Maggie's laugh was soft and sad. "Strength? Alpha, I found my mate when I was thirty-five. Most women have children by twenty. I waited and waited, thinking the goddess had forgotten me. Then Mikeal came into my life like a gift I had stopped believing I deserved."
She closed the locket but kept it pressed against her palm. "We tried for years to have a child. Every month brought disappointment. Every failed pregnancy broke my heart a little more. When Stefan finally came, I thought the goddess was rewarding my patience. My beautiful boy, my miracle."
Tears ran down her cheeks, but her voice remained steady. "I held him for five years. Five perfect years of hearing him call me 'Mama,' of kissing scraped knees and reading bedtime stories. Most mothers get decades. I got five years."
Kade felt something crack in his chest. "Maggie—"
