Page 12 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

“I don’t know what makes you think you and Daniel don’t belong here, but you must know that you’re wrong.”

I shake my head slowly. “It’s not that I don’t feel like we belong. Daniel has made friends here, and so have I.”

“Then what’s bothering you?” he frowns, and I shiver.

“I can’t…”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Connor says when my voice tapers off with hesitation, and he steps forward and places a hand on my arm. “But at least speak to Ingrid about what’s bothering you. She cares about you a lot. You and Daniel both.”

I nod slowly, trying to pull my lips into a smile, but only managing half. “Thanks, Connor.”

“And don’t worry about Daniel. He’ll be safe. I will make sure of it.” Connor steps away, turning toward the forest. “And do me a favor, will you?”

“What’s that?”

“Stay out of the woods for a while. They’re not exactly…safe right now.”

I frown. “Is something going on, Connor?”

“Just trust me, okay? We’ll know for sure in a few days, but for now, we’re asking everyone not to leave.”

A shiver runs through me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

As Connor leaves, I mull over his warning, wondering why he would give me a warning at all. A part of me thinks he just said that because he suspects that I’m thinking of leaving. But another part wonders if there really is something out there that we should be afraid of.

Maybe that’s why I suddenly feel anxious, like someone is watching me. I shudder, trying to shake off the feeling of unease, but it remains.

I know Daniel will be safe with the beta and his wife. Perhaps I feel this way because Damian is still in Fort Smit, breathing the same air as me, and threatening to disrupt my whole life with his mere existence.

For now, I won’t leave. It’s not like he knows I’m here, so Daniel and I are still safe. Hopefully, by tomorrow, he’ll be gone, and I’ll be able to breathe easy again.

Chapter 3 - Damian

Ten years is a long time.

I never thought I’d see her again. But Poppy Barnes is right here, in Fort Smit, in the Nightclaw Pack, where my brother is the alpha.

She’s right under my nose, and she’s probably been here this whole time.

How could I not have known about this?

At first, I thought I was imagining it—seeing her walking into the pack center and disappearing when I went inside. Lunch was served by the pack members wearing the same uniform she did when I caught a glimpse of her, but none of them were her.

I deduced that I was losing my mind, even when that pull kept tugging at my heart and inner wolf as if to alert me that what had been missing for a decade had returned.

But despite trying to ignore it, even after visiting Dorian and spending time with Damita, that incessant awareness remained humming beneath my flesh. It was so intense that it forced me outside, and I followed an invisible breadcrumb trail that led me to an isolated cabin in the southern part of the village.

That’s when I saw her—the woman who disappeared from Valley Walker ten years ago.

I realize my eyes hadn’t deceived me after I’ve been standing here for the past two minutes, and she hasn’t disappeared again. She’s not the ghost that numbness stopped from haunting me.

She’s real.

Poppy Barnes is real, and she’s standing on the porch of a cabin in Nightclaw territory.

My jaw has been dropped for the past few seconds, and I can’t tell whether my heart is still beating or has stopped. The pulse feels unnatural, faintly moving like a wave flowing back and forth, and I have no idea why I’m feeling this way.

Connor, Dorian’s beta, is standing outside her porch, looking up at her when he suddenly places a hand on her arm resting on the rail, and this time, I’m sure my heart has stopped.