Page 64 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

“…and when I went looking for her, she was gone,” I sigh. “A few days ago, I saw her here, in Fort Smit, entering the pack center, and something in me snapped. I found her, and realized she was my fated mate, and I had to have her. I had to mate her. So I took her to Cedar Valley and forced her into a mating ritual—something I’m not exactly proud of, but I couldn’t control myself. She didn’t tell me about Daniel. She wasn’t gonna tell me.”

Dorian nods thoughtfully. “You found out just yesterday morning,” he whispers gravely. “We all did.”

“I don’t blame her, brother. I acted like an asshole when I took your place—”

“No, Damian. You’re not going to blame yourself, either. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. For leaving you with all that pressure.” Dorian huffs, running a hand through his hair. “If I’d known it would cause so much trouble in your life, I wouldn’t have left. I wouldn’t have been so fucking selfish—”

“It’s not your fault, Dorian,” I chuckle dryly, the sound lacking humor. “For a long time, I blamed you for everything that went wrong in my life. But it’s my own fault that I lost Poppy in the first place.” I turn my head when a lump forms in my throat. “I wasn’t strong enough to deal with it all. And I failed her.”

Dorian clicks his tongue. “You are stronger than you realize, Damian. I saw it yesterday, when you took control and led us to Fayetteville.”

“It doesn’t change the damage that has been done already,” I sigh heavily, and that’s when Dorian places a hand on my shoulder.

“You can’t rewrite the past, but you can decide what your future will be like,” he says with a reassuring smile.

“That’s something Dad would have said,” I scoff, and Dorian chuckles.

“Yeah. For all his iron-fist rules, he sure had wisdom in some of the things he said. And while he isn’t here to give me shit for marrying a human, or you, for mating a former omega, there’s one person who doesn’t care about any of it.”

“Mom.”

Dorian nods. “Yeah. And she’s outside, with your son. If you’re ready to meet him.”

My eyes widen, brows raised as I immediately whip my head in the direction of the door.

“He’s here?”

“Yeah. And Poppy asked Ingrid to tell him that you are his father.”

I frown. “She did? She’s awake?” I throw my legs off the side of the bed, but Dorian stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

“Wait, Damian. There’s something you need to know.”

“What?”

“Poppy was poisoned by the witches who caught her. That’s why she became rabid and attacked you at the warehouse. She believes that Daniel’s kidnapping wasn’t because he’s your son, but because they wanted to use her as a weapon against us.”

“I need to see—”

“Not yet. Aoife and the coven are working on an antidote to remove the poison from her system. She’s not herself, and if the dark witches used her as a weapon by turning her into a rogue wolf, we need to tread very carefully.”

“I don’t care. I—”

I’m interrupted when the door opens, and my mother stands in the doorway, worry seemingly aging her face.

“Oh, Damian!” she exclaims, sauntering forward. “You’re awake!”

“I am, Mother.” I smile tersely as she wraps her arms around my shoulders, weeping quietly as if she’s relieved I didn’t die.

I’m just about to close my eyes and bask in my mother’s warm embrace when a pair of smaller feet patter into the room.

Mother lifts her head, cheeks streaming with tears, but her eyes glowing with awe. “Daniel wanted to finally meet you…”

She steps toward Dorian and waves Daniel over, and the young boy nods at her as he slowly advances to her side. My heart squeezes as I watch him walk in slowly, each careful step attesting to the traumas he faced out there.

He seems to be comfortable with my mother and moves toward her as he comes closer. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through: being kidnapped, being rescued, seeing his mother in the hospital, and now, meeting his father for the first time.

I can’t even take my eyes off him, because it’s like staring at a reflection of myself when I was younger. Just as I suspected, Daniel is the boy from the other day. And since I met him only a few days ago for the first time—a chance encounter—so much has changed.