CHAPTER 23

JAYDEN

The hospital walls had begun to feel like a cage. The longer I stayed, the more my wolf clawed inside me, demanding action. Catriona’s trembling voice haunted me—her fear, her hopelessness. Our son’s safety. I couldn’t just sit and watch.

I slid into my car, the engine rumbling to life beneath me, and drove with a single destination burning in my mind. Gabriel’s house.

The night air thickened as I approached his territory, his high gates looming like sentinels against the dark sky. My foot eased off the accelerator, the car slowing until it came to a complete stop just before them.

I got out, the gravel crunching beneath my boots. My eyes traveled over the steel and stone, cold and unyielding.

Abriel had slipped past all this—past Gabriel’s patrols. How? My stomach knotted. Was it truly my son’s doing? Or was it that old man, the spirit twisting reality in his favor?

My jaw clenched so hard it ached. I shoved the thought down, forced myself back into the car, and drove through as the gates opened with a groan that echoed like warning.

The long driveway stretched ahead, lined with shadows that seemed to whisper of danger. My grip tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened.

When I pulled to a stop in front of the house, he was already there. Gabriel. Standing tall against a marble pillar, the porch light casting sharp lines across his face. His hands were tucked casually in his pockets, but nothing about him was casual. He radiated that same edge, that same thorn I could never quite pull free.

Just looking at him set my teeth on edge. My wolf bristled. But I shoved it down. Tonight wasn’t about pride.

“Let me hope you’re here in peace,” Gabriel’s voice carried across the space, smooth but edged with warning. “I’m not in the best mood for sparring words tonight.”

I stepped forward, every muscle coiled tight. “I’m here to talk. Mind—in private.”

His gaze lingered on me, sharp and weighing, like he was deciding if I was worth the trouble.

“It’s about my son,” I added, letting the words fall heavy between us.

Something flickered in his eyes, gone before I could place it. Gabriel gave a slow nod, pushed off the pillar, and turned toward the house.

“Follow me.”

And I did—though every instinct screamed that walking into Gabriel’s lair might cost me more than I was ready to pay.

Gabriel led me through the long hall, his footsteps silent against polished floors. I followed, every nerve in my body alert, my wolf restless beneath my skin.

We entered his office—dimly lit, walls lined with shelves, and a faint scent of cigar lingering in the air. The moment he closed the door, I faced him, words spilling before I could stop them.

“I made a very difficult decision coming here,” I said flatly. “Because the truth is—I hate you. But I’m here because you seemed to have a solution that can save my son.”

Gabriel didn’t flinch. He walked past me with that infuriating calm of his, lowering himself onto the couch like he had all the time in the world.

“When I first bumped into Catriona at the mall,” he began, his voice deliberate, “and her son called me daddy—trust me, I was blown away. But then I knew something was wrong. Because I knew he wasn’t mine.” His gaze flicked up, sharp, unreadable. “And the next time… finding him in my yard, that late at night—”

“Then what?” I cut him off, my patience razor-thin. I stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “What was your thought when you said you could help with my son? What did you see?”

Gabriel’s jaw ticked, but he rose from the couch with a fluid motion, closing the distance just enough to test my resolve.

“You coming to my house at this hour—almost dawn—means something else has happened,” he said, his tone edged with suspicion. “What is it?”

I held his gaze, unwilling to give him everything, not yet. “You tell me first. What was your reason, Gabriel? When you offered a hand—what did you know?”

His expression shifted, a flicker of something darker crossing his face. Slowly, he exhaled, as though weighing whether to reveal it.

“Not long ago, after meeting Catriona again…” His eyes drifted for a moment, distant. “I began seeing her guardians in my dreams. Chained. Bound. Their power stripped away. But even in chains, their eyes were fixed on Catriona and her son—standing in the open, surrounded by nothing but white light.”

A chill slid down my spine.

Gabriel’s voice dropped lower. “And one of them told me to help the little one.”

The words hung heavy in the room, sinking deep, threading through the fury and distrust I carried toward him.

