Page 9

Summer POV

Six years later

The early morning sun rose over our wide green field that was dotted with red and yellow flowers. My Aunt Mia's farm was surrounded by a wooden fence to keep the cows and horses from running away. In the distance, large mountains peeked over the rolling hills. September was drawing to a close, and the oak trees’ leaves were turning bright orange, burgundy, and dark brown. The colors of fall. This was a beautiful, peaceful place to live.

It's the only home my son had ever known.

As I fed the chickens, Grayson played with his dog, Goose, a black lab that almost had as much energy as my five-year-old boy. Grayson's light-brown hair flopped against his forehead as he ran around his dog, his hazel eyes bright with excitement. Grayson and Goose always joined me for my early morning chores around the farm. It was a good way to get their energy out.

My son let out a high-pitched giggle as Goose licked his rosy cheeks, and my heart burst with love for my son. Sometimes, I would go into his room at night just to watch him sleep, marveling at the fact that I helped create this perfect boy.

Then, I was reminded that I didn't create this little miracle alone. Every day, I noticed something new about Grayson that reminded me of Gabriel. There were the physical things, like how my son’s hair was the exact shade of tawny brown as his father’s and they both had a smattering of freckles on their faces.

They were also small things, too. Like whenever Grayson smiled, he squinted slightly, just like Gabriel did. And Grayson walked the exact same way as his father, with his shoulders back, his chin lifted, his pale, freckled arms by his side. Which was odd since Grayson had never met his father. Gabriel didn’t even know that he had a son.

Right after Gabriel rejected me that night in his room, I ran home, stumbling and sobbing. It felt like a bomb had gone off in my body. When Gabriel broke our Mating bond, my heart and soul seemed ruined beyond repair.

I carried that pain with me wherever I went. Whenever I heard Gabriel’s name, my heart broke all over again.

For months, I was in a zombie-like state, moving mechanically, allowing my parents to pack my things and sneak me out of our pack's territory. During my pregnancy, I did everything my mom and Aunt Mia said to keep the baby that was growing in my stomach healthy.

The first time I held Grayson in my arms, it was like waking up after sleepwalking for nine months. I realized that in order to be the best mother for my son, I needed to be actively present in his life. So, for my boy, I tried to compartmentalize the anger and resentment I felt for his father.

Slowly, I began to find myself again as I adapted to my new role as a mother. I enrolled in the only college that would still take me after I took a gap year to have Grayson. Through online classes, I earned a Bachelor's degree in Military Studies.

When Grayson turned three, I had the sudden epiphany that I didn't have to stay at my Aunt Mia's farm. I could go anywhere with my son and start a new life. But even though he was young, this farm was Grayson’s home. If I left, I would be taking him away from his grandma and his Aunt Mia, who had helped me raise him. And where would we go? I couldn't go back to WaterLock. What if someone were to discover Grayson was Gabriel's baby? I could still be exiled. Technically, I was still part of the WaterLock Pack. If I were to be exiled, no other pack would allow me to join them. I’d be thrown to the Rogues.

Also, there hadn't been any Rogue wolf attacks in my aunt's small village. The town of Shadow Pass was hidden in between large mountains and wasn’t affiliated with any pack. Essentially, it was a no man’s land. Most people in our kingdom didn't even know it existed. So, for right now, my aunt's farm was the safest place for my son to be.

I ran the trail in the woods behind the farm late at night in my wolf form. With the mountains looming above me and with nothing but my thoughts for company, sometimes it seemed like the mountains were slowly moving, trapping me inside. The feeling lessened when I got back to the farm, but it was always there in the back of my mind. When I fell asleep, I was reminded of what I'd been trying to run away from.

Dreams of Gabriel plagued me, his intense green eyes, his insistent mouth on mine, his hands caressing my body and giving me the kind of pleasure I knew I'd never feel again. My former Mate and I had only spent one night together and I'd been dreaming about it ever since.

