Page 57 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

But she’s not there.

I lift my head and let out a thunderous howl toward the sky before turning to the alphas who’d followed me out here.

“Poppy is gone! She’s going toward Fayetteville!” I yell out through the mind link, anger surging through my veins, because this runs deeper than a simple witch threat.

If these dark witches are responsible for the rogues’ creation, it means that Jackson wasn’t working alone. Either way, Poppy is in trouble. And so is Daniel.

“The scouts—” Dorian begins, but I lower my snout and snarl at him, baring my teeth.

“To hell with your scouts, Dorian! I am going after her. I’m going to get my mate and my son back!”

I growl at my brother threateningly, but he doesn’t back down. Instead, he looks at me through the dark, beady eyes of his wolf and nods his furry head.

“We will follow your lead, brother.”

Something in his voice blaring through the mind link tells me that he isn’t fearful, but proud of me for stepping up. Despite the danger, despite the obvious threat.

For all we know, we could be walking into a trap. But I won’t waste another second trying to protect myself when both my mate and my son are out there.

I spin on my hind legs and charge forward, every muscle in my body driven by one singular purpose.

Get to them.

The forest blurs around me as I sprint through the trees, my paws barely touching the ground before launching me forward again. Branches whip against my fur, shrubs snap beneath my weight, and the pounding of my heart becomes the only sound I can hear over the wind rushing past my ears. Every instinct I possess has narrowed to one point on the horizon, one scent lingering amongst the damp earth and dying vegetation.

Poppy.

The mate bond hums with frantic urgency now, pulling me farther, as though an invisible thread has hooked itself around my ribs and is dragging me toward her. Every few hundred yards, I lift my muzzle just enough to catch her scent again, my stomach twisting when it becomes stronger, fresher, laced with the unmistakable scent of fear.

Behind me, I hear the thunder of paws as Dorian, Flynn, Connor, and a handful of Nightclaw warriors keep pace, but I don’t look back. I don’t slow down.

My son is out there.

My mate is out there.

And if I’m even a second too late… The thought alone threatens to rip me apart.

Every stride becomes another stab of guilt driven deep into my chest.

Ten years without my son.

Ten years in which Daniel learned to walk…learned to speak…celebrated birthdays…lost his first tooth…all without me.

Without his father.

A bitter growl tears from my throat as I push myself faster, my lungs burning beneath the effort.

I want to be angry with her, but I can’t. If I’d claimed Poppy that night… If I hadn’t hesitated… If I hadn’t allowed my father’s expectations to weigh so heavily on my shoulders…

None of this would have happened. Daniel wouldn’t have grown up believing he only had one parent. Poppy wouldn’t have spent a decade carrying everything alone. And they wouldn’t be running for their lives now.

Self-loathing settles heavily inside my chest, each realization cutting deeper than the last as I sprint ahead.

I failed them long before today.

I failed them the night Poppy walked away.

I hate myself for that single moment of weakness that could have changed everything. They would have been by my side, under my protection, if I didn’t let that pressure weigh me down.