Page 34

I woke at the crack of dawn, trembling. I knew. Even in my sleep, my body was aching and shivering. From the day Winter’s plane went down in the ocean, I had barely closed my eyes. Every day felt like a million icy needles piercing my skin.

Vividly, palpably… I knew my child was suffering.

I had always had a strange, rather supernatural connection with all my children. I could feel it whenever something terrible happened to them. But never like this. Was Summer’s presence acting like a lens, amplifying my link to Winter? Was it something we had done before, used our energy to save him, and some connection had remained?

I just knew. He was starving, desperate for rescue.

That evening, we found out that the Japanese authorities had decided to call off the search. They were convinced there were no survivors. Despite my pleas for them to search the Kuril Islands, we kept receiving refusals. The plane hadn’t crashed into the water anywhere near them, it had gone down several hundred miles further east.

They saw searching the islands as a waste of time. According to their analysis of the ocean currents in the region, the wreckage couldn’t have been scattered across such a vast area. The final recorded conversation with the pilot indicated that the plane hadn’t exploded into tiny pieces; instead, they determined it had likely broken apart midair, and two large sections had plunged into the ocean.

No one wanted to listen. We had exhausted every possible channel, but all we managed to get was permission to send a single drone. It scanned the volcanic islands we had pointed out but found no signs of life. Meanwhile, I knew, every day that passed was narrowing the thin line between life and death for my son.

I opened my eyes to the dim light of morning. Aiden wasn’t asleep. His arm was wrapped around me, his gaze fixed on my face in the dim light, concern radiating from him.

"Try to get at least a few minutes more rest," he whispered. "I can feel how little sleep you’ve had…"

But my eyes wouldn’t close. Instead, they filled with tears.

"He’s suffering. My baby is suffering so much, Aiden! He’s hungry, he’s cold! I can’t take it, do you understand? I can’t!" I breathed out, my body tensing, my voice breaking. "I can’t stand knowing he’s waiting for rescue, and we’re not sending one…"

"I know," Aiden murmured. "But please, you’re important too, try to get some rest…"

"We have to go there. We have to do something, Aiden."

"Lake, there are dozens of volcanic islands there. Neither Snow nor Summer could say exactly which one. Most of them look the same, each with a single central volcano. Even if we sold everything we owned, we couldn’t afford to fund a private search expedition. A whole crew, a separate ship scouring the entire region for a week, circling every island, sending people ashore… We have to rely on the coast guard."

"Then we need to try reaching the Lowens again. Money isn’t an issue for them!"

"We already tried," he reminded me. "Jacob Lowen hasn’t responded."

But I only squeezed my eyes shut, more tears welling up. I had been crying almost nonstop for a week, my eyelids swollen and heavy.

"You want to give up?!" I gasped, my voice nearly accusatory. "That’s our son! The child of our love, Aiden!"

I felt the way that hit him. He closed his eyes briefly.

"Please, don’t say that, Lake. I love Winter as much as you do."

Swallowing hard, I whispered, "I’m sorry. But I refuse to give up…"

"Even Storm tried. He reached out through Damien, but Jacob is drowning in grief. He just doesn’t believe anyone could have survived the crash. And honestly… nobody can blame him for not wanting to give himself false hope over something so fragile. He doesn’t know about Snow’s abilities. Just like we don’t know the extent of Summer’s."

"We can’t just sit here and do nothing, Aiden!" I almost shouted, then sat up, pressing my hands to my eyes, my whole body aching.

Aiden sat up too, trying to pull me into his arms, but I was stiff in his embrace.

"Listen," he murmured, "we’ll try contacting the local fishermen again. The ones who go out to sea might have a better sense of the area. We can ask them to check the islands they pass by. That’s our best chance…"

"That’s not the region they usually fish in…"

"Then we’ll ask the coast guard again. Beyond the military, they’re the only ones with long-range drones," he whispered.

"I don’t know if we, as private individuals, can request the coast guard to restart a drone search. Last time, it didn’t do any good," I muttered. "The drones flew over many islands and saw nothing."

"But not all of them—not the ones farther north. Who knows? Maybe this time they’ll find something."

I clenched my jaw, sitting on the edge of the bed, my feet touching the cold floor.

"There’s only one way. The Lowens." I stood, determination surging through me. "I’m going to the city. I have to meet Jacob in person."

