Chapter 6: Truth and Consequences

ERIN

My penthouse occupied the entire top floor of the building, and I watched Lora's face as she stepped inside. Her brown eyes went wide, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows taking over most of the living space, and the modern furniture that cost as much as a aircraft decorating the wide space.

She did not say anything, but I caught the slight hitch in her breath. Good. Let her see what kind of world she had been keeping my son from.

"Drink?" I moved to the bar, needing something to do with my hands.

"I want answers." She stood in the center of my living room like she was ready for a fight. "How did you get that photograph?"

I poured two glasses of whiskey, expensive stuff that usually helped me think clearly, but unfortunately its not going to help, not tonight.

"Your son shifted on a playground three weeks ago." I held out a glass to her. She did not take it. "A three-year-old werewolf pup, golden eyes, no pack scent. Word travels fast in our circles."

I continued, "The supernatural community, Lora. We watch for rogues. For threats. For children who might need protection." I set her glass on the coffee table. "When I heard the description, I had to know."

She was shaking now, just barely, but I could smell her fear. "You had someone watching my son."

"I had someone watching a potential security risk." The lie came easily. The truth was crazy—that the moment I heard about a golden-eyed child, something inside me had demanded answers. "The photograph was taken from a distance. No contact. No threat."

"No threat?" Lora's voice pitched higher. "You stalked my three-year-old!"

"I investigated a supernatural situation." I kept my voice level controlled. "Which turned out to be my heir."

"Your heir?" She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Alex is my son. Mine. I raised him alone for three years while you were off playing billionaire prince with your supermodel girlfriend."

The mention of Vivienne sent a spike of irritation through me. "You never tried to find me."

"Are you kidding me?" Lora's composure finally cracked. "I tried everything! You disappeared like smoke, 

She had tried to find me. The knowledge hit harder than it should have.

"You could have tried harder."

"How?" She stepped closer, anger radiating off her in waves. "You were a ghost! No name, no phone number, no social media presence. For all I knew, you were married with kids already!"

"I am not married."

"No, you just have a supermodel girlfriend you parade around like arm candy while your son grows up thinking his daddy did not want him!"

Something dangerous shifted inside me. The control I had spent years perfecting began to fray at the edges. "Careful, Lora."

But she was beyond careful now. "Careful of what? You? You think because you have money and power that you can just swoop in and—"

"I think because I am his father, I have rights."

"Rights?" She was practically vibrating with fury. "You have been gone for three years! You missed his first words, his first steps, his first shift apparently, which was terrifying by the way—"

Her voice broke on the last word, and suddenly I could see it. Lora alone in Portland, watching our son transform into something she did not understand, having no one to call, no one to explain. The image made my chest tight.

"Tell me about that day," I said quietly.

She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking very small in my enormous apartment. "He was playing at the park. Other kids were being mean, calling him weird because his eyes are different. He got upset and just... changed. Right there in front of everyone."

I closed my eyes. A public shift at three years old. It should have been impossible—most werewolf children did not manifest until much later.

"What happened next?"

"I grabbed him and ran. Told the other parents it was some kind of medical episode. Spent the next two weeks researching everything I could find about... about what he might be." She looked up at me. "I thought I was going crazy."

"You handled it well."

"I handled it alone." The accusation hung between us.

The fraying edges of my control finally snapped. Power rolled off me in waves—the kind of presence that made grown alphas step back, that cleared rooms without a word being spoken. Lora's eyes went wide, her face pale as she finally understood what she was dealing with.

"You are scared," I observed, and hated how much I liked the way she smelled when adrenaline spiked her scent.

"Should I be?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

I forced the power back, wrapped it tight around myself again. But the damage was done. She had felt it now—the predator that lived under the expensive suits and careful manners.

"I am Lord Erin Marrock," I said formally. "Second son of the werewolf royal family. Brother to the King. And apparently, father to the most powerful young werewolf born in generations."

She sank onto my couch like her legs would not hold her anymore. "The Executioner."

So she had heard the stories. Good.

"Among other titles, yes."

"Oh god." She buried her face in her hands. "What have I gotten myself into?"

