My fingers tighten around the phone 34

Aria’s POV
The setting sun painted Lucas’s bedroom walls in shades of amber and gold, a daily reminder of how quickly time was
passing. I helped Lucas with his weekend homework. His forest-green eyes narrowed in concentration as he carefully
printed each letter.
“Mom?” His voice carried that thoughtful tone that always made my heart skip. “Grandpa Marcus asked me something
strange today.”
My fingers stilled on the math worksheet I’d been reviewing. “Oh? What did he ask?”
Lucas set down his pencil, turning those haunting eyes on me. “He wanted to know about my dad.” His words hit me like
a physical blow, but he continued innocently. “He said a responsible alpha wouldn’t stay away from his pup. That he’s
getting too old to protect us properly.”
The guilt I’d carried for six years pressed against my chest like a stone. I forced my hands to remain steady as I smoothed
his wild dark hair. “Your grandfather shouldn’t worry you with such things.”
“But Mom—” Lucas’s protest was cut short by my phone’s sharp ring. Zoe’s name flashed on the screen, her ringtone set
to emergency priority.
“What’s wrong?” I answered without preamble, already reaching for my keys.
“Wild wolf attack at the training facility,” Zoe’s voice crackled with tension. “Multiple injuries. We need all available
instructors.”
I glanced at Lucas, my mind racing. Saturday meant no school, no available sitters, and Marcus was at a pack council
meeting. “I’ll be there soon,” I said, ending the call. “Lucas, baby, grab your jacket. We need to go.”
“Is it the bad wolves again?” He asked, already moving with the quick efficiency I’d trained into him. At six, my son
understood emergency protocols better than most adults.
“Yes, but you’ll be safe inside the facility.” I helped him into his coat, my enhanced hearing picking up distant howls.
“Remember the rules?”
“Stay where you put me, and if anything feels wrong, find Beta David,” he recited dutifully.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled into the training facility’s parking lot. Emergency vehicles crowded the entrance, their
lights painting everything in alternating red and white. I knelt before Lucas, straightening his collar in a gesture that had
become habit.
“Go straight to the administration building,” I instructed, pointing to the well-lit structure. “Find a quiet corner and work
on your reading. I’ll come get you as soon as I can.”
Planning your weekend reading? Ensure you’re on 𝗻𝚘𝑣𝘦𝕃5s.com for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a
click away, exclusively available on our site. Happy reading!
He nodded solemnly, but something in his expression made me pause. “What is it, baby?”
“Be careful, Mom,” he whispered, throwing his arms around my neck. “I’ll miss you.”
I held him tight for a moment, breathing in his familiar scent of pine needles and sunshine. “I will. Now go.”
Ethan’s POV
The emergency meeting room buzzed with tension as pack representatives argued over territorial responses to the wild wolf threat. My wolf, Felix, paced restlessly beneath my skin, agitated by the mounting crisis and something else – a
peculiar awareness that had been growing stronger all evening.
A knock interrupted David’s security report. “Alpha Heir,” a young beta entered, slightly breathless. “You’re needed in the
main hall. There’s been another attack, western perimeter.”
I stood, grateful for the excuse to leave the political posturing behind. But as I rounded the corner into the main corridor,
something small and solid crashed into my legs. My hands shot out automatically, steadying the stumbling form.
“I’m sorry!” A child’s voice piped up. “I was looking for the bathroom, and—”
The words caught in my throat as startlingly familiar forest-green eyes – eerily similar to my own – stared up at me from a
small face. Something about this child gripped me in a way I couldn’t explain. My wolf, Felix, stirred with unexpected
interest beneath my skin, his reaction more intense than I’d ever experienced around children. There was something
about this boy that commanded my attention, something in the way his dark hair fell across his forehead, in the set of his
small jaw, in the curious tilt of his head.
Felix paced restlessly in my mind, pushing against my control with growing insistence. The sensation was jarring – my wolf usually remained calm and controlled around the pack’s children. But now he radiated a strange mix of
protectiveness and recognition that made no sense.
“Are you okay, mister?” The child’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. His expression held that unique blend of
innocence and wisdom that only children seem capable of achieving. The way he looked up at me, head tilted slightly to
one side, sparked an odd sense of déjà vu. I’d seen that exact gesture before, though I couldn’t place where.
I found myself studying his features more closely – the shape of his eyes, the curve of his cheekbones, even the way he
stood seemed to echo something familiar.
“I got lost looking for the bathroom,” he explained, fidgeting slightly with the hem of his jacket. The gesture was oddly
endearing, making Felix whine softly in my mind. “Everything looks the same in here.”
My chest tightened with an inexplicable urge to protect this small stranger. Perhaps it was simply alpha instinct – the
need to care for the pack’s young. But this felt different, more personal somehow. Felix’s continued agitation suggested
there was more to it, something important I was missing.
“I can show you the way,” I heard myself offering.