The Alpha's Hidden Heir

The forest presses in on me like a cage of shadows. My lungs burn as I run, clutching the small, warm hand of the boy at my side. His legs are too short to keep pace with mine, but Kaelion doesn’t complain—he never does. His little chest heaves, but his storm-gray eyes, mirrors of my own, flash with stubborn light.“Faster, Mama,” he pants.I lift him into my arms before he stumbles, hugging him close against my chest as my wolf thrums beneath my skin. The rogues are still behind us; I can hear the crunch of their paws on leaves, smell their foul, unwashed stench. The sound makes my wolf snarl, but I grit my teeth. Shifting would risk him falling, risk me losing him in the chaos.Not him. Never him.I’ve already lost too much.Branches whip at my face. My heart hammers in rhythm with Kaelion’s soft gasps. He’s only four years old, yet I’ve dragged him across borders, hidden him in human towns, forced him into silence when danger passed. He doesn’t deserve this life. He deserves safety

AriaThe air stills.It’s as though the entire festival grinds to a halt, sound bleeding away, leaving only the thunder of my heartbeat.Kaelion stares up at him with wide gray eyes, my hand slipping uselessly from his. The boy tilts his head—so innocent, so curious—and I know. I know without a doubt what Kaelen sees, what every pair of sharp wolf eyes in this crowd will see if they look too closely.The same storm-gray eyes. The same high cheekbones. The same stubborn jawline, carved as though the Moon Goddess wanted to laugh at me for believing I could hide him forever.No. No, no, no.“Kaelion,” I hiss, crouching to snatch his small hand back into mine. My voice is thin, desperate. “Stay close.”But Kaelen doesn’t move. His massive frame blocks the festival path like a wall of muscle and rage barely contained. His icy blue eyes lock onto mine, then drop again to the boy. His nostrils flare. His jaw clenches.It’s as if the world itself holds its breath.“You.” The single word scrap

Kaelen’s question hangs in the air like a blade pressed to my throat. Who’s his father? For a heartbeat, the world goes silent—no crowd, no murmuring pack, no echo of the wind through the trees. Just his voice, deep and sharp, cutting through every wall I’ve built around my heart. My pulse stutters. Kaelion’s small fingers tighten around mine, grounding me. He doesn’t understand, not fully. But his eyes, those haunting mirrors of the man standing before me, widen with something that looks too much like fear. I swallow hard, forcing my voice to stay steady. “This isn’t the place, Kaelen.” His name tastes like lightning on my tongue—dangerous, alive, forbidden. He takes a slow step toward me, every muscle in his body coiled. The crowd of wolves behind him shifts uneasily. No one dares breathe too loud. Not when their Alpha’s fury rolls through the air like a storm about to break. “Oh, it’s exactly the place,” he says, voice low but deadly. “My people deserve to know who this child