Chapter 1: The Alpha's Return

The story starts with Dynan Hemstrong's reviewing territory agreements with the southern pack representative when a commotion started few blocks away.

But the sound of a child's scream had his instincts roaring to life because he's the alpha.

But when Dynan rounded the corner everything seemed to quiet in his ears.

Till he saw three men surrounded a small jewelry shop, their postures aggressive and their intentions clear even from a distance.

One held a baseball bat, another had a crowbar, and the third was kicking over displays like he had all the time in the world.

The shop owner stood in front of her door with blood trickling from her split lip.

She looked like she'd rather die than move an inch, and something about that made Dynan's wolf take notice in a way that had nothing to do with duty.

"Last chance, lady," the man with the crowbar said. "You pay the protection f*e or we burn this place down with everything in it."

"Get out of my shop." Her voice was steady and cold, the kind of tone that suggested she meant every word and had no problem backing it up with action.

Inside the shop, the little girl screamed again and Dynan felt his wolf surge forward without permission, his alpha power flooding the area.

The three men froze instantly, their bodies going stiff as if someone had poured concrete into their veins.

The weight of an alpha's dominance wasn't something you could fight or ignore, especially not when that alpha was as powerful as Dynan.

"Leave now," Dynan said quietly, his voice carrying authority. "Before I decide you've overstayed your welcome."

They didn't need to be told twice as they started scrambling over each other in their desperation to get away from him.

Dynan watched them disappear into the crowd before turning his attention back to the woman, who had started to relax now that the immediate threat was gone.

That was when he perceived her scent and all memory he'd tried to bury and forget came rushing in.

And now his wolf go absolutely wild inside his chest. The little girl ran out of the shop doorway with tears streaming down her face and dark curls bouncing with each step, running straight into the woman's arms like she was the only safe place in the world.

"Mama, I was so scared!" The child buried her face against the woman's stomach, her small hands gripping the fabric of her mother's shirt.

Dynan couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything except stare at the little girl who had his eyes and his nose and his scent mixed with her mothers.

His wolf was howling inside him, demanding answers and action, but his body felt like it had been turned to stone.

The woman looked up and their eyes. And lo and behold, it was Daggy Johns.

The woman who had disappeared from his life without explanation, leaving him with nothing but questions and a wound that had never quite healed over.

Her face went pale and her eyes went wide with pure terror.

"No," she whispered, the word barely audible. She scooped the little girl up in one smooth motion, holding her tight against her chest.

"Britty, hold on tight to mama."

Then she ran, moving fast through the few marketwomen crowds filled with fear.

Dynan stood frozen in the middle of the shop, watching her disappear while his wolf screamed at him to chase after them and claim back what was clearly his.

But his legs wouldn't cooperate and his mind was too busy trying to process what he'd just happened.

The child had looked back at him over her mother's shoulder, her wide brown eyes confused and frightened.

In that brief moment before they vanished around a corner, Dynan had seen every feature that marked her as his, from the shape of her face to the way her hair curled at her temples.

And without being told he could suspect, that little girl was his daughter.

His phone started buzzing in his pocket but he ignored it, too focused on the empty space where Daggy and Britty had been standing.

"Alpha Hemstrong?" One of his men, a young wolf named Peter, appeared at his elbow looking concerned.

"Is everything alright? We heard there was trouble."

"Find her," Dynan said roughly. "The woman who just ran. I want to know where she's staying, who she's with, and why she's in my territory."

Peter pulled out his phone immediately, already typing. "I'll have information within the hour."

Dynan nodded and started walking, then his phone buzzed again and this time he answered without checking the caller ID. "What?"

"Where are you?" Mary's voice came through sounding irritated. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago and dinner is getting cold."

Mary was his wife, the woman he'd married three years ago because it made sense for the pack and he have to abandon the love he shared with Daggy.

"Something came up with pack business," he said, which wasn't exactly a lie. "I'll be there soon."

Mary sighed on the other end of the line. "Try not to be too late."

He hung up and kept walking, his wolf still restless and furious beneath his skin.

“ Don't worry wolf,” Dynan muttered to his wolf. “ I will find her and I will get my answers, even if I had to turn the entire town upside down to do it.” He continues.

“ I will.”