I told Gabriel everything in brief—the bathroom fall, the spirit realm, the old man who had locked away Catriona’s guardians and now threatened Abriel. The words tasted bitter in my mouth, heavier with every syllable, but I forced them out.

Gabriel stood still, absorbing it, his eyes dark with thought. Finally, he exhaled.

“I don’t know how the guardians expect me to help your son,” he said slowly. “But what I do know is this—we have to free them. Only they can finish what’s happening. Because, Jayden, this isn’t just your fight or mine. This is a spirit war. One we don’t understand, one we don’t even know where it began. And we can’t trust what that old man told Catriona. Not yet.”

I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing the room like a caged wolf. “I’m losing my damn mind here, Gabriel. My head feels like it’s closing in, like I can’t even think straight about how to save my family.”

Gabriel leaned back slightly, his tone measured. “Then we need to find a witch. Not just any witch. Someone powerful enough to access the spirit world. She’ll be the one to tell us what has to be done.”

I stilled, eyes narrowing. “And who is this witch you’re talking about?”

Gabriel’s lips curved into something between a smirk and a grimace. “Selena Johns.”

The name alone sent heat rushing through me. My chest tightened, and I stared hard at him. “You’re not serious. Do you even hear yourself? The whole damn supernatural world knows she hates us. Hates wolves. And second—she’s not even in this country. She’s in Eastern Europe, buried deep where no wolf dares step.”

Gabriel’s face hardened. “And yet, if we want answers—real answers—she’s our only solution. Think about it before things get out of hand.”

I glared at him, the urge to snarl sitting heavy in my chest. But the truth clawed just as hard: he was right.

Finally, I looked down at him and ground out the words. “Fine. Let’s go there.”

Gabriel rose from the couch with smooth finality, as though he’d expected me to say that. “Then you need to inform Catriona.”

My eyes narrowed dangerously.

He met my stare, unflinching. “This whole thing is centered on her and her son. They have to come along—whether you like it or not.”

Gabriel’s expression remained unreadable, his voice calm but clipped.

“See you at the airport tomorrow. Six sharp.”

Without another word, I turned and left his house. The night air outside was heavy, but it carried a bite of cold that grounded me. I slid into my car, started the engine, and drove.

By the time I reached my my, the first light of dawn was spilling over the horizon, streaking the sky with pale gold. But the sun felt hollow, like it had no warmth for what lay ahead.

I didn’t waste a second. I went straight to the hospital, my boots striking the floor with purpose.

The nurse at the front desk looked up, startled. “Alpha—”

She went back to the house.”

A growl ripped through my chest before I could stop it. “You let her out? When she’s barely fine?”

The nurse flinched, eyes wide. “We tried to stop her, Alpha. Truly. But she said—you would understand why she left. That it was about her son.”

My teeth ground together, but there was nothing left to bark. Of course it was about Abriel.

I turned on my heel, leaving the nurse trembling in silence, and stalked back out.

At the house, I didn’t bother with greetings or hesitation. My wolf led me straight to Abriel’s room. The faint scent of Catriona lingered even before I opened the door.

Inside, the sight rooted me to the spot.

Catriona lay tangled in the sheets beside Abriel, his small body curled into her chest, their breaths rising and falling in fragile unison. Her hair spilled across the pillow, her arm draped protectively over him. Even in sleep, she clung to him like she’d never let go.

My chest constricted, my breathing rough through my nose.

Quietly, I crossed the room, each step measured, reverent. I pulled the blanket higher, covering them both fully. Then I leaned down, pressing a kiss to Abriel’s forehead, then to hers.

For a brief moment, I let myself linger there, memorizing the feel of them, the weight of what I had to protect.

Then I moved to the corner of the room, lowering myself into the couch. My eyes stayed fixed on them as they slept.

My heart felt like it was caught in a vice. Tomorrow we will face Selena Jones. A witch who hated wolves more than anything that walked this earth.

And yet… she was our only chance.