“Mom, when is Grandpa coming to visit again?” Grayson asked from behind me, interrupting my internal musing.

My son was sitting in the grass next to Goose, patting him on the belly. Both of them were panting from taking turns chasing each other.

I turned and raised one of my eyebrows.

“You know that Grandpa’s visits aren't normally planned. He comes to visit us when he isn't too busy with work,” I said.

My father made the ten-hour trip here every few months. Sometimes, when he was too swamped with Delta duties, my mom would travel back to WaterLock to spend time with him. Whenever my father visited, he brought a handwritten letter from Gabriel, but I refused to read them, throwing away each one. My dad said that Gabriel was always asking him how I was and if he could visit me, but my father just told him I was too sick. No one knew about Gabriel breaking our Mating bond. My dad, mom, and Aunt Mia all just thought I refused to speak with Gabriel because it could be dangerous.

Whenever he visited, my father brought news from the pack. Thankfully, no one else in WaterLock had been killed by a Rogue wolf. Gabriel had hired contract warriors to help defend our borders. My father explained that Gabriel would contact warriors from the Pyregate Kingdom and arrange for them to travel to our pack. The only problem was that these warriors couldn't stay for a long time and they had to keep cycling through new ones. There had been a few close calls of Rogues attacking a pack member, but at least they were only injured. The contract warriors weren't a long-term option, so Alpha Everett was still pushing for the arranged marriage between Olivia and Gabriel.

My father told me that the only problem with the marriage deal was that Gabriel was doing pretty well for himself since he owned a cybersecurity company—which was how he had the funds to hire contract warriors to help alleviate the threat to the pack.

When the Alpha King heard about Gabriel’s successful company, he kept raising the price for his service of providing members of the Royal Guard to help protect WaterLock. My father told me that the price the Alpha King was demanding now was so high that no one could possibly afford it. The marriage deal was at a stalemate.

The only reason that I was willing to listen to any news about my former Mate was because it concerned my father’s safety and his career.

My son's shoulders slumped from my telling him that I didn't know when he would see his grandpa next.

“Oh,” he muttered and frowned.

I ruffled his slightly curly hair. This was something he had inherited from his grandfather.

“We can video call him tonight, buddy,” I promised. “He's always excited to see you even if it's through a screen. What made you ask about him, honey?” I walked over to the red chicken coop, and Grayson and Goose followed after me. “Are you just missing him?”

I began to collect the small brown eggs and placed them carefully in my wooden basket. Aunt Mia, my mom, and I all took turns selling eggs, milk, bouquets of flowers, baked goods, and fruits and vegetables from our garden in town. Since Shadow Pass was up in the mountains, it was hard for us to receive deliveries, so a lot of families relied on the farms for food.

“Yeah,” Grayson answered glumly. “I don't know, I just have a bad feeling.” My son paused and patted Goose's head absently. “Can I have a PB&J for lunch?”

I picked up another egg but didn't put it in the basket. Instead, I spun around to face my son.

“What do you mean you have a bad feeling, sweetheart?”

Grayson's cheeks reddened, and he pulled at his bottom lip.

“I don't know,” Grayson said and shrugged self-consciously. “There's like this weird feeling in the bottom of my stomach. It's not painful exactly, but it's been there since this morning whenever I think about Grandpa.”

“Oh, honey.” I reached out and pulled him close to me with my hand that wasn't holding the egg. “That feeling is called worry. Sometimes, we experience it when we are thinking about people we love. We worry about our loved ones because we care about them. Especially when we don't get to see them that much. I'm sorry you're worried about your Grandpa, honey. But he's all right. Grandma talked to him last night. Do you remember that? Grandma put her phone on speaker and he said hi to you.”

Grayson pulled away and nodded. But there was still a crease between his eyebrows.

A forgotten memory jumped into my head. When I was seven, I experienced the same thing Grayson was describing. I woke up in a cold sweat, irrational dread gnawing at my stomach. The next day, I learned that Aunt Mia had fallen in the shower. She had sprained her arm and leg, but it could have been a lot worse.

