Chapter Five

Ryan's POV

The moment the meeting ended, I felt like I was suffocating beneath a weight I couldn’t shake. The alliance between the Monsoon and Scarlet packs was supposed to be a strategic move, simple, businesslike, but every word spoken around that table twisted in my gut like a knife.

Mikaela. The name echoed through my mind relentlessly. How did she end up here? Advising Tobias of all people. The Alpha of the Monsoon Pack, who had taken her.

How dare she move on so easily?

And yet... a part of me couldn’t let go.

I wandered through the pack grounds aimlessly, my thoughts dark and bitter. How had things fallen apart so completely? I’d been with Lydia for years now, had I not? But even then, my heart wrenched whenever Mikaela’s name surfaced, or when I caught myself thinking of her face. The way she had disappeared all those years ago, no explanations, no goodbye. It gnawed at me. Like a wound I refused to heal.

I found myself drifting toward the playground, the one where I used to watch the pups play when I was younger. A small group of children chased each other, their laughter ringing through the crisp afternoon air.

One boy stumbled right into me, a little kid, probably no older than five. He blinked up at me, eyes wide and curious.

“Are you okay?” I asked automatically, crouching down to his level.

The boy nodded quickly. “I’m fine. I’m Declan.”

His name hit me like a shockwave, though I had no idea who he was.

“Declan,” I repeated softly, trying the name on my tongue. “Who are you playing with?”

“My sister and brother,” he said proudly, pointing toward two smaller children a few feet away, their heads bent over a game of some kind. “Lisa and Samuel. And my mom says I have to be careful and not wander too far.”

There was something about the boy’s innocent voice that stirred something deep inside me, something protective, fierce, unfamiliar. I blinked, shaking off the feeling.

“Your mom sounds like a good mom,” I said quietly.

He smiled shyly. “She is.”

I watched them play for a few minutes longer. Declan’s small hand gripped a worn wooden wolf toy, his gaze occasionally flickering to me. I wanted to ask questions, to understand why my chest tightened whenever I looked at him, but the words caught in my throat.

Finally, Declan waved and ran off toward the others, disappearing into the crowd of children.

I turned away, pushing the strange pull in my chest down and heading back toward the pack house. My mind was still tangled in conflicting thoughts when a sharp, alarmed voice rang out.

“Declan! Declan!”

I spun around just in time to see a heavy branch breaking loose from a tree above the slope where Declan had been playing. Time slowed, the branch fell fast, a deadly weight aimed right at the boy.

Without thinking, I lunged forward, catching Declan in my arms just as the branch slammed into the ground where he’d been standing moments before.

He was limp, unconscious.

I held him tight, heart pounding in my ears.

“Someone...help!” I shouted.

A young woman came running toward us, breathless and wide-eyed.

“June?” I said in surprise, recognizing Tobias’s sister.

She didn’t hesitate. “I saw what happened. He’s hurt badly. You have to get him to the healers.”

I nodded, carefully cradling Declan. “I’m taking him now.”

June grabbed my arm. “Take Lisa and Samuel with you, they need to be with their brother.”

I barely registered her words, focusing on the boy in my arms, his small body so fragile and still. I moved as fast as I dared, my wolf howling silently inside me, a fierce protective instinct flaring as if Declan was mine to guard.

The pack hospital was a flurry of activity. Healers took Declan from me immediately, working swiftly to stabilize him. I sat rigid nearby, my eyes flicking nervously to the other two children, Lisa and Samuel, who clung to each other in silent fear.

Hours passed like a nightmare until finally the chief healer emerged from the room, wiping sweat from his brow.

“He’s stable. No internal injuries. Just a concussion, he’ll need rest but he’ll recover.”

Relief washed over me so suddenly it made my knees weak.

Then the doors burst open.

Mikaela stormed in, eyes wild with panic.

“How is he? My son...how is Declan?” she demanded, voice shaking.

I froze, caught off guard by the raw desperation in her tone.

“Your son?” I echoed, disbelief and confusion crashing through me.

Before I could process it, the Pack Doctor stepped in.

“Your son is fine, he just had a mild concussion. We can let him free soon.”

She seemed to crumble, taking the other two in her arms.

“Thank goodness.” she muttered but my mind was racing.

I turned to look at the two other small faces again. How similar they were.

They were hers?

Looking over the other two, I could see the resemblance. There was also a strange feeling in my chest. They couldn't be more than five years…

My pulse quickened violently as the realization hit.

It clicked...everything clicked.

The strange bond I’d felt with Declan. The pull in my wolf’s heart.

When I looked up to face Mikaela's, her eyes were looking directly at me. Her face had turned pale, tangled in her expression. It was the final proof I needed

The world shifted beneath my feet.

These were my children. My blood.