DECLAN'S POVA little taken aback by the boy's response, I stared at him with shock. Did I just hear him answer me?"Dame? Is that your name?" I asked again, desperation seeping into my voice. His gaze remained steady, offering no clues."Dame? Danny? Desmond?" I called out random names, hoping that he would correct me, or respond to one, but he wouldn't give in no matter how much I tried.Frustrated by the boy's unresponsiveness, I sighed, realizing my attempts were futile. It must have been a mistake or maybe I heard wrong."Alright, let's get you some rest," I murmured, tucking the blanket around him. As he closed his eyes, I couldn't shake off the lingering feeling of curiosity about his true identity. Quietly exiting the room, I left him to his slumber. I found Jude in the kitchen, an apron wrapped around him and the idea popped into my head."Jude, we need to dig into Tristan's life a little, especially his son."Jude glanced up, his hands pausing mid-chop. "Tristan guards tha
TRISTAN'S POVI woke up to the sound of a gentle knock on the door. "Come in," I answered, rubbing my eyes, as I sat on the bed."Alpha, I didn't know you were still sleeping," Bruce said, as he walked into the room."Why are you here so early?" I asked with a yawn."A few packs from the south sent a message earlier this morning, and they have considered our request. They must have heard about our situation because they promised to help too."A thankful smile graced my lips at the sound of the good news. "This is amazing! Thank you for your hard work, Bruce.""That aside, they want to have a meeting with us soon to know what we will be willing to offer in return," Bruce announced, and I nodded."Schedule a meeting as soon as you can. We need this more than anything right now. We can't afford to miss the opportunity."Bruce nodded, before leaving the room, claiming that he had other things to attend to.I stepped out of my room to share the good news with Vanessa. As I pushed the door
TRISTAN'S POVThe atmosphere in the room became tense as Vanessa looked everywhere else but my face. I narrowed my eyes at her, a growing suspicion tightening my chest. "Vanessa, there's something you're not telling me. What are you hiding?"She shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. "You said you wouldn't ask," she repeated, and I nodded."I know what I said and I have given you enough time to disclose the truth. Five years is enough,"She took a deep breath, her eyes darting around. "It was a drunken mistake. I had a nightstand with a random man and that was how I got Dame. It wasn't my proudest moment but it's too late to go back in time."Regrets were evident in her eyes and for a second I thought maybe I shouldn't have pressed her into talking, seeing how she looked so sad. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"She bit her lip, still avoiding my gaze. "I was ashamed of myself. The look on your face when the doctor announced my pregnancy was cold. I thought you would judge me," s
DECLAN'S POV"Are you going somewhere?" Jude asked as I entered the kitchen. "The smell of your cologne is too strong for someone who plans to spend the whole day at home; I feel like you planned to choke someone with it," he joked.Sometimes I wondered how he managed to wake up and be in such a hyper mood. I was never a morning person, as far as I could recall."How is the investigation going?" I asked, ignoring his comment."Like I said, he kept his family life private, which made it impossible to find anything.""Still, there must be something that can help us, right?""I'm not sure if this would help, but they couldn't find the body of his son who died in the rogue invasion, and he was buried in an empty grave.""An empty grave?" I asked, a little surprised. Tristan doesn't look like the type who would do that, but again, that man is unpredictable."Yes, but why do you suddenly seem interested in Tristan's life? I understand that he was a competition to you, but not anymore. Where
DECLAN'S POVI continued to stare at the picture in awe when Tristan came inside. I turned my attention from the picture to him."Is this your son?" I asked, trying not to look suspicious for going through his things."Yes," he said with a sigh, his gaze fixed on the photo. "My wife's not ready to meet anyone yet. She is still mourning his death. I'm sorry you have to come all the way here."I nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to intrude.""No, I didn't mean it that way," Tristan corrected, but I waved him off.I gestured toward the picture. "He looks like a happy kid."Tristan's expression softened. "Yeah, he was…"I hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Tristan, I didn't just come here to intrude on your space. I came to invite you. For the ball that will be holding in my pack soon."He gave me a skeptical look before answering. "Why would you want me to be at your party?""Because you are a part of the alliance. Don't overthink it, I just wa
VANESSA'S POVThe disgusted look on the woman's face lingers in my mind, making it difficult to think about anything else. I clenched my fists, as I reminisced her cruel words."What if she is Luna? Does that mean it is okay for her to kill my son like she killed hers? What good has she done for the pack since she moved in? Everyone praised her, when in fact, she is nothing but a bad luck,"Those words kept on echoing in my head, over and over again. No matter how much I tried to wave it off, I just couldn't.If I hadn't left Dame with the maids that night, if they watched him as I ordered, I wouldn't have been insulted in this cruel way. I felt a pang in my chest, as I recalled everything all over again.The door cracked open, and I tried to hide my sorrow with a fake smile. Tristan has done more than enough. This morning was the first time in forever that we would have a normal conversation. I don't want to ruin things anymore."You looked a little stressed, I thought you were sleep
