“That’s it?” His voice was low, roughened from sleep. “That’s your only reaction? To tell me to talk to our son?”
My chin lifted, jaw set. “What else should I say?”
His nostrils flared.
“What do you expect me to do? Weep? Beg? Throw myself at you? You once said Celeste was the only woman you wanted as the mother of your children,” I reminded him, each word sharp as broken glass. “So tell me, Kieran-what game are you playing now?”
His grip tightened on the wall beside my head. “You think this is a game?”
“I think,” I shot back, “that you should stop tormenting me with your confusion. Choose her. Choose me. Choose anyone-but don’t stand here acting like I should feel something other than relief that you’ll finally give Daniel a sibling, even if it’s a half one.”
That was when he snapped.
His mouth crashed against mine, fierce, unrelenting, a storm I hadn’t braced for.
Heat flared, scorching straight to my core, dragging me back to memories I’d barely managed to bury. Emotions I still didn’t fucking understand.
For a heartbeat-just one-I almost kissed him back.
Almost.
But maybe I was more clearheaded at sea than on land.
In a trophy-worthy show of restraint, my teeth sank into his lower lip, sharp enough to draw a startled grunt. I shoved him hard, breath ragged as he stumbled back a step.
“Don’t” My voice shook, but I forced steel into it. I glared at a spot on the plush carpet between his bare feet. “Don’t lose your mind, Kieran. Not now. Not here”
Not again.
His hand caught my wrist, but I twisted free, stepping out of reach. My heart thundered, and I couldn’t bring myself to face him squarely.
“The ship’s about to dock,” I said, cold as I could manage. “Daniel will be waiting on shore. I won’t have him see us like this-at each other’s throats, or…worse.”
Because the alternative-this maddening dance between desire and contempt-was worse.
“And I won’t give anyone on this yacht reason to whisper rumors.”
Kieran’s jaw worked, teeth clenched, eyes dark with a hunger I refused to acknowledge. Even if that same hunger also pulsed through me, as undeniable as my heartbeat.
I held my ground. “I won’t passively accept things the way I once did. Keep your distance,
Alpha.”
The title was deliberate, slicing between us.
Without waiting for his reply, I strode to the door, spine stiff. My hands trembled, but I didn’t let him see.
The sunlight on deck was blinding, glittering across turquoise waters that stretched endlessly around us. Ahead, the dock loomed, and beyond it-blessedly-my son.
Daniel stood next to a bodyguard, waving as soon as he spotted me. His little face lit up, and something inside me cracked wide open.
“Mom!” he shouted, his voice carrying across the water.
I barely heard the engines rumble down or the shouts of the crew preparing lines. The moment the yacht touched the dock, I was already moving-down the gangway, across the last stretch of wood, and into his arms.
Daniel barreled into me, nearly knocking me off balance with the force of his hug. I sank to my knees, wrapping him tight, inhaling the warm, familiar scent of my boy.
“I missed you so much,” I whispered into his hair, voice breaking.
He squeezed me back, his little arms fierce. “Me too.”
For that moment-for as long as I held him-nothing else mattered.
KIERAN’S POV
The Blackthorne name meant something in every corner of the world, but here-on my island-it meant ownership.
Musha Cay stretched before us in glimmering white sand and crystalline turquoise shallows, the kind of paradise people paid hundreds of thousands to rent for a weekend.
Palms bent in the trade winds, manicured pathways gleamed like something out of a resort brochure, and discreet cameras tracked every angle.
Sentinels sworn to protect my son with their lives stood at invisible checkpoints, blending into the foliage, their presence silent but absolute.
The yacht had docked smoothly, crew jumping to secure lines. I stepped onto the pier with the practiced ease of someone who’d done this a hundred times, but my eyes weren’t on the scenery or the staff lined up in crisp uniforms. They were on her.
Seraphina.
She was kneeling, Daniel’s arms around her neck as though he’d never let go.
Our son’s laughter carried over the water, bright and unguarded, tugging at something deep inside me. His bright eyes looked at her as though she were his whole world.
For the first time, I could see the toll their separation must have had on them, and guilt knotted in my stomach.
I knew I should join them, hug Daniel, and reunite with my family.
But something kept me rooted to the spot until Daniel’s voice reached me.
“Dad!”
Truth be told, I’d been a little…concerned about Daniel’s reaction when he saw me, considering the strain on our relationship these last couple of months, but that concern melted away under the warmth of his bright smile as he pulled away from Sera and barreled straight into me, his laughter ringing out.
I caught him mid-sprint, lifting him off the dock as he wrapped his arms tight around my neck.
My chest clenched as I pressed a kiss to his hair, inhaling the sun-warmed scent of him. “
Missed you, champ.”
“I missed you more!” he declared, pulling back to grin widely at me.
Behind him, Sera stood a step back. She looked composed, chin lifted, but the faint stiffness in her posture betrayed her.
Her hands smoothed Daniel’s shirt even as she watched me hold him, something unreadable flickering across her face.
Before I could linger on it, the familiar perfume of my mother’s roses swept in. “Kieran,” she breathed, her arms open wide as she came toward me.
I set Daniel down just as my mother reached me. She wrapped me in an embrace that, despite her elegance, still carried the unyielding strength of a Luna. “My son. You look…”
Her astute grey eyes narrowed. “…tired.”
“I’m fine, Mother,” I assured, forcing a faint smile.
“Fine,” my father repeated, his voice rougher, skeptical as he came up beside me. He clasped my shoulder in a grip that was both steadying and scrutinizing.
His sharp eyes scanned me as if reading the truth beneath my skin. “You’ve lost weight.”
“I haven’t,” I said smoothly. “The sea air isn’t kind, that’s all.”
My mother cupped my cheek, frowning. “Tell me, how are things with the pack? And-” her pause was deliberate, too deliberate- “with Celeste?”
I felt Sera’s gaze on me, though she pretended to be occupied adjusting Daniel’s collar.
“Things with the pack are…stable,” I said, voice even. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with. As for Celeste,”-I kept my tone clipped, measured, giving nothing more than what courtesy demanded-“she’s fine.”
My mother arched a brow, not satisfied. My father crossed his arms, his silence heavier than words.
I cocked my head slightly, a little put off by their countenance. They’d always been huge supports of Celeste; why were they acting so…off?
“Mom!” Daniel piped up suddenly, bouncing on his heels as he gripped her hand. “I want to show you everything! Come on!”
Sera’s lips pulled into a beautiful, bright smile, and the thought that she’d never directed that kind of smile my way made my chest twist.
She let him tug at her hand, casting me a brief, unreadable glance before letting Daniel lead her down the path.
I watched them go, hand in hand, Daniel’s little voice full of pride as he played tour guide.
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