Chapter 4

Bridgett

He didn't wait for an answer.

Jordan moved with a speed that wasn't human. One second he was standing by the shattered coffee mug, and the next, he was tearing through the office door, the hinges groaning under the force.

"Jordan! Wait!" I screamed, scrambling after him.

My heels skidded on the polished floor as I chased him toward the stairwell. He didn't take the elevator. He was hunting.

I could smell his pheromones trailing behind him—thick, acrid, and terrifying. It was the scent of a enraged Alpha protecting his territory.

"Jordan, please!" I grabbed his arm as we reached the landing of the 39th floor.

He spun around, ripping his arm from my grasp. The look he gave me froze the blood in my veins. His eyes weren't blue anymore. They were molten gold.

"Get out of my way, Bridgett," he snarled.

"You don't understand—"

"I understand that I smell my scent mixed with yours coming from that room," he roared, pointing down the hall.

He turned and stormed toward the Wellness Room.

My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. «It’s over. It’s all over»

He reached the door. I squeezed my eyes shut.

BAM.

The door flew open, hitting the wall with a thunderous crash.

Silence.

Complete, absolute silence.

I stepped up behind Jordan, breathless, peering around his broad shoulder.

The scene inside was frozen in time.

Abby was standing by the intercom, her hand still hovering near the button, her eyes wide with guilt. Belle was sitting on a beanbag chair, clutching her sketchbook to her chest, trembling.

And Theo.

My brave, foolish little boy.

He had abandoned his toys. He stood squarely in the center of the room, shielding his sisters. His small fists were clenched at his sides. His chin was lifted defiantly.

Jordan took a step inside. The air in the room shifted, becoming heavy, charged with static electricity.

He looked at Abby first. Her blonde curls. Her nose—my nose.

He looked at Belle. Her quiet intensity.

Then, his gaze landed on Theo.

The breath hissed out of Jordan’s lungs. It was a sound of pure devastation.

Theo glared back at the giant man invading their sanctuary. And then, my son did something that sealed my fate.

A low, vibrating sound rumbled in Theo’s small chest. A growl. A warning.

And his eyes... caught in the fluorescent light, they flashed deep, midnight blue with flecks of gold.

Jordan staggered back a step, as if he’d been punched. He raised a hand to his chest, clutching his shirt where his heart was.

"Mine," he whispered. The word was guttural. Primal.

He inhaled deeply, dragging the air into his lungs. The room was saturated with it—the undeniable biological signature. Lavender and Deep Wood.

He wasn't guessing anymore. His wolf knew.

Jordan lowered his hand. The shock on his face began to harden. The gold in his eyes cooled into something sharper, deadlier.

He turned slowly to face me.

I backed up until my shoulders hit the doorframe. "Jordan, I can explain. I—"

"Explain?" he cut me off. His voice was terrifyingly calm. "You want to explain why there are three miniature versions of me hiding in my breakroom?"

He stepped forward, forcing me backward into the room.

"I did what I had to do," I choked out, tears stinging my eyes. "You don't know what it was like. My family... they threw me out. I was alone."

"You knew who I was," he accused, taking another step. "You saw me on the news..."

“I didn’t know who you are!”

“You should have come looking for me!”

“For what? You’re a millionaire Alpha, and I’m a packless wolf—rejected, thrown out by my own parents! You would’ve despised me and taken my children away from me.”

“Did you sleep well knowing you were hiding them from their own father?”

I sighed, running my hands through my hair in frustration.

The kids flinched. Theo growled louder, stepping forward, but Jordan ignored him. His focus was entirely on me. A laser beam of fury.

He reached past me.

He turned the lock on the door. The sound echoed like a gunshot in the small room.

My stomach dropped to the floor.

Jordan advanced on me, his presence filling the room, consuming all the oxygen. I retreated until the back of my knees hit the ping-pong table. I had nowhere left to go.

He placed his hands on the table on either side of my hips, trapping me in a cage of his own body. He leaned down, his face inches from mine. I could feel his hot breath on my lips. I could see the betrayal warring with the hunger in his golden gaze.

He looked at me like he wanted to kiss me or kill me. Maybe both.

"Five years," he hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper that made my skin prickle. "Five years I spent searching for the woman who haunted my dreams. And all this time..."

He glanced at the children, then back to me, his expression hardening into stone.

"When were you planning to tell me I have three pups, Bridgett? Or were you planning to steal my legacy forever?”