Page 65 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

“Hi, sir,” he says curtly, standing tall next to my mother.

I glance at her, in awe and surprise, then bring my eyes back to him.

“Hey, young man,” I grin, stretching out my hand. “I remember you from the other day.”

He nods slowly. “I remember you, too. They’re all saying you’re my dad.”

“That’s right. I am,” I concede with a gentle nod.

Daniel gulps, then glances at my mother. “All of this is very new to me.” He points at my mother. “A grandmother.” He points to Dorian next. “An uncle. And now, a dad. My ma never told me about any of you.”

I chuckle nervously. “Well, it’s a long story, son. But we’d like for you to be a part of our lives. I would like to be the father you need me to be. If you will have me.”

Daniel’s eyes brighten. “Are you kidding me?! Of course, I’d want that! I get a whole family. That’s pretty cool!” he beams, and to my surprise, he asks sheepishly, “Can I…hug you?”

My heart stops for a moment, guilt returning because he has to ask at all.

I open my arms immediately, and Daniel rushes forward and throws his arms around me.

My mother simply watches us with starry eyes illuminated by her smile, and I wrap my arms around my son, my heart squeezing inside my chest as the awareness of the mate bond hums with longing.

“Is Ma gonna be okay?” Daniel asks as he pulls away slightly. “Those bad women did something to her, didn’t they?”

The furious glint in his eyes feels so familiar, but it’s not because he’s my son and a carbon copy of me on the outside.

No…

He has a spirit deep within him that matches his mother’s. Even though he looks like me, he has a personality like Poppy. I can already see it.

“We are going to do everything we can to ensure your mother gets better, okay, Danny?” Dorian says, and Daniel nods at him with firm conviction.

Dorian turns to me then. “I’m going to check on Aoife’s progress. I’ll be back later.”

He takes his leave then, and that’s when I turn my attention back to my son.

Ten years…

Ten birthdays…

Countless milestones I wasn’t present for, and yet, having him here with me takes all those regrets away.

“I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you, Daniel,” I say as I hang my head in shame.

That’s when Daniel steps forward and shakes his head, offering out a hand. When I look up, he opens his palm, showing me his mother’s necklace.

I recognize the pendant with a gold bird spreading its wings and a rose quartz crystal bead forming its eye.

Gasping, I reach out toward his hand and touch a single fingertip to the pendant.

The mate bond hums stronger than it has been since I woke up, and tears fill my eyes as Daniel explains that the witches who snatched her tossed the necklace aside when they took her to the warehouse, chanting strange words he couldn’t understand before they left her on the cold, hard floor and disappeared.

The necklace fell on the side of the cage he’d been locked in, and he grabbed it and held it close to him.

“I haven’t let go of Ma’s necklace since then. It’s what gave me strength, Dad, and it still gives me strength,” Daniel whispers, and I instinctively reach for him, my chest tightening when my heart fills with remorse.

I turn my face to my mother and see her eyes welling with more tears.

“I have to see her,” I say to Mother. “I need to see Poppy.”