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But for once, my need for the truth was stronger than my want for Lina.

“I heard her call you Mommy, Lina,” I pressed, the fullness in my chest all I was able to feel right now and unable to let this go.

A storm brewed in her blue eyes—a mixture of defiance and vulnerability.

Lina’s gaze wandered, her expression drawn tight as if she were searching for a way out of this.

“Betty likes to play house. It’s her favorite game at nursery school.

” She shrugged as if she could dismiss Betty’s comment so easily.

“Sometimes she pretends I’m her mom while Em and Matt are her aunt and uncle… ”

My jaw tightened as I realized Lina was leaning into part of the truth to wriggle out of the lie she’d been caught in—she had gotten Betty to call her Auntie when I’d first appeared like she’d made her call Emily and Matthew Mommy and Daddy.

“Her eyes, Lina,” I lowered my voice, feeling the weight of truth crashing down around me. “They’re exactly like yours, the most electric blue I’ve ever seen.”

Although Matthew’s eyes were blue, they weren’t the bright, vivid shade of Lina’s and Betty’s.

The sense of certainty grew as I remembered how obvious it had been the first night I was here. Betty had yelled out for Lina when I’d first arrived. When Betty came downstairs, Lina had been the one to nurse her, taking her temperature and giving her medicine, while Emily became absorbed in work.

Her gaze snagged on mine, and I watched as she swallowed.

“She’s mine,” she finally exhaled, her voice barely above a whisper. Her confession didn’t seem to do anything to relax her, though. Her shoulders and expression both still seemed too tight.

“I knew it,” I breathed, my chest suddenly feeling too tight. “The way I feel about her, Lina, I knew she was yours.”

Now that she had admitted it, her own gaze kept making me remember the way Betty’s eyes lighted up tonight when I’d arrived. And in an instant, a tidal wave of recognition crashed through me, filling me.

Then, that feeling that had awoken again at the sight of Betty, no—at the mere thought of her earlier, sang through me.

“When Betty was ill, I needed to be around her,” I blurted out.

“It was like I couldn’t leave,” I added, remembering how I’d been utterly consumed by the need to care for the little girl.

I suddenly realized the deep instinct I’d felt toward Betty had been my wolf’s need to protect his young.

“And when I saw you driving back here today, I was worried she was ill again, our mate bond tugging at me.” My words spilled out in hushed excitement, both awe and anticipation fizzing through my chest.

Lina paled, and I knew I’d pieced together the last bit of the puzzle about the years she’d been absent. Memories of our time together darted through my mind, and suddenly, everything clicked into place.

“I should have known…” I murmured more to myself than to her.

I have a daughter.

“Betty’s mine,” I said, the truth finally out in the open.

The guarded intensity in Lina’s eyes flared, and she shook her head. But it was a truth I couldn’t unsee now.

“Betty is my pup, isn’t she, Lina?” Now, my own gaze locked with hers, unyielding, daring her to deny it.

Lina considered me for a moment, then swallowed thickly. She held my gaze. “She…is…yours,” Lina said, her voice strained but resolute.

Exhilaration flooded my veins, swiftly followed by that demanding pulse of protectiveness.

But before I could wrap my head around this revelation, Lina said, “I need you to understand something. We’ve been fine by ourselves. I don’t want anything from you.” The words hung in the air, sharp and cutting.

Her words laid her scars bare for me to see—the years of heartache I had thrust upon her by walking away.

“Lina—” I started, but she shook her head.

“I’ve learned to be self-reliant.” Each word dripped with a mixture of defiance and pain, reminding me of the gift I’d held and squandered.

Hurt ratcheted through me, but I knew it was exactly what I deserved. After all, all those years ago we’d been together, we’d made a kid, and then…

I’d rejected Lina.

My chest felt too full, especially as Lina’s blue stare—the exact shade as Betty’s—was fixed on me. I saw her struggling to compose herself, to keep the strong facade she always did in place.

Never before had my regrets felt so heavy as all the years I’d missed out on with her and Betty seemed to accrue in the thick air around us. How was I ever going to make that up to her?

“I’m sorry,” I said. “So sorry I wasn’t there for you both.” I took a deep breath, aching to touch her, but the tightness in her shoulders and expression acted like armor against me.

“Why’d you come here tonight, Stephen?” she asked, changing the subject.

“You know Magnus has me tailing you.”

“So, you’re still doing Magnus’s bidding?” she shot back.

“Still keeping my cover,” I said. “Still being cautious. Something you could do with exercising more of,” I urged. I tried to rein in my frustration and added. “I came to warn you. Magnus is on edge. I don’t like how little he’s shared with me lately.”

“I’ve got this,” she said dismissively. “I know where my mother is, and I’m making arrangements to execute my plan on Saturday. I can handle myself.”

Her obvious unconcern made my stomach clench, igniting my protective instincts all the more. “You don’t understand the danger Magnus poses. He’s ruthless. I can’t let you and Betty stay here, not when—”

“Let me?” Her voice rose with indignation. “Are you serious?” I could feel her anger radiating off her like heat. “For years, I’ve laid the groundwork for this, and now I’m ready to take action, and you want to whisk us away just because you found out Betty’s yours?”

I stepped closer, desperate to make her see sense. “I just want to keep you safe. I came here to persuade you to let me help you, even before I knew about Betty.”

“So, you think I’m helpless?” The fury in her eyes was palpable, like cold blue flames searing me.

“I never said you were helpless!” I shot back, but I could feel the tension building, a wall rising between us. “But I know Magnus—the lengths he’ll go to. My throat tightened, and I forced the words out. “Like he was with my mother.”

For a fleeting moment, Lina’s gaze softened, and I took the opportunity to press my point. “You must know that the moment you walk into that ceremony, you risk everything.”

And I meant it; the thought of her being hurt, of her and Betty being in danger, burned through me like poison.

“I know he’s dangerous—he’s held my mother for five years. But I won’t cower from him or leave my mother to rot.”

My heart sank, the weight of her mistrust pressing down on me all the harder.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” I urged, softening my tone and pressing my hand to my own chest. “I want to protect you. You must feel that truth. If you feel even half of what I do right now, you know that.” I let the heat I felt show in my gaze, refusing to let go of her electric blue stare, trying to reach her with the strength of what I felt for her and Betty through our bond.

The atmosphere thickened, charged with our unspoken connection. I could feel it pulling us closer despite the chasm threatening to widen between us.

“I can take care of this,” she reiterated, her tone uncompromisingly firm.

“Lina.” Her name came out as a plea, frustration coloring my tone. In a last-ditch attempt, I said, “Then let me help you strategize. Let us coordinate our attacks together and lay back-up plans. We can pool our resources.” If I made this tactical and strategic, would she come around ?

The silence stretched between us, and she simply said, “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” Then she turned and walked away as if we didn’t have a whole past, a kid together, and our mate bond pulling and wrapping itself around us.

But Lina’s resolve was immovable. I stood there watching her strong and slender figure walk away. But I was just as stubborn and determined as my mate, and whether she wanted it or not, I swore I’d fight for her and our family.