36

I can understand his attachment to the human veterinarian and researcher. Maya was my roommate when I first came here. She had just graduated and joined a clinic. We were both tight on funds, so the arrangement worked well for us. And then it continued for three years, so Finn grew up around her.

I know Maya would never hurt Finn, but I also know how curious she is about our kind. Her favorite pastime is playing with my son in his wolf form. She likes to study him.

I stroke his dark hair, pushing it back to reveal his forehead. “Yes, she is. But you have to trust me. Maya may be our friend, but she’s not one of us. Next time, even if she asks you to, don’t shift.”

I pluck out one of the beef strips and blow on it before popping it in my son’s mouth. He nods as he chews on it happily.

“Now, go sit at the table. I’ll bring you your snack and something to drink.”

He hops down from the counter and scurries to the kitchen table. I plate the food before pouring him a glass of water.

Being a single parent is not easy. It has been an emotional rollercoaster. As I watch my child eat, though, I feel grateful. I glance out the window of our small house that I bought four years ago. The dark night makes me think about how I got here.

Eight years have passed, and never once have I taken my freedom and this life that I built for granted. The human world is so different from the other side of the Veil. Nobody cares who I am. Effort is recognized. Hard work gives you status and power.

When I came here, I had no form of identification. I simply did not exist in this world. I had no formal education of the human realm’s kind, but I could read and write. I had to look for a job. I had to find a place to live. I had to eat.

Yet even after everything I have achieved, I know I owe the foundations of who I am to Erik Wild. If I hadn’t run into him when I did, things would be very different now.

I owe Erik a lot. The king of the Human Wolf Kingdom had no reason to help me, but he did. He gave me identification documents and papers that showed I had the basic education required to work in this world. He didn’t hold my hand. He didn’t spoon-feed me. He simply gave me the tools to survive, and I did the rest myself. But even for that much, I owe him. There is nothing in this world that I take for granted. Not even kindness.

“I’m going to go wash up, Finn. Finish your food and then head to bed. I’ll come tuck you in. And we’ll read that story.”

His mouth full, he nods. I run my fingers through his hair before I walk away.

With his dark hair and amber eyes, my son is the spitting image of his father.

It doesn’t hurt anymore. Thinking of Cedric doesn’t cause that ache in my chest like it used to. I’ve made peace with my past. And I’m grateful for the one gift he gave me: my son.

In my bedroom, I strip off my clothes. My shirt smells of motor oil, and I frown when my sensitive nose twitches. I’m going to have to throw this in the wash.

Crawling under cars to remove trackers may not be the most elegant act, but it’s part of my job.

Being a private investigator is not easy work, but I’ve managed to create a niche for myself. A wolf shifter PI is very much demand. It’s amazing how many of my kind have small problems like cheating spouses and land disputes. Only when I came here did I learn that shifters are no different from humans when it comes to their problems.

My fees are ridiculously high, but wolf shifters are happy to pay to retain my services. Of all the things I expected to become, a private eye wasn’t one of them. But then, I never expected to become a mother, either. I never expected that I would be able to live independently.

Life has thrown a lot of curveballs at me, but I’m finally content. As I put my clothes in the hamper, my eyes fall to my bed. On one side, there’s a pile of pillows.

That’s one habit I haven’t been able to shake off. A habit that Cedric created. I have a hard time sleeping without something to hold on to.

Eight years.

I wonder if he’s happy with Vivian. They must have had some children by now.

A strange numbness spreads within me at the thought.

I’ve been very careful to avoid any conversations regarding the realm beyond the Veil. I try not to move in any circles that have wolf shifters. Humans are safer to interact with. They don’t know who I am, and they don’t much care. My bloodline doesn’t matter to them.

A part of me is still fearful that one day I will be recognized and my life will be stripped from me. I haven’t forgotten Bella’s threat against my child. Back then, she didn’t know I was pregnant, but if she ever finds out I was, I have a sick feeling that she will do something horrible to Finn.

I have taken so many precautions. I didn’t have to change my name because there were a lot of people called Leanna. Humans. But I did alter my hair. I chopped it off and dyed it a light shade of brown. I also changed my manner of speaking. I let it become more casual and less refined.

I tried to dye Finn’s hair, too, but the color never held. And I couldn’t exactly force my son to wear contact lenses at such a young age to disguise his prominent eye color. Once he is older and I’ve accumulated enough money, I plan to move us even further away, deeper into the human world.

I would never have taken on wolf shifters as clients if it weren’t for Erik. Initially, he asked me for a favor, and when the matter I looked into was resolved, he began recommending me. Every time I tell him not to, he nods agreeably, and then before I know it, I have somebody else at my office with a matter “that simply cannot have anybody else looking into it.”

I have a strange relationship with the king of the Human Wolf Kingdom. I don’t really consider us friends, but he thinks we’re close. He’s the only one who knows who my son’s true father is. I’m lucky that Erik is determined to protect me. I don’t care what his reasons are. As long as I have his protection, nobody can touch me.

I walk into the bathroom, and I see the large scar across my back. It has never healed. Wounds received from the magical, mutated monsters roaming around the Veil can be life-threatening. They don’t heal like other injuries. I still don’t know how I lived through that night. Thanks to Freya’s bracelet, even though I was bleeding and badly injured, I managed to crawl through the Veil.

This scar is a reminder that I survived. Would I have struggled so much had I not known about the child in my womb? I don’t have the answer to that.

I step into the shower and wash off the grime of the day. I hate leaving Finn by himself. Maya always comes over when I need her to, but I worry about whether I’m neglecting my son. He seems pretty well-adjusted. He’s a happy child, and he doesn’t mind me putting in extra hours. But I’m all he has, and I cannot shake off the guilt when I come home sometimes and he’s already in bed.

I do make sure that I always pick him up from school myself. And that we have breakfast and lunch together. It’s just the other stuff that I have to miss out on occasionally. When he was very young, I would take him with me on stakeouts, and he would sleep in the car, completely comfortable. But as he grew older and more curious, I didn’t want to expose him to the darker sides of the world.