d have trouble finding my way back. When we reached a small cluster of fallen logs, I stopped.
“There,” I said, pointing deeper into the forest where the shadows grew thickest. “I think I see him! Do you see that movement between those trees?”
Adrian squinted into the darkness, hope and fear warring on his small face. “I… I don’t see anything.”
“Look harder,” I insisted, already backing away from him. “He’s there, waiting for you. Go find him!”
“Wait!” Adrian turned toward me, panic flickering in those distinctive blue eyes. “Don’t leave me! I want to go with you!”
But I was already moving, my high heels clicking against the forest floor as I hurried back toward the clearing. Behind me, I could hear Adrian calling out -first to me, then to his imaginary father, his voice growing smaller and more frightened with each passing second.
“Aunt Valerie! Come back! I can’t find him! AUNT VALERIE!”
By the time I reached my car, Adrian’s voice had faded to a distant cry echoing through the trees. I slammed the door and started the engine, the sound drowning out whatever final pleas he might have been making.
The phone rang just as I reached the main road, Elizabeth’s name flashing on the display. I answered immediately, eager for good news.
“Please tell me you have her locked up somewhere,” I said without preamble. “Because I just finished handling my end of the bargain, and I want my money.”
“We have a problem,” Elizabeth’s voice came through the speaker, tight with rage and something that sounded like pain. “That little bitch attacked us! She hit Harold with a wine bottle and bit me -ACTUALLY BIT ME -and then she ran off!”
I nearly swerved off the road in shock. “What do you mean she ran off? How could you let one omega overpower both of you?”
“She fought like a rabid animal!” Elizabeth shrieked. “Harold’s unconscious, bleeding all over my carpet, and my arm looks like it was mauled by a wolf! We had to call an ambulance!”
“That’s my money bleeding all over your carpet!” I shouted back, my voice rising to match hers. “Do you have any idea what I just sacrificed to make this work? What I had to do?”
“I don’t care what you had to do! Harold might not even want her anymore after this! He’s talking about pressing charges, about how dangerous she is -“
“Then MAKE him want her!” I interrupted, rage making my voice crack. “Tie her up, drug her, I don’t care what you have to do! But I am not walking away from this empty-handed!”
Damien’s POV
The border situation was spiraling out of control. Patrol reports were stacked on the hood of my jeep like poker cards after a bad hand, each one detailing another rogue attack, another probe at our defenses. Three days of this shit, and my patience was wearing thinner than paper.
“How bad?” I asked Marcus as he trudged toward me, blood trickling from a fresh cut on his cheek.
“Could be worse.” He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, leaving a red smear across his knuckles. “Three guys got banged up pretty good, but nothing that won’t heal. Problem is, the bastards are getting cockier.”
I grabbed the map, stabbing red pins into each attack location with more force than necessary. The pattern that emerged made my jaw clench. These weren’t desperate rogues looking for easy prey -this was organized. Calculated.
“They’re testing us,” I muttered, connecting the dots with my finger. “Hit and run, hit and run. Never staying long enough for a real fight.”
Marcus nodded grimly. “Every damn time, it’s the same thing. They come in hard, make noise, then vanish the second we show real teeth. Like they’re learning something.”
“Learning what?”
“How fast we respond. How many wolves we send. Which routes we take.” Marcus’s expression darkened. “Alpha, somebody’s mapping our defenses. This isn’t random violence -it’s reconnaissance.”
The implications hit me like ice water. Organized rogue activity meant someone with serious resources was planning something big. Someone who wanted to know exactly how to hurt us when the time came.
I was about to order additional patrols when a sound drifted through the trees that made every hair on my arms stand at attention
Crying. A child’s crying, high and desperate and absolutely terrifying in this desolate wilderness.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Marcus, my entire body going rigid with alertness.
His eyes widened as the sound came again -closer now, more distinct. “That’s… that’s a child, Alpha. Out here in rogue territory.”
My mind raced through possibilities. Had the rogues taken a hostage? Was this some kind of trap designed to lure us deeper into the forest? Or was there actually a child lost in the wilderness, helpless and alone in one of the most dangerous areas of our territory?
I gestured for Marcus and two other guards to follow me, but raised my hand for caution. “Weapons ready but not visible,” I commanded. “If this is an ambush, I want to be prepared. If it’s really a child in distress…”
We moved through the dense forest with the silent precision of seasoned hunters, following the sound of sobbing that seemed to echo from deeper in the trees. The scent trails here were confusing -multiple wolves had passed through recently, their fear and aggression hanging in the air like a toxic cloud.