Was I discounting Grayson’s worry because he was young? I didn’t know of any witches in our family, so he wasn't having a premonition. But he could be experiencing a sort of sixth sense. Maybe the magic that made us shifters manifested itself as an enhanced intuitiveness when we were young.

My stomach jolted as I pictured my dad’s face.

“Honey, do you want to call Grandpa now? I'm sure he would love to—”

A shout behind us interrupted me.

I pulled Grayson behind me and faced the direction the sound had come from.

Aunt Mia and my mother were running toward us, and when they got closer, I noticed that they were wearing matching expressions of horror. Their faces were stark white, and their eyes were wild with anxiety.

Thick apprehension settled over me like the morning fog. Accidentally, I let go of the egg I was holding and watched it fall to the ground. When it cracked, yellow yolk oozed onto the wet grass.

My mother skidded to a stop in front of me and tightly grasped my hands. She opened her mouth, but the only sound that came out was a strangled cry.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

My mother could only shake her head in response.

I looked at my aunt.

“It's your father,” she said in a toneless voice. “He was attacked by Rogue wolves late last night, and he’s in a coma.”

***

The guard opened the large black gate and waved my aunt's ancient blue Jeep through.

“Do you know if Dad's coma is medically induced?” I asked from the backseat.

“No, it’s not,” my aunt answered. She was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. “His condition is so…critical that he fell into a coma.”

The four of us were silent for a few moments as Aunt Mia slowly drove past the guard.

“Mom, why is Grandpa in a coma?” Grayson asked from beside me. “And what's a coma? How do you fall into one? Did he trip?”

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him against my side. Internally, I scolded myself. This situation was hard enough for my son. I needed to be careful with how I explained things no kid should have to understand.

“Grandpa was hurt, and now he has to sleep until he gets better again,” I told him and rubbed his shoulder.

“What does critical mean? Is it bad?” Grayson asked and rubbed his eyes. “Is that why we couldn't bring Goose?” His bottom lip jutted out.

My mom turned around in the passenger seat and grabbed Grayson's hand, answering his questions in a low voice.

I leaned my head back and allowed a few tears to escape my eyes.

After Aunt Mia called a few people from town to take care of the animals while we were away, the three of us rushed around the house, packing our bags. Grayson clutched onto Goose, saying that he wouldn't leave his dog behind. I told him that we would be spending a lot of time in the hospital and Goose wouldn't be allowed in there. Eventually, we packed up the Jeep and the image of Grayson waving frantically at his dog as Goose ran after our car on the other side of the fence truly broke me.

I was shocked to learn that my dad was being treated at Gabriel's secure facility half an hour outside of WaterLock's territory. My father had told me about Gabriel's plans for the facility when my ex-Mate started construction. Originally, he wanted to build a secure spot for the pack to live that was heavily guarded against the Rogue wolves, but the WaterLock pack members, including Gabriel's father, didn't want to move away from the only home they'd ever known.

Something I could relate to.

The sun was just setting over the buildings as we drove through Gabriel's facility. We passed by similar sleek structures that looked like office spaces, a grocery store, and even a coffee shop. Gabriel had developed an entire little community. There were buildings that looked like apartments, and I remembered my dad saying some of his workers lived here and Gabriel had a private residence in the facility as well.

My nerves were shot at this point, and just the thought of being near the place where Gabriel lived made my stomach turn.

“How come dad was taken here and not to Healer Elijah?” I asked.

“Gabriel was the one to find your father,” my mom answered in a small, toneless voice.

My breath caught in my throat.

Just like Gabriel had found me.

But Gabriel was a little too late to save my dad from serious injury.

“I spoke to Gabriel on the phone, too,” my aunt added. “He assured me that he had the best healers in the kingdom working for him. And he'll be safer here than at the pack's hospital.”