TRISTAN’S POV"Alpha, I have managed to secure a day to meet with those people. Fortunately for us, we don't have to go all the way to their pack." Bruce announced cheerfully."Where will the meeting be taking place if we won't be going there? What day did you pick for the meeting?""They are willing to send a representative over to inspect our pack and see how they can help us. If everything works out the way we want, then we won't have to be bothered about how to get things back together. This is good news!" Bruce exclaimed."Yeah, it is." I kept my gaze on Bruce but my mind was far away. He has been talking for over an hour now and the only thing I heard was the representative part. His voice sounds like an echo in the distance— I can hear it, but I can't make anything out of it."Tristan, is everything okay?" He snaps his finger in front of me, drawing my attention to himself. "I have been calling you, but it doesn't look like your mind is here. Should we postpone the meeting? Is
Tristan's POVWith that being said, I returned back to my room to prepare for the alliance meeting that was scheduled for tonight. "Have you informed her? What did she say? Bruce asked as he entered the room."She seems to be pretty excited about it," I answered as I struggled to fix my tie."Are you leaving already? Won't you pack a few things?" Bruce narrowed his eyes."Pack for what? We can prepare for the vacation later but first, I need to be at the alliance meeting tonight. I will use the opportunity to inform Declan that we will be coming over to his pack."Sometimes, I wonder why you left all our space to build a vacation house on Declan's territory. What if he decides to be an asshole and claims it? It is what he can do," Bruce frowned.He was never a fan of Declan, not even when Declan and I had a good relationship. "I don't think I need to start explaining the relationship between our parents to you. They were both on good terms and trusted each other enough to cross their
Vanessa's POV"Vanessa! Come and play with us!""Yes please, we are tired of playing alone," the kids whined as I sat down on the swing and watched them play by themselves."No, we want to play hide and seek," one of the kids whined, and I smiled at them."We have been playing hide and seek all morning," I said, still panting, from running for a long time. "You should play another game or I will have everyone go back inside," I threatened them, but it didn't even look like they were listening to me."Let's play a video game. Whoever wins gets to decide what we do next," one of the kids suggested, and I couldn't help but smile about how they reminded me of Dame in every way. That trick was the same Tristan and Dame always used to get whatever they want, and watching the kids say the same thing made me smile.It was as if the kids knew about my past life. They always find a way to remind me of the past in every way.It's been three years since I left the southern pack. Three years of le
Vanessa's POVI have concluded that I would be leaving once I regained my strength, but I do not want what happened when I tried to leave the last time to repeat itself. I know Declan would probably be looking all over the place for me, and he might have stopped me from leaving again, so I thought of writing a letter to him instead.I knew going to see him and telling him whatever I had to say was the proper way to end everything, but I was afraid that I might change my mind if I saw his pained expression, or even melt at his words if he surprised me by begging me to stay or do something worse like lock me up in his house to prevent me from leaving. With Declan, one can never be too sure.I opened the drawer and saw everything the way I left it. It was as if Tristan was hoping that one day I would return back to him. I expected him to throw out all of my belongings and wipe out every single trace or reminder of me in his pack, but he didn't.I imagined the good life I could have had w
Declan's POVTwo days have passed, and I have no clue where Vanessa might be. Even after watching the CCTV footage, I refused to believe that Vanessa would leave me. I spoke to the doctor and he said the side effects of the drug and injection he gave her were drowsiness and hallucination. Judging from how she left the hospital, I want to believe that she was sleepwalking and she is properly in some kind of danger right now.I had my men look everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. We searched everywhere… every single road that led to the hospital. The streets nearby, we even went as far as searching through the people's houses, but there was no sign of Vanessa.I sat in my room, tapping on my table as I thought of where she might have gone. What if she had an accident? Then, the police would have said something. She doesn't have anywhere to go. She doesn't even have anything on her, where could she possibly go?Jenny…I rushed over to the kitchen where Jenny was busy cutt
