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86. Awakened hearts
Date de publication:
2026-10-04 20:13:25
Dernier chapitre
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 87. The story of Bronze Crescent
Draven POVDuty won.It was a few minutes past seven-thirty when we said goodbye in front of her house. Aiden stood beside Layla, looking up at me with those bright eyes that still felt strangely unreal whenever I remembered they belonged to my son."You'll come tomorrow?" he asked."Of course." I crouched slightly so we were closer to eye level. "But you know your dad is very busy. If something comes up and you don't see me, we'll talk on the phone, okay?"He nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer.I straightened and looked at Layla. For a moment, neither of us spoke. She seemed about to say something, then glanced away again."Goodnight, Layla.""Goodnight."I waited till they were inside, then drove out of town toward Arctic Moon.The image of young Layla kept me company for most of the journey. My mind gradually shifted from the too-brief moment of intimacy we'd shared to the things she'd told me about her childhood, and before long, I found myself reliving the first time
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 86. Awakened hearts
Draven POVOddly enough, I was far from worried that Carla and Gamma Foster had seen us. Even though I'd believed I wasn't ready for anyone to know about Layla and Aiden, I'd always known the truth wasn't going to remain hidden forever. There would come a point when the pack would have to learn that I had a son, and that his mother was the female who used to be Beta Gordon's ward. I simply hadn't expected the first person outside our little circle to discover it to be Carla.When I returned to the table, Layla was staring at me with an expression that told me she needed reassurance. For a moment, I was distracted by the way she looked at me, completely unblinking. There was something almost trusting in that look, something that made a strange warmth settle in my chest. As though I were the one male in the world who had all the answers to her worries.I could be. If she would just let me. I immediately pushed the thought aside and pulled out my chair."Don't worry," I told her as I
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 85. Broken sympathy 2
Carla lifted her face again, her voice trembling when she spoke. "I have the right to ask." Tears gathered along her lower lashes. "We're engaged."A smile formed on my face without permission. It wasn't a warm or cruel smile. It was simply the expression of a male who had finally stopped pretending that something could still be salvaged.Carla's eyes widened slightly. Because she understood. I didn't need to say anything else.There was no way she and I were ending up together now.For years, I'd thought Carla didn't care much about me. I'd assumed she was trapped by the agreement between our families just as I was. In my mind, she had been another victim of duty, another person whose choices had been taken away before she was old enough to make them.I'd felt sorry for her.I'd even considered myself fortunate in comparison. At least I'd known what it was like to love someone. I had experienced the fated bond with Layla and been given something real before duty had taken it away.O
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 84. Broken sympathy
Draven POVI didn't know who was more shocked. The warrior standing beside Carla Voss or Carla herself.They had both gone completely still. Their eyes moved between me and the boy sitting at our table, as if neither of them could quite make sense of what they were seeing. Aiden, completely oblivious to the tension he'd caused just by existing, had already noticed me approaching.Then he smiled. "Dad."My step faltered at the single word, uttered in his tender childlike voice.Not because the new arrivals may have heard him. But because the word hit somewhere deep in my chest, so unexpectedly that for a moment, I forgot about Carla, the warrior, the restaurant, even the kiss I'd just shared with Layla.Aiden didn't call me Alpha Darkwood. He'd just called me Dad.My son knew me. And he had accepted me.But the wrong person had seen him. I quickly forced my attention back to the problem in front of me and lifted a hand toward Aiden."Hold on a minute."He nodded and returned his atte
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 83. Messenger Alpha
Layla POVMy brain took the backseat the moment Draven's lips captured mine.Everything else disappeared.The restaurant, the argument, George, Carla, the questions I had been carrying for years—all of it seemed to fall away until there was only the man standing in front of me and the familiar warmth of his mouth against mine.My mate. The father of my child.The man I had spent seven years trying to forget.I shouldn't have let myself feel any of it. I should have pushed him away immediately. I should have remembered the engagement ring waiting somewhere in my bag and the promise I'd made to George.Instead, my arms went around Draven before I could stop them.My body moved toward his as though it remembered something my mind had spent years trying to bury. I pressed closer, and for those few reckless seconds, it felt as though I had never left him at all. There was no anger between us, no years of separation, no lies or accusations. There was only the heat of his body, the strength
Fractured Bond: Hiding the Alpha's heir 82. The son's good guess
Draven POVLayla flinched.It was only then that I remembered Aiden was sitting right there between us. I hadn't even realized I'd raised my voice until I saw the boy looking up at me from his plate of roasted turkey, his expression caught somewhere between curiosity and confusion.I forced myself to breathe.My hand reached for the wine bottle again. I emptied what remained into my glass, watching the dark liquid rise to barely half the glass before lifting it to my mouth. This time, I tried to drink slowly, forcing myself to swallow one measured mouthful after another.It didn't help.When I looked at Layla again, she seemed to have only just realized what she'd said too. She blinked several times, her lips parting as though she wanted to explain, but no words came.'What do you mean, Luna of LongClaws?' I asked through the mindlink. Her answer came hesitantly. 'I... I'm engaged.'I set the glass down gently so I don't accidentally crush it.'To George Hunt.'She didn't respond.T
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