“I know,” he says gently. “We found records that confirm they were there around the time they would’ve conceived you, and then again leading up to Poppy’s conception. There were payments, sealed medical records, and something else… a sealed donor file was attached to their records.”
I stare down into my coffee, my heart pounding. “So you’re saying my dad isn’t my dad?” “I’m saying there’s a chance your biological father might not be the man who raised you,” Ryder admits. “But it’s also possible that your mum is not your biological mother. We don’t know if one or both of them had the fertility issue, and we don’t know the gender of the donor. I’m not sure if I’d have even told you if there weren’t a possible connection to the Moon Goddess bloodline. This might explain how you and Poppy carry the traits despite your parents never showing signs of it themselves.”
I put my cup down, shaking my head slowly, trying to process it.
My chest tightens until I can barely breathe. “You can’t just say something like that so calmly, Ryder.” My voice cracks halfway through. “That my mum or my dad might not even be my real parents.”
He winces, his hand tightening around mine. “I know, Paige. I didn’t want to hurt you with this. But I couldn’t keep it from you, not when it could explain everything.”
I pull my hand free and stand, pacing to the edge of the porch. “Everything I thought I knew about my family, every story, every photo, what if it’s all a lie? What if the people who loved me weren’t even supposed to be mine?”
“They were yours,” he says. “No matter what some files say, they chose you. They went through a lot to get you here, and they raised you. They were your parents in every way that matters. This knowledge doesn’t change that.”
“But it does,” I whisper, staring out at the garden. Jaxon is still laughing with Parker, blissfully unaware of the ground shifting beneath my feet. “I thought I knew who I was, then I found out I might not even be human, and now you’re telling me I might not even belong to the people I thought made me.”
Ryder stands and steps behind me, close enough that his warmth brushes my back. “Paige, listen to me. It doesn’t matter what you are because you know who you are, and so do I. Whether you were born of their blood or not doesn’t change that.”
I shake my head, wrapping my arms around myself. “You don’t get it. Every time I think I’ve found some solid ground, it disappears. First, I find out werewolves are real. Then that my son is one. That my husband is a hunter. Then that I have mates, plural. I’m probably not human, and now this? That my parents might not be my parents?” My voice breaks. “How much more am I supposed to take?”
Ryder’s hands rest on my shoulders, grounding me. “I do get it, Paige. Because I lived through pretty much the same thing.”
That makes me wince. He’s right. I’m here having a pity party when he’s lived through just as much as I have. At least I have people around me I trust. He was thrown into this blind with no idea who he could trust. “I’m sorry, Rye. I wish I could have been there for you.”
“You were there, Paige. It was me that left, so don’t put that guilt on yourself. Besides, this is not about me right now, I shouldn’t have brought that up.” He squeezes my shoulders. “I’m going to make sure you get all the answers you need. I promise.”
“But what if I don’t want it?” I turn to face him, tears stinging my eyes. “What if knowing ruins everything I still have left of them?”
He looks at me for a long moment, the sunlight catching in his eyes. “Then we go slow. No digging until you’re ready.”
The dam finally breaks then. A sob rips through me, and before I can stop it, he’s pulling me into his arms. I don’t fight him. I just let myself fall into the warmth of his chest, shaking as silent tears slip free. He sits with me, just holding me and letting me process this the only way I know how.
“They lied to me,” I whisper into his shirt. “My whole life, they lied.”
“They didn’t, you were their child, no matter how you came to be,” he says gently, his hand running slow circles along my back. “They loved you and Poppy.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. He’s right. They did love us, and we loved them back, that’s all that matters.
After a long silence, I pull back, wiping my cheeks. “What happens now?”
“For now,” Ryder says quietly, “nothing. We don’t act on it until you decide. But the pack member who found the file can keep digging discreetly. If there’s anything left of that clinic, we’ll find it.”
I nod slowly, staring at Jaxon again. He’s sitting cross-legged in the grass now, Parker showing him how to make a daisy chain, keeping him distracted. The sight calms me a little, putting things into perspective. If I’d had an egg or sperm donor to bring Jaxon into this world, he’d still be mine. I’d still love him the way I do. It wouldn’t make me any less his mum. Which means my parents are still my parents, no matter what they had to do to have me and
Poppy.
“I just don’t want this to change how I see them,” I say finally. “Mum and Dad. Whoever they were, they were mine.”
Ryder reaches for my hand again. “Then hold on to that, Paige. No file, no secret, no bloodline can take that away.”
And even though my heart still feels cracked open, I hold his hand tighter, because that’s how I get through this, with my mates, my son and my sister at my side.
**Paige’s POV **
For a long while, neither of us speak. The only sounds are Jaxon’s laughter and the soft breeze rustling through the trees. Parker keeps looking over at us like it’s a struggle for him to stay away when he can feel how much I need him. But he knows I need Jaxon distracted more right now. I don’t want him to see me upset.
“I don’t know what scares me more,” I admit finally. “The idea that I’m not human, which makes me a target for a whole new reason, or that I am human and this is all a crazy coincidence.”
Ryder kisses the top of my head. “You’re safe here,” he says. “No one touches you or your sister without going through me first.”
I lean into him, breathing in his familiar scent. “I don’t know how much of all this I should tell Poppy.”
He’s quiet for a moment before answering. “She deserves the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. But I think we should wait until we know more. Remy’s reaching out to a contact who might be able to decrypt the clinic’s records. Once we have that, we’ll know more.”
I nod slowly, watching Jaxon as he kneels in the grass, holding a flower out for a passing butterfly to land on. My sweet little boy, part wolf, part human… and maybe something more.
“I just want him to have a normal life,” I whisper.
Ryder looks down at me, eyes soft. “He will. Whatever blood runs through your veins, it doesn’t change who you are. Or who he is. You’ve already given him more love and stability than most kids ever get.”
I smile faintly, though my chest still aches. “You’re annoyingly good at saying the right thing.”
He grins. “Comes with being the Alpha.”
I roll my eyes, but before I can reply, Jaxon comes bounding up the porch steps, holding out his fist. “Look, Mum! I found a feather!”
I take it gently, running my fingers along its soft edge. “It’s beautiful, baby.”
He beams and turns to Ryder. “Can we go to the pond later? I want to look for frog eggs.”
Ryder ruffles his hair. “We’ll see, pup. Maybe after lunch.”
I hear voices then and turn towards the side of the house, just in time to see Callen, Remy and Poppy. My eyes fix on my sister, and her easy smile is contagious. There’s colour in her cheeks again, and the haunted look that had shadowed her eyes yesterday has gone. She even laughs at something Callen says, swatting at him playfully.
Jaxon lets out a delighted squeal and bolts toward her, feather still clutched in his hand.” Auntie Poppy!”
She crouches down to scoop him into a hug, her smile radiant. “Hey, little man! Did me?”
“Yep,” he nods eagerly. “I caught a butterfly! But I let it go because Parker said it had places to be.”
Poppy laughs, pressing a kiss to his head. “That was very kind of you.”
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