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Blue eyes the exact same color as mine. The slight indent of a dimple on his left cheek as he mindlessly chews his bottom lip. I had a dimple there, too, before my face fully matured.

And more than that, there is an undeniable familiarity in his scent, in his very aura.

The boy is my son.

Alina was pregnant when she ran from me.

And that child over there, still too small to have experienced his first shift, is the second heir to the Greenbriar bloodline.

Chapter 5

Alina

I see it the moment the knowledge clicks into place.

Rowan is on his feet, looking like he’s ready to pounce, but I steel my spine and place myself directly in his path.

“Don’t you dare get anywhere near him,” I snarl.

“He’s my—”

“He’s mine,” I cut him off. “Not yours.”

Rowan looks like he doesn’t know if he wants to shove past me, growl in my face, or turn and put a fist through the nearest wall. Instead of doing any of those things, he rolls his shoulders and looks down at me with barely contained rage.

“You were pregnant.” It’s not a question.

There’s no point in lying. “Yes.”

I don’t bother mentioning that I think it had less to do with fertility and more to do with the so-called magic of a Mated pair’s first coupling. It’s easier to imagine that it was a twist of fate rather than the result of two idiot teenagers who forgot to use a condom.

“He—you didn’t…” Rowan pauses, unable to tear his gaze away from Noah in the back corner.

Thank God that kid has a one-track mind and cares more about hiscomics than anything else half the time. I’m not ready to tell him who his father is, let alone that he’s right here, right now.

“Didn’t what?” I snap. “Didn’t tell you? Why would I?”

Rowan’s icy eyes flash with frustration. Even now, when he looks furious and wild and dangerous, it’s hard to ignore how handsome he is. I remember how sweet and angelic he used to look when we were younger. The Alpha’s son is such a pretty boy, the older kids used to tease him. And it was true that, prior to puberty, Rowan was a little bit daintier and lovelier than a shifter prince tends to be.

But then he had his first shift. He started maturing. Soft cheeks hollowed to reveal chiseled cheekbones. A delicate jaw strengthened into a sharp line. Starry eyes became chips of ice. His lashes were still thick and long, though. His lips were still visibly soft and always curving into a playful smirk.

When I saw him again after the years I had spent away, grieving my parents, he was nineteen and the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. I was so mesmerized by him, and by the fact that he clearly felt the same way about me, that I didn’t even notice the Mating bond howling between us until it was too late.

I hate him, though, so it doesn’t matter how pretty the bastard is.

When Rowan doesn’t say anything, I announce to nobody specific, “My shift is over. I’m leaving.”

I whirl away from my Mate and stalk across the room. Zahra, bless her, immediately has my back. Never mind that I didn’t tell her the truth about who Noah’s father is. Never mind that I lied to her all these years about not having a Mate. She’s still on my side, and I watch over my shoulder as she cleanly steps in Rowan’s path as he attempts to follow me.

Then Henry and his Beta are there, too, politely getting in the way so that Rowan can’t plow Zahra over and race after me.

I stumble over my own feet and catch myself on the back of a chair. I really need to shift.

But first, I need to get out of here.

I gently grab Noah’s arm and pull him onto his feet.

“Work is over! Time to go!”