Most of the space in my brain was focused on worrying about my dad. But it wasn't lost on me that I was about to see Gabriel for the first time in six years. And how would he react to Grayson? Obviously, he would know that Grayson was his son. I didn't have the mental energy to plan out what I was going to say to him, though.

Right before we left, my mother and aunt expressed how dangerous it would be for me to be so close to WaterLock’s territory. Everyone in my pack thought that I was deathly ill. If someone were to spot me, the Elders might become suspicious of not only me, but of my mother and father, too. And how would I explain Grayson if someone were to see him? What if someone from WaterLock were to notice that my son looked awfully similar to Gabriel…

My mom and aunt suggested that Grayson and I stayed behind for our safety. If it had just been my safety in question, I wouldn't think twice about going. But there was no way I would put my son, or my parents, at risk. What if someone were to discover Gabriel and I broke wolf law six years ago? My son could be punished for my mistakes. And my parents could get in trouble for helping me cover it up. With a sigh, I told my mom and aunt to keep me updated and Grayson and I would stay behind to watch the farm.

But Grayson overheard our conversation. He began to cry and said that even though he would miss Goose, he was coming. He had sensed something was wrong with his grandpa and he wasn't going to be left behind. My son was inconsolable with worry for his grandfather and at the thought of being left behind.

My mom called Gabriel to see what our options were. He assured her that no one from WaterLock resided in his compound and he already told the guards at the front gate to inform him if anyone from the WaterLock pack entered the facility. If that happened, he would make sure I was hidden—my mom hadn't told Gabriel about Grayson since we thought it would be better coming from me in person.

At that moment, I’d just felt grateful that my son and I would be able to come, but now that we were almost to the hospital, worries about seeing Gabriel again spun around my head like a tornado. I could only deal with one issue at a time, though. Tonight, I just wanted to focus on seeing my father and talk to the healers to understand his condition more.

“This is it,” Aunt Mia said as she pulled the car up to a polished building with sharp angles and large windows. There was a sleek acrylic sign out front that said “Compound Hospital” in large black letters.

“Can you give us a second, guys?” I asked my mom and aunt.

“Of course,” answered my mom and reached back to squeeze my hand and pat Grayson's leg.

Once we were alone, I turned to my son.

“Seeing Grandpa like this is going to be hard,” I said. The back of my eyes pricked, but I tried to stay strong for my boy. “He's going to be hooked up to a bunch of machines and wires, but those are to help him get better. He's also going to be sleeping, and he won't be able to open his eyes no matter how much you try to wake him up.”

I wasn't sure if I said that last sentence for Grayson or myself.

“Is he going to be asleep forever?” Grayson asked in his sweet little voice.

I tightly closed my eyes and tried to fight back my tears, not wanting to upset Grayson.

“I'm not sure, honey,” I admitted, not wanting to lie to my son.

I had to prepare us both for the worst.

We got out of the car and I grabbed Grayson’s hand as we crossed the empty parking lot. My mom put her arm around my shoulder and my aunt held Grayson’s other hand.

For a moment, we were all connected. Even though we were terrified, at least we had each other to lean on.

The inside of the hospital was as elegant as the outside. The walls were the same cream color as the comfortable-looking chairs. When I glanced up, my mouth dropped. There was a crystal chandelier shimmering expensively in the middle of the ceiling. If I were to sell that, I could feed the town of Shadow Pass for a year.

My father's head healer, Nia, met us at the reception desk. Immediately, she brought us into her office. A helpful assistant healer watched Grayson while Healer Nia explained that there were no changes to my dad's condition. His brain activity was sluggish, and he didn't show any signs of waking up. They planned to keep him here to monitor him. At this point, it would be dangerous to move him. She had a no-nonsense way of delivering news that I appreciated. In a situation like this, I just wanted the cold, hard facts.

“Would you like to see him?” Healer Nia asked, rising from behind her mahogany desk.

The three of us nodded.

A knock sounded from the door at the same time Healer Nia swung it open.