Vanessa's POVCrying for so long made me feel numb and it felt like there was no water left in my eyes to shed. The injection given to me made me drowsy and my head felt heavy. I know the smartest thing to do right now was to sleep or at least lay on the bed and get some rest, but I can't afford to be anywhere around Declan anymore and I just wanted to leave.Staying in the hospital reminds me of how I watched Dame's lifeless body on the bed without being able to do anything to revive him and I think it's best to just leave.My vision was blurry, and I felt so weak. I knew I had to leave, but I couldn't even think straight. With trembling hands, I reached for the tube in my arm, wincing as I pulled it out. The pain shot through me, but I gritted my teeth and kept going. Finally, I was able to pull it out, and I staggered out of the ward, barefoot and disoriented.Every step felt like a hassle as I made my way down the corridor. I have to get out of here. Those were the only thoughts i
Declan's POVI stormed back home, feeling enraged, as my insides boiled with anger like a pot left unattended on a raging fire. Guilt weighed down on me at the reminder of Vanessa's accusations, and shame chewed me up inside. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Dame died because of me, I killed him.Even if that was true, it's not like I neglected them intentionally. She has equal blame in all of this. She ran away with my child and only showed up years later. If she hadn't left, or if she had ignored her pride and informed me about the pregnancy, none of this would have happened.Dame's death hasn't been easy on me too, heck, it hasn't been easy on anyone. Even the maids are grieving his death so what made her think she could get mad at me on this? I understand that she was mourning her child, but he was my son too.I could feel all sorts of emotions surge inside me; anger, irritation, hurt, and pain.The last time I felt this way was when I lost Ellena, and now, once agai
Chapter 140Vanessa's POVI woke up in the hospital bed, surrounded by the sterile scent of antiseptic and the low hum of medical equipment. My body felt heavy like I was being dragged in the mud, and all of my pain came rushing back in double folds.When I lost Dame in the rogue attack, I thought that would be the end of me. I cried every day and became a mess because he was all I lived for. But then Tristan came back to tell me he was alive, all of my pains vanished into the air. It felt like I was given a reason to live again. To work harder, to become a better mother.Just when I thought I had all the time in the world to be with my boy, I lost him to the cold hands of death. I wanted to scream, to yell out my frustration. I wanted to blame somebody so badly, and hate them for the rest of my life, but where do I begin?I haven't shed a single tear since we got back home from the hospital. This one was different— I had two weeks to prepare for his death. His death wasn't exactly ne
Chapter 139Declan's POVIt's been a week since Dame died. Seven miserable days of wishing and hoping even though no amount of breakdown would bring him back. The last time I felt this vulnerable was when Ellena died. I wasn't even this sad when I lost my parents.Everything felt vain and I had lost the will to continue with my role as the Alpha or do anything to gain more wealth or power. What was the use of all my power and influence when it couldn't save my son from dying?What is the point of being the most powerful Alpha when I can't even keep the one thing I wanted most in my life?What hurt the most was the fact that I was beside Dame when he took his last breath, but I wasn't there for him. I slept peacefully that night, thinking I still had another day to grant his wishes. I went to bed feeling on top of the world because I finally got to hear him call me father, not knowing those would be his last words.If only I had known that those were the last time I'd hear him speak, m
Vanessa's POVI traced my hands on the bed, expecting to feel a small hand or at least a tiny body, but there was none. I opened my eyes lazily and found myself in a room different from the one I thought I would be in.I was at Dame's ward until last night, how did I end up here? Judging from the smell, I could tell that I was still at the hospital. Did I pass out? I searched my body checking for any visible injury but other than the throbbing pain in my heart and the headache that has become a constant thing since I found out about Dame's health, I am all good.Maybe Declan brought me here so that I can sleep peacefully. I stood up from the bed and made my way to Dame's ward, where Dame and Declan were sleeping peacefully.This is the first time Declan has looked peaceful since we have been visiting the hospital. He was trying so hard to stay strong, to hide his feelings, but he couldn't always keep them in check. His expressions sometimes sell him off.Dame clung onto Declan's cloth
Declan's POVVanessa paced the room anxiously, waiting for Tristan to return with Dame as I watched from the minibar. We haven't said a word to each other since our last encounter in the morning and I do not want to say another word knowing she would end up misunderstanding it.Right on cue, Tristan came in with Dame sleeping peacefully in his arms. Vanessa's worried expression was soon replaced with excitement as she rushed over to his side."Thank you so much for today," Vanessa gave Tristan a warm smile which made my stomach twitch. The way Dame and Vanessa act so comfortable around Tristan was enough to rile me up, and once again, Tristan does that thing he always does.He acts like the perfect gentleman that Vanessa could always lean on. Too fake if you ask me. They seemed to be carried away with their little conversation to notice my presence.I made my way to them, and Tristan handed a basket of fruit to Vanessa simultaneously."What is that?" I pointed at the little puppy roam