Surprise flickered across Aiden’s handsome face, his silver eyes widening. Even after all these years, he could still take my breath away.

"You don’t even know if he’ll be at work, or if he’ll agree to see you," he said, as his eyes searched my face.

Frowning, I started getting dressed. "I won’t give up. I won’t. Because my child needs me," I murmured through clenched teeth.

When he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me, some of the storm inside me faded. He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him.

"Hey, baby… I’m coming with you. Where you go, I go."

Our eyes met and his smile was so warm, so reassuring. A sense of gratitude filled my heart.

"Thank you… for believing, Lake," he whispered. "For having hope, still. When the doubts crush me, you keep fighting. When I feel like drowning, you pull me up to the surface."

His fingers brushed my cheek. I closed my eyes, because his touch had always been magic to me.

"I love you," he whispered, and then our lips met.

***

Two hours later, Aiden and I were standing outside the DevApp building. It was just before 8 am.

We were met with a rather cold reception in the lobby. As soon as I mentioned that I was the parent of one of the passengers on the plane that Sariel Lowen had been on, the receptionist’s face noticeably fell. He quickly excused himself and disappeared into an adjacent room to make a call.

It was nearly ten minutes before he returned, he had clearly made several calls. His expression remained uneasy as he addressed us.

"I'm very sorry, but Mr. Lowen won't be able to see you today. He has several business meetings scheduled."

"This is extremely important," I whispered, pressing my hands to my chest in a near-pleading gesture. "We have information about the crash, something that could matter to him."

The omega at the desk pursed his lips and shook his head. "I truly am sorry for your loss, and I sympathize with your situation, but there’s nothing I can do. The CEO will not agree to meet with you."

A wave of anger surged through me, and I clenched my teeth. But before I could say too much, Aiden placed a steadying hand on my shoulder.

"My love, come. Let’s sit in the lobby and discuss our options," he said gently.

I shot the receptionist a look full of reproach but turned away and followed Aiden. We sat down in the spacious, luxurious lobby. Employees streamed past us in a constant flow, paying us little mind.

"We’ll wait here for him. They won’t throw us out, right? And if they do, we’ll wait outside," Aiden said, calmly but firm.

Appreciation filled me, having him by my side meant everything. For a moment, I had expected him to try to convince me to go home, but he didn’t. He understood me.

"Alright," I whispered, feeling a wave of relief.

His silver eyes studied my face.

"Please, try to stay positive. You’re so tense, so stressed… I’m really worried about you," he murmured, squeezing my hand.

My breath came out almost painfully. "I just can’t relax. I can’t stop fighting for him."

"But someone has to fight for you," he said softly. "You look so pale…"

His eyes were so full of care and worry about me that my heart squeezed. Aiden had always put me first, but we also had other priorities, and those were our children.

I squeezed his hand back. "Thank you… When all of this is over, we need to take a long trip. At least a month. A second honeymoon! We should reset, properly."

His face lit up. "That sounds like a dream. And that’s exactly what we’ll do."

"But for now… I can’t stop. I know he’s alive. I have to keep trying."

Aiden nodded. "We just need to take it step by step, follow a plan, and keep moving forward. We’ll wait for him here, and if it doesn’t work today, we’ll try again another day."

We sat there in silence for a long while, lost in thought, watching the steady flow of DevApp employees.

Then, suddenly, I spotted my other son, Skye, walking through the lobby. He worked here too. His arm was wrapped possessively around his boyfriend, Soren.

"Skye!" I called out instinctively.

A few people turned their heads at the sound of someone raising their voice, but most ignored me. Skye immediately stopped and turned back toward us. Concern and worry were etched onto his handsome face—mirroring the same expression I had seen on Aiden countless times already.

Soren, walking beside him, looked startled and uneasy. I could guess how he must have felt: awkward, unsure of what to say to a grieving parent who had just lost a child. Because that’s what they all thought. That Winter was gone for good.

"Dad, what’s going on? What are you doing here?" he asked as he knelt down beside me. His eyes, so similar to mine in color, were full of unease.

"We came to talk to Jacob, but he’s refusing to see us."

Skye blinked in surprise. "Refusing? What did you want to talk to him about?"

