“Do you hate me?” John jutted out his chin defiantly, searching the alpha’s eyes for any hint of deceit.
“Why would I hate you, kid?” David let out a casual scoff, glancing at the message on his phone. He tried to mask his irritation, and he succeeded—years of reining in his emotions had made him a master at it. The young werewolves had no idea what lay behind the enigmatic, ash-gray gaze of their leader. That stubborn streak in John was all too familiar, inherited straight from his cursed beta father.
“Because I’m like my dad!”
“You are like him, no doubt about that, and you’ve got his pride too. Roy destroyed my family, stole the woman I loved, turned my son against me, and stripped away my chance at happiness. Him, I hated with every fiber of my being, every damn day for thirteen long years. But I can’t see you as an enemy, Jonathan, and I don’t want to look for one in you. For one simple reason—you’re her son too. The woman I could never let go of.”
“I don’t believe you still love her!” John shot back, his voice thick with suspicion, refusing to back down. “You never even got revenge on her.”
“And what do you know about love, boy? What could you possibly tell me about it at twenty years old?” David rose to his feet with a quiet dignity, nodding toward the door. “She’ll start worrying. We’ve been gone too long—ten whole minutes. Let’s drop this pointless argument. We’ve got bigger problems to deal with. You with me on that?” Without waiting for a reply, David headed for the exit.
Jess was indeed on edge. The scent of her anxiety was stronger than anything else in the room, even overpowering Wes’s infamous socks. Her green eyes latched onto David the moment he stepped out of the office, clinging to him with unspoken worry.
What was happening now felt surreal, even to him, a seasoned alpha. This house was alive again with the thrum of heartbeats, the sound of footsteps, the murmur of voices. His son had returned under the roof of his childhood home, and the woman who had shattered his heart into dust thirteen years ago was about to become his wife once more. David had never heard of a story quite like this, but then again, in the world of lycans, anything was possible. The pull toward her was relentless; ten days together couldn’t possibly make up for the years of separation. And now, he had no intention of hiding his feelings or his desires. David ached to touch her, and he saw no reason to hold back—not when he was still within the bounds of decency. Though Jess seemed a bit shy when, in full view of everyone, he possessively pulled her close, brushing his nose against her temple and breathing in the scent of her hair.
“Can you talk, or are you too rattled right now?” Wes teased in his usual biting tone. “We get it, you’re basically on a second honeymoon and all that, but the rest of us are stuck here in limbo, fraying our nerves.”
“By ‘we,’ do you mean you and Buster? Because everyone else seems pretty calm to me,” David replied, still holding Jess close as his gaze swept over Sam, then slid to Cassie, Wes, and John. “I managed to get in touch with my contact in London. The European Alpha Alliance has fallen apart—werewolves are at each other’s throats, which was bound to happen. Some didn’t take kindly to Everett finding a carrier for his heir. Carriers are in short supply these days. So, Everett’s pack was attacked. Unfortunately, Everett’s dead, and the fate of his son Aaron is unknown. Seems the kid bolted. The other alphas are on their own now, each holding down their own territory.”
“So, what do we do?” Sam shrugged, casting a brief, dark, reproachful glance at his father. He still hadn’t forgiven David, and the alpha didn’t blame him for it. Alphas rarely forgave anyone—it just wasn’t in their nature.
“You and John will have to accept me as your leader again. I’m marrying your mother once more, and she’s agreed to it. We’ll tighten security and lay low on our territory.”
“So, we’re just gonna tuck tail and hide instead of helping Everett’s pack find Aaron?” John leapt up from his seat, his eyes flashing with anger.
“I didn’t know Everett. I never made an alliance with him, and I’m not sending my lycans to Europe when I need them here to protect your sister,” David replied calmly, a low growl rumbling in his throat on the last word. “For the sake of our collective safety, we stick together. …Want me to build you a treehouse, John?” he couldn’t resist jabbing at Roy’s son.
“Then I’ll go look for Aaron myself! You’re not the boss of me!”
“No, John. You’re not going anywhere,” Jess snapped, stepping toward her son. “You’re needed here. Your place is with Sam and Cassie. We’ll do as David says.”
“Oh, great, so now we blindly follow David just because Mom’s fallen for her ex-husband all over again!” John stormed out, slamming the door behind him with all his might.
“He’s just jealous,” Wes remarked with a shrug.
“Some things never change. Whether he’s seven or twenty, Jonathan’s still not happy about us,” David said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint, melancholic smile as he looked into Jess’s worried green eyes. “Anyone else got a problem with this?”
Sam and Cassie shook their heads in unison, while Wes, as always, remained neutral.
“When have I ever been against you?” Wes snorted. “I’ll go find our little rebel and have a chat with him. Seems I’ve got a special knack for getting through to the kid.”
“And I need a word with Sam, one-on-one,” David said, squaring his broad shoulders and fixing his son with a piercing stare. The young alpha met his gaze with dignity. No matter how hurt he felt, he was still his father’s son.
“Then I’ll show Cassie to her room and help her unpack,” Jess said with an encouraging smile toward Sam, who was visibly clenching his jaw, and toward a brooding David. The tension in the air was still palpable, emotions running high, and Jess wasn’t sure how to keep everyone happy. “And later, I’ll head home to grab the rest of our things.”
