I picked up my son at the end of Family Day.
He was supposed to jump happily into my arms, but instead, I held a sobbing boy.
“Mommy, do I have a daddy?”
Ari’s voice trembled as he asked, his tear-streaked face red and swollen. I had never seen him cry like this before.
“Daddy came to Family Day today. I wanted to sit with him, but he pushed me away. He said he was Anna’s daddy.â
Ari’s sobs grew louder. “My classmates said I don’t have a daddy. They said you found me in the dump.”
Children passing by cast mocking glances at Ari, their expressions cruel. Ari clung to me, burying his face in my shoulder as his cries echoed around us.
I held him tightly, my heart aching at his pain. I wanted to comfort him, but the memory of Rook’s cold, detached expression surfaced in my mind, cutting through my thoughts like a blade.
Three years had passed since I started raising Ari alone in Moon Shadow Territory. When the Beta soldiers told me their Alpha was returning, I was overjoyed. I thought he was finally willing to accept us.
I had prepared a grand welcome banquet for him.
Ari appeared in a black suit before the banquet. He even had a little wooden sword on him. He checked his face from the reflection of a silver pole and asked a question nervously.
“Mommy, Daddy has never met me before. Would he like me?”
“Of course.” I stroked his head. I winked at Ari cheekily. “You’re Daddy’s only son, Ari. You’ve inherited his noble bloodline. You’re a future warrior of Moon Shadow Territory. How could he not like you?”
“Yay! I’m Daddy’s warrior!”
We had been so full of hope, believing that our struggles were finally over.
However, when the doors opened, a tall, imposing figure stepped inside. Rook. He carried an air of authority that silenced the room. This Alpha dominated the scene with an air of intimidation, but all I could see was him carrying a three-year-old Anna in his arms.
Walking beside him was Sera, Anna’s mother and Rook’s sweetheart. She leaned into him, her every