"You got yourself into this the night you decided to seduce a stranger in at an event"

Her head snapped up. "I seduced you?"

"You were magnificent," I admitted. "Fearless. You looked at me like you wanted to devour me whole."

Color flooded her cheeks. "That is not how I remember it."

"No? You remember differently?"

The air between us shifted, heated. For a moment, we were not angry parents fighting over custody. We were two people who had shared something explosive and unforgettable.

Then reality crashed back.

"This changes nothing," Lora said firmly. "Alex is still my son."

"And mine." I moved to the bar, pulled out my phone. "I am calling my personal physician. We do a DNA test right away."

"You do not need a DNA test. Look at him—he has your eyes, your stubborn attitude, your supernatural abilities."

"I need legal documentation." I started dialing. "Official paternity results that will hold up in court."

"Court?" Lora shot to her feet. "What are you talking about?"

"Custody arrangements. Financial support. Legal recognition of my rights as his father."

"Your rights?" Her voice climbed again. "What about my rights? What about Alex's rights to the life we have built?"

"The life you built on lies."

"The life I built to protect him!" She was shouting now. "From exactly this! From powerful men who think they can buy and control everything!"

"I am not trying to control you, Lora. I am trying to claim my son."

"Same thing!"

My phone was already ringing. Dr. Gray, the pack physician who handled all sensitive medical matters for the royal family.

"Lord Marrock?" His voice was professional, alert despite the late hour.

"I need a paternity test. Completely confidential."

"Of course. I can be there within the hour."

"No." Lora grabbed for my phone. "You cannot just—"

I held it out of her reach easily. "One hour," I told Dr. Gray, and hung up.

"You arrogant bastard!" Lora's hands were clenched in a fists. "You cannot force a medical test on my son!"

"I am not forcing anything on Alex. The test requires only saliva samples from both of us. Nothing more."

"He is in Portland!"

"Then we will get him here, wait for the results and discuss custody arrangements tomorrow."

"Custody arrangements?" The color drained from her face. "Erin, no. You cannot take him from me."

"I am not taking him from you. I am claiming my place in his life."

"By threatening legal action!"

"By establishing my legal rights as his father." I set my phone down, turned to face her fully. "Lora, our son is werewolf royalty. Do you understand what that means?"

"It means you are all insane."

"It means he has a birthright. A legacy. Responsibilities and privileges that come with his bloodline."

"He is three years old!"

"He is the only heir to the throne after my brother's daughters. His existence changes the entire political landscape of our world."

I watched her process this, saw the moment she truly understood the extent of what we were dealing with.

"You want to take him away," she shouted.

"I want him raised properly. Trained. Protected. Prepared for the role he may one day inherit."

"In your world."

"In his world. Whether you like it or not, Lora, Alex belongs to both worlds now. Human and werewolf. And the werewolf side has been neglected far too long."

She was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the city lights. When she spoke again, her voice was steady but cold.

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"Joint custody. Alex spends part of his time with you, part with me. He learns about both sides of his heritage."

"And if I refuse?"

I met her eyes steadily. "Then I will petition the werewolf courts for full custody based on your failure to provide appropriate supernatural education and protection."

"You would do that." It was not a question.

"I would do anything to secure my son's future."

"Even destroy his mother?"

The words hit like a physical blow. But I had come too far to back down now.

"If necessary."

Lora stared at me for a long moment, and I saw something die in her eyes. The heat, the connection, the possibility of something more between us—gone.

"I see." She picked up her purse, moved toward the door. "Well then, Lord Marrock, I guess we will be seeing each other in court."

"Lora, wait—"

But she was already gone, the door slamming behind her with anger that echoed through my penthouse.

I stood there for a long time, staring at that closed door, wondering why victory felt so much like losing.

My phone buzzed. Dr. Gray: On my way up.

Soon, I’d have the proof. Alex was mine. No more doubt. No more running.

But as I slipped the phone back into my pocket, one truth hit harder than any war I’d fought:

This wasn’t the beginning of a custody battle.

It was the opening move in a goddamn war.

And I wasn’t planning to lose.