Startseite / He Was Everyone’s Alpha, Except Our Dad / Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 7

Alle Kapitel von He Was Everyone’s Alpha, Except Our Dad: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 7

7 Kapitel

Chapter 1

Ethan's hand stayed where Owen had left it, his fingers still curled around nothing. He hadn't expected those words from our son.I'd spent six days teaching Owen to say Alpha Ethan instead of Dad. Each time I reminded him, he'd repeat it reluctantly. Now, without looking at me for permission, he had.He lifted his chin, all seven years of him, and spoke clearly. Only the grip of his other hand gave him away; his fingers were digging into mine.“Come on, Mom. Let's go inside.” He tugged me toward the turnstiles. People were screaming on the roller coaster beyond the gates. Yesterday, he'd been too excited to sleep. Now he didn't even look up.Ethan had planned this trip to make up for missing the school play. Owen had waited backstage in his costume until the very last minute.While his teacher straightened his collar, he'd asked whether they could start just two minutes late. His dad had promised he'd be there.Ethan never came. Brooke's new car had broken down on the highway, so

Chapter 2

Owen didn't mention the roller coaster again. I got a refund on the passes, took him home, and dragged our largest suitcase out of storage.My sister Nora had already made up the guest room. She lived on the West Coast, near the Greywater pack, whose school had offered me a trial lesson teaching art the following Monday.For the first time in years, I had plans that didn't depend on Ethan's schedule.I'd just answered Nora when a video from Brooke came through. She held her wrist up to the camera, showing off a gold bracelet engraved with Cedar Ridge's crest. Ethan had fastened it on me the day I became his Luna. Now he stood beside Brooke, closing the same clasp around her wrist.Two messages followed the clip.[The photographer for the charity gala said it looks perfect on me.][With this on, will anyone really need to ask who the Luna is tomorrow?]Once, I'd have called Ethan on the spot and demanded an explanation. I'd have spent the night trying to make him understand what he'd

Chapter 3

Ethan texted the next morning while I was making breakfast.[Everything's taken care of. Tell Owen his dad will be there this time. Promise.]I read it, set my phone down, and warmed a mug of milk for Owen. At eight thirty, we arrived at the airport. He chose seats facing the main entrance and put his backpack on the chair beside him. “That's for Dad.”At nine thirty, he jumped up whenever someone came through the doors. By ten, he was asking whether there might be traffic near the hospital. I called Ethan, but he didn't pick up. Owen watched me end the call. I could've tried again, but I didn't want him counting the times it rang or searching my face for an answer I didn't have. I put the phone in my bag and held out my hand.We went through security and waited again at the gate.At the first boarding announcement, Owen slipped the binocular strap around his neck so Ethan would see it when he came around the corner. “Five more minutes, Mom? Please?”“Okay. Five more.”When those min

Chapter 4

Brooke reached for Ethan, but he knocked her hand away and picked up his phone. He called Claire twice. Both times, it went straight to voicemail.“She isn't answering?” Brooke crouched beside him. “She's probably still in the air. She'll call when they land. Let me get a doctor—”“She dissolved our bond.” Ethan looked up at her, and Brooke's hand stopped halfway to his shoulder. He turned away and called Graham. “Send me the agreement.”The scan came through within minutes. Ethan enlarged the last page and found his signature. He recognized the ink, the careless slash of the final letter. A week ago, Claire had put those papers in front of him and told him to read them. He'd been too busy finding a tow truck for Brooke to turn back to the first page.“She told me what it was.” His voice had gone rough. He remembered her standing by the desk, waiting while he asked the mechanic another question.“You signed it,” Graham replied. “She didn't withdraw it during the seven-day waiting perio

Chapter 5

As our plane taxied toward the runway, the mark on my neck began to burn. I held the armrest and waited for the pain to pass. Somewhere inside me, my wolf went quiet. She'd stopped reaching for her mate.Owen tugged his blanket farther over my lap. “Are you cold, Mom?”“A little. Thank you.”He settled against my side and placed our drawing of the seagull between us. I stayed still until my breathing evened out. By the time he pointed out the tiny cars beyond the window, I could answer without him noticing anything was wrong.Nora spotted us as soon as we came through arrivals. She hugged me, took the suitcase, and asked Owen which ice cream flavor he wanted. There were no questions I had to answer in front of him, no sympathetic looks he had to wonder about.That night, he fell asleep in his new room without asking whether Ethan would be coming later. I turned on my phone, found a screen full of missed calls, and sent one message.[We're settled. Please contact my lawyer from now on.

Chapter 6

Ethan's first visit to the West Coast came six weeks after we left. Owen had agreed to a ten-minute phone call the week before. Afterward, he took a few days to think before asking whether they could meet at the park. My lawyer sent Ethan the time and place, along with one condition: Owen could end the visit whenever he wanted.Ethan was already there when we arrived. He hadn't brought a gift, just a bottle of water. There were dark circles under his eyes. When he saw Owen, he started forward, then stopped himself. “Hey, buddy.”Owen stood beside me, holding his skateboard against his legs. “Good afternoon, Alpha Ethan.”Ethan swallowed and glanced at the bench. “Would it be okay if I sat here?”Owen nodded. They sat at opposite ends, and I stayed close enough to hear our son. Ethan apologized for the play, the amusement park, and the airport. He didn't mention his workload or everything he'd been dealing with. This time, there wasn't a reason Owen was supposed to understand.Owen kept

Chapter 7

Ethan came out a few times that summer. He didn't turn up at Owen's school uninvited or use pack members to find out where we'd be. My lawyer checked with Owen before confirming each visit. If he wanted to see his father, Ethan came on time. If he didn't, Ethan waited until the next opportunity.Child support arrived as agreed. Most of the expensive toys went back, after I'd asked Owen what he wanted to do with them. Presents couldn't buy a place in our day-to-day lives, and I wouldn't let him feel he owed anyone a visit because of a new game or a bike.One afternoon, Owen brought his comic book to show his father. “I drew these pages after we moved here.”“Can I look at the ones before them, too?”Owen nodded. Ethan crouched beside him and turned the pages carefully. He didn't ask for a hug while Owen was close or try to stretch the visit past its agreed end. He listened as Owen explained that one of the animals was a wolf, not a dog, and handed the book back when it was time to go.A

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