Chapter 004

Amma's Point of View

His hand is locked around my elbow so tightly, and I can't shake it off no matter how hard I try. My feet stumble to keep up with him as he drags me down the hallway, away from the room. Away from Isadora.

" Let go of me," I hiss, twisting my arm, but he doesn't even slow down.

" No." He doesn't even bother looking at me when he says it.

" You don't get to just say no to me, Evander."

" Watch me." He pulls me into an empty exam room and shuts the door behind us. The lock clicks. "I've spent five years looking for you."

My back hits the wall as he finally lets go of my arm. I rub at the spot where his fingers were, glaring up at him. "You don't get to drag me around like I'm still one of your members."

" You are still mine." He says it matter-of-factly. "And apparently, so is that little girl in there."

My stomach drops. Of course I knew this would happen. I had a gut feeling that it would happen today, and it did.

" Don't," I whisper, stepping back.

"Don't what? Don't ask about my own daughter?" His jaw ticks, arms crossing over his chest like he's the one who's owed an explanation here. "Five fucking years, Amma. Five years and you were hiding my child from me the entire time."

" I didn't hide her from you." My voice shakes, and I hate that it does." I protected her from you. There's a difference."

" Protected her from me?" He has the nerve to look hurt, but by what I just said?

“Yes. Evander, from you.”

“I'm her father!” he growls, reining in his unstable wolf.

“I'm not denying that. Am I? But being a father doesn’t mean anything”

“Means nothing? Amma, we are talking about my fucking blood here. My heir! My fucking daughter!” He growls, his voice dropping dangerously low, but I don’t care. He hurt me.

"You don't understand anything." Tears burn behind my eyes, and I blink them back hard. I won't cry in front of him. "You don't know what it's been like. So don’t come here trying to play something you are not, Evander. I raised her just fine alone!"

" You wouldn’t have to be alone." His voice sharpens, and underneath the arrogance there's something rawer for half a second before he buries it again." I would have been there as her fucking father."

" You would’ve what?" I cut him off. "Gone back to your Luna between hospital visits?"

" I don't have a Luna." He says it low, almost bored, like it insults him. "I never did."

" Don't lie to me." My hands curl into fists.

"I never once cheated on you." 

Evander steps closer, crowding me the way he always does. He uses his massive frame because he knows exactly what his proximity does to my senses. 

"I never touched her. Not once. And frankly, Amma, I'm insulted you'd think so little of me." 

"Insulted." I let out a bitter, breathless laugh. "You're insulted." 

"Deeply." His mouth doesn't even twitch. He is dead serious. "I searched for you for five years. I tore apart packs looking for a woman who apparently didn't want to be found. And the entire time, you had my daughter." 

"Because I had to!" The scream tears from my throat, louder than I mean it to. 

He flinches, just for a second. 

Suddenly, his hand comes up. His large, calloused fingers brush a stray tear off my cheek before I can pull away. 

The second his skin meets mine, the illusion of my human life shatters. 

A violent jolt of electricity courses through my veins. The silver-laced suppressants burning in my blood fight hard to keep my wolf dormant, but the fated mate bond is so fucking strong. I hate this.

My wolf wakes up with a roar. She slams against the drugged chains in my mind, desperate to throw her head back and howl for her Alpha, tearing at my insides until I gasp from the physical agony of keeping her quiet. 

His scent wraps around my throat like a physical hand, rain-drenched pine, smoke, and the metallic tang of a dominant Alpha. It suffocates the sterile smell of hospital bleach. It demands my submission. 

"I'm not letting you go, Amma," he says, his dark eyes locking onto mine, leaving no room for negotiation. "So be a fucking good girl and do what I say." 

I laugh, shaking my head, thinking of how naïve I was back then.

“Just leave us alone, Evander. Go back to her. Go back to Evie. We are fine,” I say, my voice really low, and tears roll down my cheeks.

The fact that it was her in bed and he can't deny that he cheated with her breaks my heart even more.

His hand comes up slowly and brushes a tear off my cheek before I can pull away. The touch sends a jolt through me, electric and unwelcome, and my wolf slams against her chains hard enough to hurt.

"I'm not letting you go, Amma," he says, his words final. "So be a fucking good girl and do what I say."

"Evander—"

"I mean it." His hand stays on my cheek, thumb dragging slowly, and his eyes hold mine, dark," Hate me all you want. Fight me every step. I am not walking away from my daughter."

My chest aches, torn. I knew this would happen once he found out about our daughter, and before I can find words to throw back at him, a knock slams against the door.

"Dr. Edwards!" Judith's voice, sharp with panic. "You need to come now. It's Isadora!"

Before I can stop myself, I'm rushing out of the room, running as fast as my feet can carry me.

“What is it?”

“Her vitals are stable,” Mirabel whispers, pulling me closer to her, her eyes looking around.

“I was hoping I could help you get out of there,” She whispers. “Are you okay?”

I nod, grateful that I have a friend in her. She knows my story; that’s why she wasn’t shocked when she heard me called Amma.

"What’s the plan?" Mirabel asks me, her voice a low, hurried whisper as she checks the IV line. 

I want to run. Every instinct in my body screams at me to grab my daughter and vanish. But Isadora's heart monitor is still tracing a fragile, rocky line. She needs to stabilize before I can even think about moving her. Dragging her out now would kill her.