Chapter 6

BRAUN

The building was a small one so I decided to walk down the stairs. I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted my men that of there was in fact any way that they could pull the hair off that little child so I could have her DNA tested, they should.

There had to be something I could use to pin down Solana to me, and this child has to be it. If the DNA came out negative, I would falsify the results.

I was about putting my phone in my pocket when Solana shoved past me as she raced down, making my phone clatter down the stairs.

In that second, I made a decision, I followed her.

She was already in her car by the time I got to the parking lot. The engine started and she pulled out fast, tires squealing slightly on the pavement.

I got in my own car and followed at a distance. She was driving too fast, weaving through traffic like she was being chased. I checked my rearview mirror but nobody was chasing us -- her. 

It was when she rounded a curve that I realised she was taking the route to Luna's school. Something must have happened to Luna.

Ten minutes later she pulled into the parking lot of Little Scholars Preschool.

My chest tightened. Something happened to the girl. 

I parked and got out. Solana was already running toward the entrance. I followed her inside where a young receptionist sat behind a desk.

"I'm here for Luna Merrick," Solana said breathlessly. "They called me."

"She's on the playground with Miss Sarah. Go on back."

Solana disappeared down a hallway. I started to follow but the receptionist held up her hand.

"Excuse me sir, you can't just go back there without signing in."

I let some of my Alpha presence leak out, not enough to scare her but enough to make her uncomfortable. "Where's the playground?"

She pointed down the hall with a shaking hand. "Through the double doors at the end."

I didn't bother signing in.

The hallway opened into a large outdoor play area. They were brightly colored equipment, sandbox and swings. And in the corner by the fence, a small figure sat on a bench with a teacher crouched beside her.

Sounds of sobs filled the entire playground and it made my wolf stir restlessly.

I walked closer and then I saw her.

She had a tiny frame with dark hair pulled into two ponytails. She was hunched over and crying over her one knee which was scraped and bleeding. The teacher was trying to comfort her but she just kept crying.

Then she lifted her head and looked right at me.

The world stopped.

Those eyes. I knew those eyes because I saw them every time I looked in a mirror. They were dark green with flecks of gold. The exact same shape. The exact same color.

And the bond. Oh god, the bond.

It slammed into me like a freight train. Pack bonds were supposed to form gradually between Alphas and their pack members. This wasn't gradual. This was instant and overwhelming.

This was my daughter.

Luna's crying quieted as she stared at me. Her little face scrunched up in confusion.

"Luna!" Solana's voice cut through my shock. She ran past me and dropped to her knees in front of the girl. "Baby, are you okay? Let me see."

Luna buried her face in Solana's shoulder and started crying again. Solana wrapped her arms around her and checked the scraped knee with gentle fingers.

"It's okay sweetheart. It's just a little scrape. You're so brave."

I stood there frozen, my mind spiralling. I just stared at the little child. Well, I did suspect that she was mine, but I just didn't expect it to be this mind-blowing.

I clenched my fists as I remembered how Solana had lied about this. She'd looked me in the eye an hour ago and lied about the most important thing in the world.

The teacher noticed me standing there. She stood up and walked over with a confused smile.

"Are you Luna's father? You look so much like her."

Solana's head snapped up. She saw me and the color drained from her face.

"He's not," she said quickly. Too quickly. "He's just a client. He must have followed me here."

The teacher's smile faltered. "Oh. I'm sorry, I just thought because of the eyes."

"It's a coincidence." Solana stood up with Luna still clinging to her. "What happened?"

"She was playing on the monkey bars and lost her grip. She fell and scraped her knee. Nothing serious but she was asking for you."

"Thank you Miss Sarah. I'll take her home."

Solana tried to move past me but I stepped in her way.

"We need to talk."

"Not here." Her eyes spat fire at me.

"Yes here."

Luna lifted her head from Solana's shoulder. Her eyes were red from crying but she looked at me with open curiosity.

Kids didn't have the same filters adults did. They saw things clearly.

She tilted her head. "Mama, who is that man?"

"No one important baby. Let's go home."

But Luna kept staring at me. Her little nose wrinkled like she was trying to figure something out.

Then she said the words that changed everything.

"He smells like us."

Solana's eyes went wide with panic. "Luna, don't—"

"He smells like pack." Luna pointed at me with one small finger. "Like you and me. Is he pack too?"

The teacher looked confused. "Pack?"

"It's a game we play," Solana said quickly. She hitched Luna higher on her hip. "We need to go."

She pushed past me and hurried toward the parking lot. I followed because there was no way in hell I was letting this go.

"Solana, stop."

She kept walking.

"Stop or I swear I will cause a scene right here in front of everyone."

That made her freeze. She turned around slowly and I could see the fear in her eyes.

"Please," she whispered. "Not here and not in front of her."

"Then where? When? Because you've been lying to me and I want the truth right now."

Luna was watching both of us. Her little face was confused and a bit scared. I hated that I was scaring her but I was too angry to care about anything else.

"She's mine," I said quietly. "Don't you dare try to deny it again. I can feel the bond. She has my eyes. She can smell pack connection." My voice got louder. "She's my daughter and you kept her from me for four years."

Solana's face crumpled. "Braun, please."

"Four years. Four birthdays. Four years of firsts that I'll never get back." My hands were shaking. "How could you do this?"

"I was protecting her."

"From what? From me? Her own father?"

Luna started crying again. The raised voices were scaring her. She buried her face back in Solana's shoulder and sobbed.

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I was making my daughter cry and she didn't even know who I was.

Solana glared at me through her own tears. "Are you happy now? You got what you wanted. Yes, she's yours. Yes, I lied. And yes, I'd do it all over again to keep her safe from you."

"Safe from me? What did I ever do to make you think I'd hurt her?"

"You didn't want me. Why would you want her?"

The words hit like a slap. "That's not true. I told you I wanted to marry you for real. I was going to propose."

"After seventeen months of treating me like I didn't exist. After making it clear every single day that I was just an obligation." She adjusted Luna in her arms. "I heard you talking about ending the contract. I didn't know you meant to propose. All I knew was that you wanted out and I was pregnant and alone."

"So you ran." I stepped closer. "You ran without even confirming...like a coward."

"So I protected my baby from a man who couldn't even look at me without disgust."

I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell her she was wrong. But looking at her face, at the fear and pain etched into every line, I realized something terrible.

She really believed what she was saying. She really thought I would reject Luna the same way she thought I'd rejected her.

"I would never hurt her," I said quietly. "Never. She's my daughter."

"She doesn't know you. You're a stranger to her."

"Then let me change that. Let me be part of her life."

Solana shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?" I growled, trying and failing to keep my wolf down.

"Because." Her voice broke. "Because what happens when you decide being a father is too hard? What happens when the novelty wears off and you go back to treating us like obligations?" She kissed the top of Luna's head. "I won't let you break her heart the way you broke mine."