Kael's eyes didn't leave mine. They were a storm-like, violent, unyielding, and far too familiar.
Liam pressed closer to my side, his small fingers digging into my palm.
"Take him inside," I said quietly. "Let us pass."
Kael stepped forward, and it took me back to the beginning. To how it all started. A memory I thought I had deleted was right before me but something darker filled the space between us now.
"You walk into my territory after seven years, with a boy who smells like my blood, and expect me to just… let you leave?"
I forced my voice to be steady. "I came for something that has nothing to do with you."
His gaze flicked briefly to Liam again, lingering, assessing. "Everything about him has to do with me."
Liam's head tilted, his brow furrowing. "Mom?"
"Stay behind me," I murmured.
Kael's posture shifted, Alpha to the core, broad shoulders squared, feet planted like roots. "Who is his father, Elara?"
The question was a trap, and we both knew it.
"That's not your business."
His jaw tightened. "If you think you're walking back into my woods without explaining why that boy's scent is the same as mine, you're wrong."
Behind him, two pack warriors emerged from the trees. One of them I recognized, Tarin, Kael's Beta. He was broader than before, his expression unreadable as his eyes moved between me and Liam.
"Alpha?" Tarin asked.
"Hold the border," Kael said without looking away from me. "They're not leaving."
Liam's grip tightened. "Mom, I don't like this."
"I know, baby," I whispered.
Kael's voice lowered, dangerous now. "If you want to avoid a scene, you'll come with me quietly. Or I'll call the whole pack to witness who you've been hiding."
My chest tightened. He meant it. And the thought of my son surrounded by wolves he didn't know, in a place he didn't understand, made my skin crawl.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," I said. "I need an herb that grows near the river…"
His expression didn't change. "You're not getting anywhere near that river without me."
I bit the inside of my cheek. "Fine. You take me to it, then we leave."
Kael's gaze hardened. "You and the boy come to the packhouse first. We'll talk there."
"No."
"That wasn't a request."
I stepped forward, meeting him glare for glare. "You lost the right to make demands of me the night you rejected me."
The air shifted. The warriors behind him stilled. Even Tarin's eyes flicked between us, tension rolling off him.
Kael's jaw flexed. "I told you then… weakness has no place beside an Alpha. But I didn't know you were carrying my heir when I said it."
My pulse stumbled. "He's not!!!"
His hand shot out, catching my wrist before I could finish. The heat of his grip burned through my sleeve.
"Say it," he challenged.
I yanked free, my heart pounding. "He's mine. That's all you need to know."
For a moment, the only sound was the rustle of leaves overhead. Then Kael turned to Tarin. "Take them in."
Tarin stepped forward, but I shifted to block him. "Liam isn't stepping one foot inside that house."
"Then you're welcome to try your luck walking away," Kael said. "But you won't make it past the patrols."
Liam's eyes were wide, frightened. "Mom, what's happening?"
I forced a smile for him. "It's fine, baby. We're just… talking."
But it wasn't fine. Kael's presence was a wall, and every path I tried to take around him ended in the same place, his control.
"Five minutes," I said finally, my voice low. "That's all you get. After that, we're leaving."
Kael's mouth curved, but it wasn't a smile. "Five minutes will be enough."
We followed him down a narrow trail into the trees. Liam kept close to me, glancing at Kael every few steps. The path opened into a clearing where a black SUV waited, flanked by more warriors.
Kael gestured to the back seat. "Get in."
"I'll sit in the front," I said.
"You'll sit where I tell you."
The old Kael, before the rejection had been firm, confident, but not cruel. This Kael was colder, every word sharpened into a command.
I slid into the back with Liam. Kael got in beside me, and Tarin took the wheel. The ride was silent, the hum of the engine the only sound.
At one point, Liam whispered, "Mom, he's staring at me."
I glanced up. Kael's gaze was fixed on Liam, unblinking. "What's your name?" he asked.
Liam hesitated, looking at me.
"It's okay," I said quietly.
"Liam," my son said.
Kael's lips pressed into a thin line. "How old are you, Liam?"
"Seven."
The muscle in Kael's jaw twitched. He didn't look at me, but the math was obvious. Seven years. The night of the rejection.
He leaned back, his arm stretching across the seat behind us. "You look like your mother."
Liam smiled faintly. "Mom says that too."
Kael's eyes flicked to mine. "She's right."
The words carried an undertone I didn't want to unpack here, in front of my son.
⸻
The SUV slowed as the packhouse came into view, three stories of timber and stone, sprawling across the edge of the forest. Wolves milled around the yard, their conversations stopping as they saw us.
I stiffened. "We talk inside, away from them."
Kael's expression was unreadable. "Agreed."
We entered through a side door, avoiding the main hall. Tarin led Liam to a smaller sitting room stocked with books and toys. Kael nodded to him, and Tarin closed the door, leaving me alone with the Alpha.
The moment it shut, Kael stepped closer, his voice low. "You thought you could keep him from me forever?"
I folded my arms. "He's not your property."
"He's my blood."
"Blood doesn't erase the past," I snapped.
Kael's gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering there for a heartbeat before meeting my eyes again. "We'll see about that."
Before I could respond, a knock rattled the door. Tarin stepped in, his expression tight.
"Alpha, we have a problem," he said. "Scouts spotted Blackclaw warriors near the east border. They were asking about… a woman and a child."
Kael's attention snapped back to me. "Looks like you brought more than just yourself to my doorstep."