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“If you are willing to oversee this shift, then yes.” He looks serious, but the corner of his mouth is upturned.

“And if the elders object?”

“You let me worry about them. Handling the noble families is my problem. But I’m not so selfish as to ask my mate and son to return and give up the comforts of their lives here. And I’m sure that, whatever you do, you will keep my kingdom and my people in mind, like you did the first time.”

My lips tremble as I struggle to say something, but Cedric isn’t done.

“You could also keep your business here going.”

When I stare at him, he looks awkward. “Erik explained to me in detail that you have a small company that you founded. He also told me that you were considering expanding, hiring more employees. You can still do that if you want to.”

I tilt my head to consider his offer. “You’ve been doing a lot of thinking and planning.”

“I was trying to come up with a way to convince you to come home, but I also understood that your life here is important. I was trying to be mindful.”

I lean closer to him. “The man I remember wasn’t exactly known for being mindful.”

Cedric narrows his eyes at me. “I was mindful.”

My lips twitch. “Sure you were.”

“I was. Only of you, though.”

Cedric may not be a smooth talker like Erik, but his bluntness is endearing and throws me off. I feel the heat in my face.

“Okay.” I try to pull away, my heart beating too fast. There have been a lot of changes in a small span of time. I need to get my head screwed on straight before I do something foolish.

As I get to my feet, my eyes fall to the file on the table, and I pause, recalling what Cedric told me earlier. We got so lost in the other part of the conversation that I completely forgot about the vital piece of information he shared with me.

“Cedric,” I say, picking up the photo again and looking at him, “if you’re right, and this case is just like your parents’, that means whoever these people are, they’ve been operating for a long time, and they’ve only just recently gotten around to the human world.”

My voice trails off as something occurs to me. All this time, we have been under the assumption that there were only a handful of kidnapping cases. But what if we haven’t been looking in the right places?

“I have to make a call,” I say quickly, going in search of my phone. Five minutes later, I walk back into the living room, checking the time on the wall clock.

Cedric is nowhere to be seen. I go out to the backyard and find Finn explaining his homework to his father and Derrick, both of whom are listening with the utmost concentration.

I clap my hands to get their attention. “Finn, go put on a jacket. We’re going to the carnival.”

My son’s jaw nearly drops to the ground, his eyes turning wide as saucers. “The one you said I couldn’t go to?”

“What’s a carnival?” Cedric asks curiously.

“It’s something for entertainment,” I say offhandedly, my eyes pinned on my son. “Finn likes going to them, but he gets too excited. He nearly shifted once.”

“That was a long time ago!” my son argues.

“It was last year, Finn,” I reply dryly.

My mate frowns. “If the place is too stimulating for him—”

“You can handle him, right?” I ask, my eyebrows raised. “You were the one saying something about being the dominant wolf and all.”

Cedric scowls. “Of course I can handle him. I’m his father.”

“Good. Because you will also be coming. I have to meet somebody there.”

As Finn rushes past me, Derrick murmurs, “I would also like to see this carnival.”

I shrug. “You’re free to come, but then you will also be on babysitting duty. It’s going to take two of you to look after Finn, anyway. He goes a little crazy with all the flashing lights and rides.”

“My son? Crazy?” Cedric looks insulted.

My smile widens, a hint of malicious glee in it. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“Of course you are,” he says in an affronted manner. “Finn is a prince. He knows how to carry himself.”

Cedric clearly hasn’t seen his little prince hanging upside down from a tree branch like a monkey.

I turn around and head into the house, gesturing with my hands as I do. “My bad. I’m sure you two will have no problem looking after him tonight.”

My sweet little boy is going to run circles around them.

 

  

Usually, Finn tries to be very well behaved. But there are times when he simply gets too excited. Like they do to any child, fairs and carnivals get him all worked up because he wants to do everything at once.

“No fighting with anyone. No shifting. If you think one of the game stalls is cheating you, don’t attack them. Just walk away,” I instruct the two adult men in front of me. “Don’t let him eat much sugar. And he’s too young to go on the big rides. If the person in charge says Finn cannot do it, you do not argue that he is a prince and can do whatever he wants.”

Cedric gives me a disapproving look. “He is a prince, and—”

“If you can’t follow my rules, all three of you can go home.”

“What about you?” My mate studies me. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll be with you for a while. Then I have to meet someone.”

The carnival is on the outskirts of the city. Bright, colorful, flashing lights, striped tents, and covered stalls are sprinkled throughout the field on this dark night. There are plenty of people milling about, most of them families or couples. Shifters are sensitive to consistent loud sounds, but since Derrick and Cedric have been on the battlefield for so long, they don’t really register them. And Finn was born here, so his ears have adapted. But even shifters who live in the Human Wolf Kingdom avoid places like these, which is why a carnival is the best place for my meeting.

I pay for everyone’s tickets, and as we head in, I have a firm grip on Finn’s hand. My son looks around in awe, and just as I anticipated, as soon as he sees the first stand, serving spicy chocolate apples, he starts tugging me toward it.

“Can we go there first?” he asks, quivering in excitement.

“Are you sure you want to eat before you go on the rides?” I look down at him. “You know you will throw up afterward.”

“I won’t eat that much!” He looks up at me with his big eyes. “I promise.”

I sigh. “Very well. Let’s get you a spicy apple.”

I don’t know why Finn likes them so much. When we get to the stall, I order one each for Derrick and Cedric, as well.

But as I’m about to pay, Cedric takes out something that looks suspiciously like a wallet. “I can pay for it.”

I stare at him. “Where did you get that from?”