Page 19 of Mating Mia (The Alphas’ Perfect Prey #2)

ten

. . .

Mia

M y heart is racing against my ribs as Finn reaches for the doorbell.

This small house with its neat flower beds and white picket fence could hold all the answers I’ve been searching for, or it could be another dead end in the endless maze of my past.

My baby kicks inside me, as if reminding me that regardless of what happens here, I already have a family and a pack of my own.

The chime of the doorbell echoes inside the house, followed by the soft padding of footsteps.

I bite my lip so hard I taste copper, my hands instinctively cradling my swollen belly as if to protect my son from the storm of emotions raging inside me.

“Your heart is racing,” Kane murmurs, his large hand wrapping around my small one as Jace rubs my back. His thumb traces soothing circles against my skin, a gesture so familiar it instantly calms my racing pulse. “We’re with you.”

I can only nod, my throat too dry for words.

The door creaks open, revealing a woman who must be in her seventies, her silver hair pulled back in a neat bun, kind eyes crinkling at the corners as she takes us in. Her gaze lands on me, confusion clouding her features as she studies my face.

“Can I help you?” she asks, her voice warm but cautious.

I swallow hard, trying to find my voice. “My name is Mia. The adoption agency sent me here.” The words tumble out awkwardly, wondering how she’ll receive me.

Recognition dawns in her eyes, her face transforming with a smile that makes her look decades younger. “Oh my goodness,” she breathes, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. “I’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”

My heart lurches painfully in my chest, hope blooming so rapidly it’s almost painful.

“Are you…” I pause, barely able to get the words out. “Are you my mother?”

Seconds grow into eternity as I wait for her answer, every muscle in my body tense, my vision narrowing until all I can see is her face. Behind me, I feel my alphas’ presence like a solid wall, their warmth and heat radiating around me.

The woman’s eyes soften with something like regret, and she shakes her head gently. “No, sweetheart, I’m not. But I did meet her. Years and years ago.”

Disappointment crashes through me, so intense I might have staggered if not for Jace’s steady hand at the small of my back. It’s not like I expected my mother to be this elderly woman, but part of me had desperately hoped to find her.

“You knew my mother?”

“I’m Larissa,” she says, stepping back and gesturing for us to enter. “Please, come in. I can explain the entire story.”

I nod, trying to hide my disappointment as I follow her into the house, Kane, Jace, and Finn trailing behind me like protective giant bodyguards.

The interior is cozy and warm, with floral-patterned furniture and walls lined with framed photographs. It smells of fresh-baked cookies and furniture polish, the kind of home I always dreamed of growing up in.

“Sit, sit,” Larissa urges, pointing to a comfortable-looking sofa. I lower myself onto it gratefully, my back aching from the weight of my pregnancy. Kane immediately sits beside me, his thigh pressed against mine, while Jace perches on the armrest.

Finn remains standing, his back to the wall, eyes constantly scanning our surroundings.

“I told the adoption agency to keep my contact information available for you,” Larissa explains, settling into an armchair across from us. “In case you ever needed anything. I’ve hoped for years that you might come looking.”

“You knew I was kidnapped?” I ask, leaning forward as much as my belly will allow.

She blinks in surprise. “Kidnapped? No, I had no idea. I thought you were adopted through proper channels.”

I exchange a glance with Kane, whose jaw has tightened at this revelation. So the adoption agency had covered this up.

“The adoption agency told us today that I was one of six babies taken from the adoption center years ago,” I explain. “The Jenkins family wasn’t my legal adoptive family. They took me.”

Larissa’s hand flies to her chest, horror written across her face. “Oh my God, I had no idea. They told me that you were adopted.”

“It’s not your fault,” Finn says, his voice gentler than usual. “We’re just trying to understand what happened.”

I nod in agreement with Finn, trying to keep my emotions in check.

“I’m looking for my birth mother,” I tell her. “The agency gave us your address because they said you might have been an intermediary. Do you know anything about her? About what happened?”

Larissa sighs, her gaze drifting to the window as if looking back through time. “It was so long ago. More than twenty years now. I was driving home one rainy night with my husband- he’s passed now, God rest his soul—when we saw a figure on the side of the road.”

My breath catches, and I feel Kane’s hand tighten around mine.

“She was just a girl, really. Couldn’t have been more than twenty.

She was bleeding badly, collapsed in the ditch.

When we pulled over, we realized she’d just given birth, right there on the roadside.

” Larissa’s eyes meet mine, and I see tears gathering in them.

“She was holding a tiny baby wrapped in her jacket. That baby was you.”

“Oh my god,” I whisper, my free hand instinctively going to my belly. The thought of giving birth alone, on the side of a road, in the rain sounds horrifying.

