第2章

Back in our shabby den, Finn woke up when I came in. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sniffed the air around me.

My heart shattered looking at his golden wolf eyes and strong jaw, so much like Kael's.

How could Kael, his Alpha father, bear to let his own cub grow up fatherless, to be teased by other pups?

Sensing my overwhelming grief, Finn nuzzled my neck with his furry little head.

“Momma, did you find out about Alpha Kael?”

It hit me. After Kael showed up as “Ronan,” Finn would always slip up and call him “Daddy.”

I'd always scold him, tell him that was Uncle Ronan, not his father Kael.

I just thought my little cub missed his dead father terribly. I never realized a child's eyes see the clearest!

He'd always known his real father, drawn by their blood connection. He just didn't understand why, overnight, the Alpha father who used to toss him in the air and rub his stubbly chin against his cheek had become so cold, even pushing him away.

No wonder “Ronan's” care for us always felt… measured.

He'd leave the best cuts of meat outside our den, use his Alpha presence to scare off other males who disrespected us, and secretly leave warm furs for us in winter. But the moment Finn tried to get close, he'd quickly cut it off, insisting he was “Uncle Ronan.”

Everyone else said Ronan was as good to Finn as a real father.

Now, it all felt like a sick joke.

He was Finn's real father, but he deliberately kept his distance, cruelly denying Finn his right to have one.

Didn't he ever wake up in the middle of the night, tormented by the backlash of betraying our Mate Bond?

For these five years, I'd ached over Kael's death countless times, but my love for him kept me going.

Now, I felt it with chilling clarity: the Alpha who had shared my soul and body was truly dead to me.

This betrayed Mate Bond needed to be severed for good.

Calming myself down, I looked Finn straight in the eyes and asked him if he'd be okay if I mated with another Alpha.

Confusion flickered in Finn's eyes, then hardened into determination. “Momma, I don't get why Daddy won't say who he is. But if he's not going to protect you anymore, Finn will! Wherever you go, I go. I'll grow up fast and be strong, like Alpha Lucian of the Silver-Moon Pack!”

Finn hugged me tight with his little body, his tiny, clumsy paws patting my back to comfort me.

“Okay!”

Fighting back tears, I hugged Finn close and then sent a message to my cousin in the Silver-Moon Pack.

From far away, it felt like an answer came back.

My cousin would get my message soon. And so would Lucian.

They hadn't exactly been subtle with their hints these past five years; I'd just been too lost in mourning Kael.

And Alpha Lucian of the Silver-Moon Pack… they said he was the only one who could match Kael in strength. And he seemed to have had his eye on me for a while.

Now, I, Elara, was going to find real security for myself and Finn.

?