“No!” David barked, his tone final. Some things truly never changed. “Your home is here now. Until my lycans have swept the territory, I’m not convinced it’s safe to leave the estate. Get in touch with someone from Adam’s pack—have them bring your stuff to the border. Don’t be upset, Jess. I’m sorry, but I’ve gotten a bit rusty at showing tenderness. Right now, my main concern is keeping you all alive. You understand that, don’t you?” His ash-gray eyes clung to every flicker of emotion crossing her face, searching for support—and, most importantly, the tenderness he’d seen in her gaze earlier today.
But Jess had no intention of arguing with him. This reconciliation had rekindled the embers of their old feelings, though her emotions now bore no resemblance to the past. Back then, her marriage to David had been tangled with her feelings for Roy—her love split in two, torn by conflict, passion, despair, guilt, and anger. But now… now Jess realized that if she lost both of them, she’d never recover. Even her love for her children wouldn’t be enough to keep her going. She needed David now more than ever. Love washed over her soul, stitching up the wounds in her heart, and with the jagged edges of those scars, she reached for him—the man who had always been close to her, the one her weary heart had never stopped loving all these years.
Stepping closer, Jess touched his cheek, then traced her thumb over his lips, making the alpha’s ash-gray eyes flare with an inner fire.
“I understand, David. We’ll get through this. And I’m a hundred percent sure you’re the only one who can protect us right now. I’m not upset—just a little anxious. Should I kiss you now, or save it for later?” She smiled, easing the last of his tension.
“I’ll definitely remind you about that later,” David grinned, brushing a finger under her chin.
“Oh, come on, you two are so weird!” Sam rolled his eyes. “The world’s going to hell, and you’re acting like lovesick teenagers. At your age, it’s practically indecent.”
“Get your butt to my office, you half-baked punk! You’re not about to tell your mother she’s old at forty-three, are you? And for the record, by lycan standards, I’m still in my prime,” David grumbled as he followed his son into the office.
“You never told me he was this cool,” Cassie said with a smile, scratching Buster behind the ear. The dog, now utterly smitten, gazed at her with adoring eyes and refused to leave her side.
“Give it a few years, and I’ll tell you the whole messy story,” Jess replied.
But when Jess entered the bedroom after a heartfelt talk with her daughter, David was already there. Arms crossed, he stared thoughtfully out the window, counting her steps until she approached and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his back.
“What did you and Sam talk about?”
“Reminded him of the rules of pack hierarchy. Adam was a lousy alpha—he didn’t teach them any discipline.”
“You know who really ran Adam’s pack. …Roy… he never forced them into anything, always gave our boys complete freedom. Said that when the time came, they’d have to figure out right from wrong on their own.” Every mention of Roy brought a heavy sigh, a sharp lump catching in her throat.
“Not exactly the best approach, but I’m not gonna argue about it now. I’ll have to fix the consequences of your parenting anyway. They’re werewolves, fighters, members of a pack that acts as one unit in times of danger. In the good cop, bad cop game, I somehow always end up playing the bad guy.”
“Strict, but not cruel. Trust me, they know that. It’s just their personalities and those fiery young hearts. Think back to when you were their age.”
“Next thing you’ll say is that I’m old!”
“Well, judging by what you pull off in bed, I wouldn’t dare say that,” Jess chuckled softly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” David didn’t hide how much it pleased him to hear that—or to hear her laughter, a sound these walls still remembered. “Jess, our son will need a gene carrier too. For the past year, my trusted contact has been searching for a suitable match, but so far, no luck. They’re either hidden or wiped out.”
“So, you’re not leaving it up to fate?”
“Do you think I should?” Turning to face her, David unzipped her dress with a single, fluid motion, baring her shoulders and sliding the fabric down until it pooled at her slender feet. “After all, it’s unlikely he’ll stumble across a spitfire like his mother. They don’t make ‘em like you anymore. So, about that kiss?”
…But a few hours later, Jess woke with a scream, throwing herself into David’s arms as he instantly sat up beside her.
“A dream. They’re back. The dreams I had as a teenager. Prophetic ones,” she muttered, inexplicably clutching her stomach.
“It’s just a nightmare. You’re stressed out. That’s normal,” David checked her pulse, then touched her cold, sweat-damp forehead, trying to ease her back down.
“You don’t get it. I know what I’m talking about. These dreams are different. I’m scared, David.”
“As long as I’m here, as long as we’re in this together, as long as some crazy idea doesn’t pop into your head, you’ve got nothing to fear,” the alpha said, holding her close to his chest and listening. No, everything was fine. Cassie was tossing in her bed, Buster whimpered softly in his sleep, Sam snored with his face buried in a pillow. Wes and John weren’t around, but David wasn’t worried about them. Only Jess kept trembling.
“Is Mina still working at the hospital?”
“Yeah, where else would she go? She’s part of my pack.”
“Is she still mad at me?”
“How do I put this… Hmm, well, Mina’s a doctor. She’s wise enough to treat you with respect, even after that incident with the knife. Why are you asking? You feeling okay?”
“I just need to check something. …I can’t say yet.”
“Why do you always have to be so cryptic? Back to old habits? We’re together, remember? You’re not torturing me—we’re in love, so…”
“I dreamed I was pregnant!” Jess blurted out.
“Come on, sweetheart, that’s impossible,” David snorted, relaxing. “Nonsense! First off, I’d sense it. Second, we can’t have another child together. I’m telling you, dreams can show all kinds of ridiculous stuff—sometimes things you’re too embarrassed to even mention. Go back to sleep, dreamer.”