“What did she look like?” Jace asks, leaning forward with intense interest. “Did she say her name?”

Larissa shakes her head. “She was in bad shape—pale as a ghost, shivering. Dark hair, I remember that. Soaked through from the rain. And her eyes...” She looks directly at me. “They were just like yours. That same unusual hazel color.”

The revelation that I have my mother’s eyes makes my chest ache with a strange, bittersweet longing. A physical connection to a woman I’ve never known.

“She handed you to me,” Larissa continues, “and begged me to take care of you. Said someone was after her, that they’d kill you both if they found you. Before I could ask more questions, she passed out right there on the road.”

“What happened then?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“My husband carried her to our car. We put her in the backseat, with you still in my arms. She was bleeding so badly, I was sure she’d die if we didn’t get help.”

Finn steps forward, his expression intense. “Did she regain consciousness?”

Larissa nods. “About halfway to the hospital. She woke up in a panic, demanding to be let out of the car. When I told her we were taking her to a hospital, she became even more frantic. Said ‘they’ would find her there.”

“Who was ‘they’?” Kane asks, his deep voice rumbling with barely contained anger.

“She wouldn’t say. Just kept insisting we let her out. I asked if there was somewhere safe she wanted to go instead, but she said nowhere was safe. Eventually, I convinced her we at least needed to get you to a hospital, to make sure you were healthy.”

My mind is racing, trying to piece together this narrative with what I know from my father—that Orion’s pack raided their home that night, killed my other fathers, and separated my parents.

“We arrived at Memorial Hospital,” Larissa continues.

“Your mother stayed in the car. The nurses took you right away—you were so tiny, but surprisingly healthy given the circumstances. When I went back outside with a doctor...” She pauses, her expression clouding.

“She was gone. Your mother had disappeared.”

“She just left?” I blurt out, unable to hide my hurt. “Without making sure I was okay?”

Kane’s arm comes around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his side.

“She was protecting you,” he says firmly. “She knew they’d be looking for both of you.”

Larissa nods. “Even though I find that night very odd. That’s what I’ve always believed. She wasn’t abandoning you.”

The thought provides little comfort. I’ve spent my whole life feeling unwanted, only to learn that my mother left me at a hospital. If she’d stayed, maybe none of this would have happened.

“What happened after that?” Finn asks, his analytical mind trying to connect all the dots.

“The hospital kept you overnight for observation. I stayed with you—couldn’t bear to leave you alone after what had happened. The next morning, we took you to an adoption agency.” Larissa’s voice breaks. “I thought you would have a better life elsewhere with a loving family. I had no idea…”

“I appreciate you for caring about me,” I say, surprised to find I mean it. She could have ignored my mother, and I would have been left in a ditch somewhere. “You were trying to help. You couldn’t have known.”

Finn clears his throat, breaking the emotional tension. “Do you remember which hospital it was, exactly? And the date? These details could help us track down Mia’s mother.”

Larissa wipes her eyes, nodding. “Memorial Hospital in Charleston.”

“Thank you,” I say, reaching across to squeeze Larissa’s wrinkled hand. “You’ve given us more than you know.”

She smiles sadly. “I’ve thought about you every day for over twenty years, wondered where you ended up, if you were happy. I’m so sorry your life wasn’t what I hoped for you.”

“It’s better now,” I tell her, glancing at my alphas, feeling a rush of gratitude for their presence. “I have a family. A real one.”

Larissa’s eyes drift to my pregnant belly. “And soon, you’ll have even more family.”

I nod, my throat tight with emotion. “And hopefully, my mother too.”

As we prepare to leave, Larissa pulls me into a gentle hug, mindful of my belly.

“I hope you find her,” she whispers. “And when you do, tell her that her courage saved you that night. Tell her that even though things went wrong after, in that moment, she did everything right.”

Outside in the fresh air, I pause on the sidewalk, overwhelmed by everything I’ve learned.

My mother didn’t abandon me.

She was running for her life, gave birth on the side of a road, and then drew danger away from me by disappearing.

“Memorial Hospital in Charleston,” Finn says, already typing on his phone. “We might find some clues around there.”

The pieces are finally starting to fit together, forming a picture that makes my heart ache for the young woman who gave birth alone on the side of a road, too afraid to even go to a hospital until her baby’s welfare forced her hand.

A different type of peace washes over me. I’m not sure what it is, but it makes me feel better.

“Let’s shop for the baby clothes first,” I say. “I don’t think we’ll find anything at the hospital, but…”

“We’re going to find her,” Jace says with determination, opening the car door for me. “We’re close now, I can feel it.”