LOGINALPHA JAKEI walked back into my office at Lewis Corporation, the weight of the day still pressing on my shoulders. The sunlight from the high windows cut across the sleek furniture, highlighting the glass walls and polished floors, but my mind wasn’t on the office or the paperwork waiting for me. My thoughts were consumed by one thing. One little boy. Gary.Liam nudged sharply in my mind, restless and impatient.You’re thinking too much. Do something about it, he said, the wolf’s voice sharp. Why not a DNA test? Next time you meet him, get a sample. Hair, a cup, something.I paused, rubbing my face with one hand. A DNA test. The idea shouldn’t feel so urgent, but it did. It made sense. I needed answers. Not guesses.But… I said slowly, thinking it through, Alyanna and I… we never—We never had sex before, Liam finished for me, blunt and precise. Exactly. That’s why it’s perfect. You don’t need permission. You don’t need complicity. You just need the truth.I nodded slowly, letting hi
ALPHA JAKEGary glanced at his watch again, and my stomach sank just a little.“Times up,” he said matter-of-factly, tapping the small digital display with his tiny finger. “I need to go. Actually… my mom doesn’t want me to talk to anyone. So… this could be our secret.”I blinked, a little caught off guard. My wolf, Liam, stirred in my mind immediately, curious and protective. Secret? he asked, nudging sharply.“Yes,” I said softly, smiling. “Our secret, then.”Gary’s eyes flicked up at me, serious as ever, though there was a faint mischievous spark hidden behind them. That spark—the one that hinted he was aware of more than he let on—made my chest tighten.“I… can I get your number?” I asked impulsively, almost hesitant. My alpha instincts told me to be cautious, but another part of me—a quieter, warmer part—wanted to stay connected to this boy. This strange, young, serious little man who made me feel… different.“Why?” Gary asked immediately, crossing his arms with that same calcula
ALPHA JAKEThe next day, I went to the healing center earlier than planned.My original intention was simple—to speak with Alpha George face to face. No guards. No messengers. Just two Alphas standing on equal ground. There were things I needed to ask him, and things I needed to see with my own eyes.What I did not expect… was to see the boy again.Gary.He was standing near the garden path just outside the main entrance, dressed neatly, hands tucked into the pockets of his small jacket. He wasn’t running like the other children nearby. He wasn’t loud. He wasn’t distracted.He was observing.Like a man twice his age.I stopped walking without even realizing it.Liam stirred softly inside me, alert but calm. There.I watched the boy for a second longer than necessary. The way he stood. The way he tilted his head slightly, as if measuring the world around him. It was familiar in a way that made my chest feel tight.Before I could overthink it, I walked toward him.“Good morning,” I said
ALPHA JAKEI did not become Alpha by trusting my feelings.If I had, I would have died long ago.That was why I sat in my study, fingers steepled, eyes fixed on the fire that burned low in the hearth, forcing myself to think clearly—coldly—despite the way Alyanna Hendricks had shaken something deep inside me.She was beautiful. Calm. Confident. Sharp in both mind and presence.And that alone told me one thing clearly.She could not be Ashley.I had known Alpha George’s daughter years ago. Everyone had. Ashley had been… different. Awkward. Overweight. Quiet to the point of invisibility. She followed behind others, eyes always lowered, shoulders hunched as if she wanted to disappear from the world.Alyanna Hendricks was the opposite.She walked like she owned the ground beneath her feet. She spoke with authority. She carried herself like a woman who knew her worth—and knew how to defend it.No amount of time could change a person that much.So no.I never once thought Alyanna was Ashley
ALYANNAI was still holding a cup of untouched tea when Dad—Alpha George—told me about Amy.For a moment, the world felt like it tilted.“What?” I asked, my voice low, careful, as if speaking louder would shatter something fragile between us.Dad stood near the window of his study, arms crossed, his face hard in a way I rarely saw anymore. The morning light brushed his silver-streaked hair, but there was no warmth in his expression.“She came to the healing center last night,” he said. “Barely conscious. Weak. Bleeding. Terrified.”My fingers tightened around the cup. “Amy?” I repeated. “Marian’s Amy?”He nodded once.My heart sank, not with sympathy first—but with caution.“Dad,” I said slowly, setting the cup down, “we need to be careful.”He turned to look at me, eyes sharp. “Careful?”“Yes,” I said, standing. “Amy is one of Marian’s friends.”The words tasted bitter in my mouth.Silence stretched between us. I could feel my wolf shifting under my skin, uneasy, pacing like it sense
Alpha GeorgeI stood outside the hospital room long after the door closed behind me, my hand resting against the cold wall, my brows drawn tight in thought. The scent of fear still lingered in the air—sharp, raw, unmistakable. Amy’s fear.That alone troubled me.Fear like that didn’t come from simple threats or imagination. It came from experience. From knowing someone was capable of destroying you without remorse.And she was afraid of Barney.I exhaled slowly, my wolf stirring beneath my skin, uneasy, alert. Amy was not just any woman who wandered into my territory half-dead and desperate. She was Marian’s closest friend. A woman who had been around power, politics, secrets, and dangerous men long enough to know when to run.And she ran.That meant something.I walked down the corridor, my steps measured, controlled. Alphas did not act on impulse—not when the stakes were this high. The healing center was quiet now, staff moving carefully, unaware that one frightened woman might shif