But as we drew closer to the source of the crying, another scent reached me through the chaos of rogue markers and territorial tensions. Familiar. Impossibly familiar.
Vanilla and jasmine. Sweet and pure and absolutely out of place in this wilderness of danger.
Sera’s scent.
My wolf Alex went completely berserk in my mind, pacing and snarling with recognition and desperate confusion. *Why would her scent be here? Why would any trace of our mate be in this gods-forsaken place?*
I held up my hand, signaling the others to lower their weapons as understanding began to dawn. “Stand down,” I commanded quietly. “Whatever this is, it’s not an attack.”
We pushed through the final cluster of pine trees and emerged into a small clearing where fallen logs created natural seating around what had once been a campfire ring. And there, sitting on the mossy ground with his back pressed against a massive oak tree, was a small figure that made my heart stop completely.
Adrian.
Sera’s son was huddled against the tree trunk, his little arms wrapped around his knees as tears streamed down his dirt-stained cheeks. His dark curls were disheveled, leaves and twigs caught in the tangles, and his clothes -a bright blue t-shirt and tiny jeans -were torn and muddy from wandering through the forest.
But even from twenty feet away, even through the grime and fear, those eyes were unmistakable. Deep blue with silver flecks that caught the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy above.
I was already moving before my brain had fully processed what I was seeing, crossing the clearing in long strides that ate up the distance between us. My heart was hammering against my ribs, confusion and shock warring in my chest.
Adrian looked up at my approach, his small face a canvas of misery. Tears had carved clean tracks through the dirt on his cheeks, and his nose was running freely. His lower lip trembled as he tried to stop crying, clearly struggling to be brave despite being absolutely terrified.
Leaves and small twigs were tangled in his dark curls, and I could see scratches on his small arms where branches had caught him. He looked so incredibly small sitting there against that massive oak tree, like a lost doll someone had carelessly discarded.
“Are you my daddy?” he asked in a voice so small and hopeful it shattered something inside my chest.
Damien’s POV
My wolf Alex was going absolutely feral in my mind, pacing and snarling with protective instincts that didn’t make complete sense but felt as natural as breathing.
What the hell was he doing here? Where was Sera? She was fiercely protective of Adrian, would never willingly leave him alone anywhere, let alone in one of the most dangerous areas of our territory. Something was very, very wrong.
I approached slowly, keeping my movements calm and non-threatening as I took in his condition. I crouched down to his level, careful to keep my expression gentle despite the rage building in my system like a gathering storm. How had he gotten here? Who would bring a four-year-old child to the middle of nowhere and just… leave him?
“I’m not your daddy,” I said softly, shaking my head with genuine regret as I watched his face fall. “But we’ve met before, remember? I’m your mommy’s boss.”
Adrian’s face scrunched up in concentration as he studied my features through his tears. His small hands wiped at his cheeks, leaving muddy streaks across his pale skin. After a moment, recognition flickered in those remarkable blue eyes.
“You’re the tall man,” he said slowly, his voice still shaky but growing slightly stronger. “The one who brought Mommy home that night when she was sleeping.”
“That’s right.” I kept my voice calm and reassuring, the same tone I’d use to approach a frightened animal. “I’m Damien. Can you tell me how you got here, Adrian? This is a very dangerous place for little boys.”
But the moment I asked the question, Adrian’s entire demeanor shifted. His small mouth clamped shut, his shoulders hunching forward defensively as his eyes darted away from mine.
“I can’t tell,” he whispered, his voice so quiet I had to lean closer to hear him. “She said I can’t tell anyone, or bad things will happen to Mommy.”
The rage in my chest intensified, burning like acid in my veins. Someone had threatened this child, used his love for his mother as a weapon to ensure his silence.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I said, making sure to catch and hold his gaze. “This place isn’t safe. There are dangerous wolves out here -rogues who might hurt you. I need to get you somewhere safe, and then we can find your mommy together. Can you trust me to do that?”
Adrian studied my face with an intensity that seemed far too mature for his age. His blue eyes searched mine, looking for something.
Finally, his lower lip trembled, and fresh tears spilled down his dirt-stained cheeks. “You won’t leave me here too, will you?” he whispered, his voice breaking with barely contained sobs.
“I won’t leave you,” I promised, extending my hand toward him with the same careful gentleness I’d use with an injured wolf pup. “I’ll take you somewhere safe and help you find your mommy.”
After a long moment of hesitation, Adrian reached out and placed his tiny hand in mine. His fingers were cold and slightly sticky with dried tears, dirt smudged under his small nails from his journey through the forest.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply