“Your marriage broke up because she cheated on you with Brent.”
I look at my alpha dead in the eye. “No. No, Coach. It was because she left Ethan alone in the house for three days to cheat on me. Don’t tell me you forgot that. My son nearly died. If he had been human, he would have. That’s why I divorced her. Not because she cheated on me. And she knew that. She blamedEthan for it. She blamed a child that she abandoned for three whole days to starve to death!”
Coach and Sterling exchange a look, and Sterling says firmly, “Whatever the case is, since those photographs are in circulation and Ethan’s existence is now public knowledge in the human world, he must be registered. And since he must be registered, she has legal standing to file for custody. A door that didn’t exist for her until last night.”
My jaw tightens. “I’m a fit parent by any measure that matters, in any world that exists.”
Sterling doesn’t answer immediately, and that pause makes me clench my fist.
“Your public image,” he says finally. “It’s working against you.”
“That image exists because you told me to maintain it.” I look at Coach. “Keep attention on me and off Ethan. Make sure no one goes looking into my private life.”
“I know what I told you.”
“So I played the part. And now it’s being used against me in a human custody hearing!”
“She’s claiming women rotate through your home,” Sterling says. “That you’re single, that the environment is unstable, that a child Ethan’s age needs the consistency of a two-parent household.” He looks me dead in the eye. “Since she’s married, she’s arguing she provides one.”
I freeze.
“She’s crazy,” I hiss. “There is no way Brent will tolerate Ethan. Their bloodlines are different. Male shifters can’t tolerate male children from their mates inside their territory, their homes. She knows that. He could kill Ethan and would not be held responsible. She wants to—She wants to risk his life?”
“She claims she is Brent’s wife, not his mate, so the difference matters.”
“The fuck it does!” I roar, my blood pounding between my ears. “It will still be Brent’s territory, his home. Absolutely not! She can’t get custody! I won’t give Ethan to her. Human law cannot apply to us. Not in a case like this, Sterling!”
“It can.” The lawyer’s voice is harsh. “When we live in human territory and operate within their infrastructure, their laws bind us. She knows that. She’s built her entire strategy on it.”
My claws scrape the wood, my wolf angry that our pup is in danger.
Ethan is upstairs. Still asleep. His face pressed into the pillow, that bear tucked under one arm. Completely unaware that the woman who has not asked after him once in four years is standing in a lawyer’s office with documents that could take him from me.
I breathe.
“It’s something else. She has some motive for doing this. It’s not Ethan. She doesn’t care about him.”
Coach lets out a gust of air. “When she married Brent, the Crimson Rock alpha tried to pressure her to keep Ethan. He would have been political leverage of a sort since you are the closest thing I have to a son.”
My head jerks up. “You think it’s their alpha again?”
Coach gives me a considering look. “Could be. Rivalries between the two packs have gotten worse over the past two years. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are behind this.”
“These are all just assumptions,” Sterling interjects. “At the end of the day, Vanessa has a strong case. Your playboy reputation and you being single are the two biggest hurdles in this custody battle.”
My wolf slams against my ribs.
Vanessa could take Ethan from me.
The growl tears out before I can catch it. “No.” My grip on the railing tightens until the wood creaks. “I’m not giving her my son. There has to be something I can do.”
Sterling clears his throat. “There is one avenue.”
I look at him.
“Stability,” he says. “It’s the single thing she’s arguing you lack and the single thing a human court weighs most heavily. A committed household. A consistent partner. Someone present in the child’s daily life.”
“So I need a wife. Or someone willing to stand next to me and look like one.”
