Chapter 4

Dominic’s POV

I took to my heels instantly without even giving it a thought, running in the direction of that scream.

My wolf tore through the forest with every speed I could use, as I kept hearing that scream. Whoever it was, it was in trouble. And I wasn’t stopping until I got there. As I broke through the trees reaching a clearing, I froze. It was actually a kid.

He couldn’t have been older than eight or nine. He had covered his face in his arms  against a rock with wide eyes. And three grown men were closing in on him with weapons I recognized instantly.

They had with them silver nets and darts loaded with wolfsbane. Those were definitely hired assassins, who knew exactly what they were doing.

Without giving it another thought, I slammed into the first hunter. My teeth sunk into his shoulder before he could blink. He hit a tree so hard it cracked. The other two spun around, shouting.

The second one aimed a dart gun at me. Unfortunately for him, he was too slow. I bit down on his arm, twisted, and threw him like trash. He screamed and went down. The last one looked around and took to his heels.

Silence prevailed just then that I could only hear my breathing. I then turned toward the boy.

He was pressed against the rock, with bulged eyes and a heaving chest. His face was dirty, streaked with tears and blood. And his hands were faintly glowing. Like dull orange embers under his skin.

What the hell?

I shifted back, ignoring the sting of the change. “Hey,” I said quietly, hands up so I didn’t scare him more. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

He didn’t move. Just stared at me like I was another monster.

“Those men are gone,” I said. “You’re safe now.”

He hesitated, then his lip trembled, and before I could say anything else, he threw his arms around my waist and buried his face in my chest, shaking like a leaf.

For a second, I didn’t know what to do. Then instinct kicked in. I put a hand on the back of his head, trying to steady him. His body was trembling so badly it made my chest hurt.

But I knew I felt the moment he touched me. Something like a connection. But since I couldn’t place it, I decided to shake it off.

“My mom,” the kid gasped against my chest. “Please, my mom.”

I pulled back a bit to meet his eyes. “What happened to your mom?”

He hiccuped through tears. “They attacked us. In the city. My mom told me to run, but they followed me. She—she tried to fight them, but they stabbed her. With silver.” His voice cracked. “She told me to keep running.”

My jaw clenched. “Where is she?”

He pointed back through the trees, his hand shaking. “There. She wasn’t moving when I left. Please, you have to help her.”

 My heart broke as I felt the helpless state of the child. “Show me.” I said, getting up and pulling him up with me.

He turned and took off running, his little legs stumbling through the underbrush, while I followed right behind.  Until we broke into another smaller clearing. And immediately the scent of blood hit me. The boy stopped suddenly and pointed. “There,” he whispered.

I followed his gaze and squinted my eyes as it landed on a woman.  Her body was twisted slightly to the side, one arm reaching out, and her shirt soaked in blood. A silver blade was buried deep in her shoulder.

I took two steps closer to see the face properly. But has I was about to check, the scent hit me and I froze. I then decided to check for confirmation. And immediately my eyes landed on her, my breath hitched that second.

 “Mom! Wake up! Please, wake up!” the young boy who was by his mother’s side was pleading. While I stood there, frozen, staring at the face I hadn’t seen in almost a decade. Though the face looked much older and paler, I couldn’t miss it anywhere. It was her. It was Mirelle.

My gaze then dropped to the boy. He was still clinging to her, sobbing quietly, and begging her to wake up. His hand brushed her cheek. And just then, I noticed his blue-gray eyes. This had to be the biggest joke the universe had ever played on me.

My eyes kept flickering between them both as my mind trying to find any other explanation. Any at all. But there wasn’t one. The math lined up too perfectly.

“Please help her,”The boy turned to me, eyes red and full of tears, begging. “She’s all I have.” And that broke me the most. This was my son. I had  let her walk away nine years ago, pregnant with my child.  And I hadn’t known.

I knelt down beside Mirelle, my hands shaking as I checked her pulse. It was faint, but thankfully it was still there. She was barely alive. Well, that was a good thing.

I looked at the kid again. “What’s your name?”

He sniffed, wiping his eyes. “Callan.”

“Callan.” I repeated, nodding.

“Okay, Callan,” I said, forcing myself to focus. “I’m going to help her. But I need you to trust me.”

He nodded quickly. “I trust you.” I looked at him and nodded again.

I carefully pulled the silver blade out of Mirelle’s shoulder, and she gasped, her body jerking. But she didn’t wake up. Then I bit into my wrist, letting my blood drip onto the wound. An Alpha’s blood would help her heal faster.

Callan watched with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Saving her,” I said quietly.

And as I sat there, watching my blood seep into her wound, trying to pull her back from the edge of death, one thought kept repeating in my head.

“She was pregnant the whole time?”

And just while I was brooding on it, she jerked again this time and opened her eyes. Her son squealed in joy as he rushed closer to her.

“Mummy! You’re awake!” He squealed, his eyes glistening with tears. I watched her smile weakly as she let him wrap his little self around her. I couldn’t hold back the tears myself as I hastily wiped it out.

“Callan, please give mummy some breathing space.” I called, trying to pull him up. Immediately, her eyes snapped in my direction and the moment we held our gaze, her eyes widened in shock. And the next words I was expecting flew weakly out of her mouth.

“The fuck?!”