Sarah’s POV
Some other factor?
I silently repeated those words to myself. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck me, an idea taking root in my mind.
The implications were terrifying.
Could it be that…
“Sarah? Did you even hear a word I just said?” Elena’s voice broke through my racing thoughts. “I told you not to worry so much about me. My situation isn’t nearly as bad as you think.”
She finished tying off the fresh bandage on my hand with a neat knot. “There, all done.”
I blinked, forcing myself back to the present moment. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Elena sighed dramatically. “I said I’ve finished re–bandaging your hand.”
I glanced down at my neatly wrapped hands. “You’ve always been so skilled with your hands. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Don’t try to sweet–talk your way out of this,” Elena said, narrowing her eyes. “Where did you just go in that head of yours?”
My heart sank, afraid she might read my thoughts. “Nowhere important.”
“Nowhere important makes you completely zone out while I’m talking?”
“It’s just…” I grasped for an excuse. “After being on that boat for days, I’m still adjusting to being back. Everything feels a bit dizzy and disorienting.”
I lied. Elena studied me suspiciously, clearly not entirely convinced, but she didn’t press further.
“If that’s the case, you should get some rest,” she said.
“A good night’s sleep should help,” I agreed, forcing a smile while guilt constricted my chest.
After Elena left, I hurried back to Aria’s room. My precious daughter was fighting sleep, her tiny body curled on her side, eyes heavy but stubbornly open.
“Mommy,” she whispered when I entered, reaching out with her small hand.
“I’m here, baby,” I said softly, sitting on the edge of her bed. I smoothed back her soft curls, marveling at how ‘much she resembled Alexander–the same intense eyes, the same determined set of her jaw even at such a
young age. “Time for you to get some sleep.”
“Can you tell me a story?” she asked, her voice already thick with approaching dreams.
I smiled down at her, feeling that powerful surge of love that never ceased to overwhelm me. “What story would you like to hear tonight?”
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“The one about the princess who saved herself,” she mumbled sleepily.
+25 BONUS
My heart squeezed. It was a story I’d made up for her–a tale about a female wolf who didn’t need rescuing, who found her own strength when everyone else had abandoned her.
A sanitized version of my own life, though Aria didn’t know that.
As I wove the familiar tale, watching her eyelids grow heavier, I felt a question form on my lips. One I’d been avoiding but needed to ask.
“Aria, sweetheart,” I said gently when I finished the story, “do you ever wonder about your daddy?”
Her little brow furrowed slightly. “Sometimes.”
“What do you think about him? Do you want to meet him someday?”
She was quiet for so long I thought she might have drifted off, but then her small voice came through the darkness. “Is he nice? Would he like me?”
The innocent question broke my heart. “Oh, baby,” I whispered, gathering her close. “He would adore you. You’re the most precious thing in the world.”
“Then why isn’t he here?” she asked, her voice muffled against my shoulder.
I closed my eyes, the weight of my choices pressing down on me. “Sometimes grown–ups make mistakes, sweetheart. Big mistakes that hurt people they love.”
“Did he make a mistake?”
“No,” I said firmly. “But I kept you a secret from him because I was scared and hurt.”
“Are you still scared, Mommy?”
I looked down at my beautiful daughter, Alexander’s eyes staring back at me with a wisdom beyond her years.
“A little,” I admitted. “But I’m trying to be brave, like the princess in our story.”
“I want to meet him,” she said simply, before a yawn overtook her.
“Maybe someday soon,” I whispered, tucking the blanket around her as her eyes finally closed. “Sleep tight, my little warrior.”
I watched her breathing grow steady and deep, her small hand still clutching my sleeve.
Only when I was certain she was sound asleep did I gently extract myself.
For a moment, I just sat there beside her, watching the rise and fall of her chest in the soft glow of the lamp.
So small. So trusting.
My heart ached.
Aria had wanted to meet her father more than she ever said out loud.
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+25 BONUS
And Alexander… he wasn’t the man I remembered, not entirely.
But sometimes, in those unguarded moments, I caught a glimpse–a flicker of the man I once knew.
Then I remembered: he had a fiancée now.
What was I supposed to do with that?
Maybe… maybe it wasn’t just my choice to make anymore.
Maybe I needed to stop shielding Aria from the truth.
She wasn’t a baby.
And she deserved the chance to know her father–who he truly was now, not just who I remembered him to be.
Even if he turned her away.
Even if it broke her heart.
At least then, it would be her decision.
I owed her that much.
No more hesitation.
There were other things–urgent things–I needed to deal with.
I moved to my desk.
With trembling fingers, I opened my laptop and typed:Alpha Richard Mercer.
When his photo appeared, I felt like I’d been physically struck. That face—I could no longer deny what I was seeing.
My body went weak, and I collapsed into my chair, the screen before me blurring. No wonder his attitude toward Elena had always struck me as strange–not exactly warm, but definitely not normal. It was bizarre and complicated.
Now I understood why.
They had met before.
Three years ago, when Elena’s brother died in a car accident, he had signed organ donation papers in his final moments. I had stayed with Elena outside the operating room that day as she wept so violently she nearly fainted multiple times, completely oblivious to everything around her.
But I had noticed someone.
A stranger–a man in his early forties, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, standing tall with an extraordinary presence. He carried an intimidating aura that made him stand out even in a crowd.
He had glanced at Elena once–a look I would never forget. So complex, so layered that I couldn’t begin to
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decipher what he was thinking.
After that single glance, he’d said nothing and walked away.
+25 BONUS
Now I finally knew who he was. The man in the photo was identical to the one who had stood outside that operating room years ago.
He was the Alpha of the Point Reyes Pack, the recipient of that heart–Alpha David’s father, Alpha Richard.
Normally, organ donation records were strictly confidential, but an Alpha of Richard’s standing would have ways to uncover anything, including Elena’s identity.
When Alpha David brought her to the pack house, Alpha Richard must have recognized her instantly.
He knew who she was and why she had appeared in his son’s life.
Yet he hadn’t exposed her, hadn’t tried to stop their relationship.
Why?
Was it gratitude because Elena’s brother’s heart had saved his son’s life?
Or had he already realized that Alpha David was too deeply involved, and revealing the truth would only drive away his only heir?
Or perhaps… he was waiting for the right moment, orchestrating something bigger?
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