I froze.

Gabriel was standing in the doorway. Even though I knew that I would see him here, the sight of him stunned me. He had grown a few inches in the last six years, making him tower over my five feet and eleven inch frame. Gabriel's shoulders were broader and his waist was more toned. When he was eighteen he kept his face clean shaven, but now he had a trimmed, light-brown beard.

Damn it.

The handsome boy who had rejected me had turned into an even better-looking man.

“Healer Nia, I just wanted…” Gabriel's words died in his throat when his eyes met mine.

My heart stuttered to a stop.

For a moment, the world paused. There was only Gabriel and I, staring at each other in a way that made my hands shake. His face was full of emotions I couldn't read. He stepped toward me at the same time that I took a step back.

The spell between us broke when an angelic voice floated down the hallway.

“Mom, can we go see Grandpa now?” Grayson asked as he stopped behind his father in the doorway, holding hands with the assistant healer.

Gabriel spun around, looked at Grayson's tawny hair and freckles, and then back at me.

My motherly instincts kicked in, and I grabbed Gabriel's hand, dragging him down the hallway before he could say anything in front of our son.

I stopped when we were far enough away and faced him.

Gabriel kept opening and closing his mouth, but no sound was coming out. His face was as white as a sheet of paper.

His shocked reaction was justified and I gave him a minute to process. This hadn't been the way I wanted him to find out about Grayson.

“Is he… is that little boy…is he our son?” Gabriel asked, his voice unsteady and his face white.

His eyes stared intensely into mine.

“Yes, he’s our son,” I confirmed.

At this point, why would I lie?

“What the hell are you guys talking about?”

Gabriel and I spun around.

Axel stepped around the corner, his nostrils flared and his hands clenched at his sides.

“Oh, shit,” Gabriel breathed out. “Axel, I’m sorry. I forgot that we had a meeting tonight. Did you hear about what happened to Delta Theo—”

Axel cut his brother off.

“I don't give a shit about Delta Theodore,” he seethed.

I flinched.

How did I date Axel for two years?

I had looked past Axel’s selfish, cruel, and arrogant nature. Time seemed to have made his bad attributes even worse.

“Your secretary told me that I could find you at the hospital and when I saw you guys, I was about to call your name. Then I heard something very interesting,” Axel continued.

I swallowed nervously when I noticed his hands were shaking.

“When?” Axel demanded in a tight voice.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked, edging to the side, wanting to put himself between Axel and me.

“When did you knock her up?”

“Watch the way you talk about Summer,” Gabriel warned.

Axel let out a harsh laugh.

“You don't get to be the good guy here, Gabriel. You slept with my girlfriend. That's against bro code.”

“Axel, you're the one who cheated on me. And that was years ago. Why does it matter now?” I asked.

My words seemed to anger him more, but I didn't care. Axel was acting like I was his property. Like I was a car that he had loaned to his brother that Gabriel ended up crashing.

“When?” Axel asked his brother again. “When did you have sex?”

Gabriel didn't answer his question, but held his hands up.

“You're right. I'm not the good guy in this situation. There's a lot you don't know about the history between Summer and I, but I should have come to speak with you before anything happened with her. Why don't you and I go discuss this outside?” Gabriel said calmly and took a step toward Axel.

“It was the night you caught me in bed with Makala, wasn't it?” Axel said, his accusing gaze swinging toward me. “You left the party, went to my house, and then fucked Gabriel to get back at me. Didn't you?”

“Axel, that's not how it—”

But Axel was done with me. His right hand clenched into a fist and he raised it. His sole focus on Gabriel.

“And you! You let her seduce you. You, asshole!”

Axel came barreling at Gabriel with a look of rage.

I didn't even have time to react. Gabriel pulled me behind him as Axel flew at him with his fist cocked back. Since Gabriel chose to get me out of harm's way, he didn't have time to defend himself.

Axel's punch landed squarely on the side of Gabriel's face.