I already knew how this conversation would go. No matter who I told, their reaction would be the same, a mix of deep pity for how the poor parent had ‘lost his mind’ and, at the same time, an effort to remain polite and respectful, as if speaking too bluntly might shatter my already fragile emotions.

Of course, by telling him, I was putting him in an uncomfortable position. But it didn’t matter. Winter was more important than anyone’s discomfort.

"Skye, I know Winter is alive. I want to ask Jacob for help organizing a search of the northern Kuril Islands."

And… here we went. An awkward silence fell between us, just as I had expected.

Skye reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Dad… I think you should go home and try to get some rest. You look terrible, like you haven’t slept in days. Even the True Mate bond isn’t helping, since… well, Father looks the same," he muttered, glancing at Aiden meaningfully.

Irritated, I pulled my hand away from his.

This was exactly why I hadn’t been reaching out to any of my other children. Of course, they knew about the crash, but I hadn’t told them what Aiden and I were doing to try to get Winter back. Because I already knew what their reaction would be. The same as Skye’s.

Just a couple of delusional parents who couldn’t accept that their son was gone. Out of touch with reality. Someone should call a therapist!

"Go to work, Skye," I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.

I could see the whole ocean of worries in his eyes, and for a second, it almost got to me. I felt like I really was losing my grip on reality. Like I really was being irrational. And that was the last thing I wanted, to have other people messing with my head, distracting me from my mission.

Soren stood beside him, staring at the floor, his almost feline, beautiful face locked in deep thought.

But then, suddenly, he spoke.

"I think… if your dad believes they survived, then you should keep searching."

Skye turned to him in surprise.

"Thank you, child," I said, catching Soren’s slender hand and giving it a squeeze. My gaze drifted to his softly rounded stomach, where my grandchild was growing.

"You can’t give up," he whispered. "There’s always a chance. And a parent’s instinct is rarely wrong."

Astounded by his words, I nodded. At least we had one person who understood us.

"Exactly! I know—I feel—that he’s alive. Snow and Summer helped him survive. I know they got him to an island in the Kuril Archipelago. You know Snow has powers, Skye. Special powers."

Skye hesitated, his expression still filled with uncertainty. But slowly, he nodded. "I hope Jacob Lowen agrees to meet with you and helps organize the search of the islands. Who knows, maybe… there’s something to it," he said quietly, glancing at his father as if looking for an ally in his skepticism. But Aiden remained silent, staring at the floor.

"Well, anyway, you two should get to work. I’ll wait here," I said in a lighter tone.

As they left, I gazed at Aiden again. He gave me a reassuring smile, probably meant to calm me down, but it only made me sigh deeply. We had to be patient.

Jacob Lowen didn’t leave the building until 5 pm. Waiting all day had been mentally exhausting. Aiden had brought us food from time to time, and we used the lobby restroom. The receptionists had been kind enough not to call security on us and throw us out.

Finally, Jacob appeared, stepping out of a separate private elevator designated for higher management.

He was dressed sharply, entirely in black, including a black dress shirt. He carried a sleek briefcase and was about my height, 5'8". He had dark hair, deep blue eyes, and wore elegant glasses, possibly platinum-made. I knew he was approaching fifty, but he looked much younger, the benefit of youth treatments he could afford.

He obviously hadn’t expected to see us here. The receptionists didn’t call him every few minutes to inform him that we were still waiting, something I was grateful for. Otherwise, he might have just had security throw us out earlier, to clear his way.

We quickly stepped toward him.

"Jacob Lowen!" I called out. "I’m Lake Nolan, Winter Nolan’s dad—"

I saw it instantly. The flicker of emotions on his face. Annoyance. Irritation. Anger. Discomfort. A deep reluctance to have this conversation.

"I know our presence here must be incredibly awkward for you, but I swear to you, we’re not crazy. Winter and Sariel are alive! They’re on one of the Kuril Islands, you have to believe me! I have a connection with my son—!"

"Excuse me," Jacob said icily, and then… he just walked right past me and headed for the exit.

Stunned, I stood there, feeling stupid, like a child who had just been ignored.

Well. That was that, then.

I turned toward Aiden, and once again, I saw the sorrow and concern on his face—concern for me, for how I was feeling. He squeezed my hands gently.

"Lake, maybe we need to try another approach?"

"We can’t give up," I said firmly. "We have to be patient. That’s the only hope."