27.Dossier

Ethan Greenwood

The trip back was quieter than I expected. Mia was visibly disturbed after the confrontation with Amber and the strange events from the night before. But as much as it bothered me, I had more urgent matters to take care of. Nick had mentioned something about the investigations, something that could change the game.

As soon as we arrived in the city, Lorenzo ran straight into Esther's arms, and she welcomed him with a warm smile. That gave me the time I needed to take care of what truly mattered. Nick was waiting for me, as promised.

“Mia,” I called as she prepared to head in another direction. “You’re coming with me.”

She blinked, surprised. “Where to?”

“To see the bar’s accounts. It’s time for you to start understanding how things work around here.”

She hesitated but didn’t argue. She knew that when I made a decision, there was no turning back.

“Okay.”

As we walked together to the office, I felt that something was different about her. Mia, usually so talkative, was unusually quiet. I knew she was trying to process what she had seen the night before: a real wolf, flesh and blood, transforming right before her eyes. She still couldn’t fully grasp the truth, but the tension in her body told me that, soon, the questions would begin to surface.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“Nothing.” She sighed, looking away. “It’s just... that place, that wolf, and knowing my son is a part of this... all of it is scaring me.”

“Everything will work out, but you can’t run away.” I kept my tone firm. “You have a contract with me, and you’ll do as I say.”

She nodded, no further questions. But it was clear that Mia was pulling away. Her lost look revealed the growing fear inside her.

With Lorenzo in good hands, I walked to the office in the bar, where Nick was already waiting with a thick envelope in his hands. It was the information I was expecting.

“Alpha,” Nick greeted, handing me the dossier. “This is about Mia. The investigation is complete.”

I glanced quickly at Mia, who was distracted, looking around at the details of the bar. I took the envelope and went straight to the back room. Nick followed silently.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I opened the dossier. The first page made me freeze. The name there... wasn’t the man Mia knew as her father.

“What is this?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Nick stayed serious. “We found out that Mia is not the biological daughter of the man who died. Her blood comes from somewhere else... from a wolf. A powerful wolf.”

My eyes quickly moved across the pages, absorbing every detail. Mia’s biological father was not an ordinary human. He was a wolf with a strong lineage, someone with deep ties in the supernatural world. Someone who likely knew about Mia’s existence but never sought her out.

“She doesn’t know anything,” Nick continued, without hesitation. “The man who raised her and her mother kept this truth from her.”

I closed the dossier with a snap, feeling the weight of this revelation. Mia wasn’t just a human accidentally caught up in my world. She belonged to it, even though she didn’t know. That complicated everything, especially because of Lorenzo.

“This changes everything,” I murmured, feeling the pressure mount.

“Alpha, what do you want to do?” Nick asked.

“For now, she doesn’t need to know anything,” I replied, controlling my tone. “She’ll find out when the time is right. Until then, this stays between us.”

Nick nodded. The weight of what I had just discovered was still settling inside me. But now I needed to deal with Mia.

I left the office and found her sitting, distracted with the bar’s accounts. Her eyes lifted to me as I approached.

“Done, sorted everything out?” She tried to sound casual, but there was a subtle tension in her voice.

“Yes,” I lied. “Everything’s under control. Now let’s take care of this.”

She looked back at the papers, but I knew her mind was elsewhere. And I couldn’t blame her. Nothing that had happened up until now had prepared her for what was coming.

The silence in the office was deafening. Mia was focused on the accounts as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did, at least the way she thought everything was happening. But the truth was, she had no idea of the gravity of the situation.

As I watched her, my mind was racing. The dossier in my hands felt like it weighed tons. The truth about Mia’s real father was a blow—not just to her, but to me too.

She’s not the daughter of the man who raised her. Those words spun in my head. What does this mean? What is she really?

Since I met Mia, I had felt something different about her. A hidden strength, something that always made me suspicious and, at the same time, intrigued. Now, with this new information, everything made sense, but at the same time, nothing did. She thought she was human, that her world was limited to debts and ordinary struggles. But the blood running through her veins said otherwise.

I looked again at the dossier, my hands gripping the paper tighter. Charlotte. That name bothered me. Mia thought Charlotte was just a friend, someone who helped her in a time of need, but it went deeper than that.

Charlotte wasn’t a random figure. She had ties to the supernatural world. Dangerous ties. Did she know the truth about Mia all along? Was she using her for some greater purpose?

“What a mess,” I muttered, almost without realizing.

Mia lifted her eyes for a moment, with that innocent expression she always carried. She didn’t know anything, but she felt that something was wrong. Her eyes studied me for a brief second, but then she went back to focusing on the numbers.

I was torn. Tell her the truth now or wait? But one thing was clear: I needed to understand everything before telling her anything. Mia was more than just a human lost in this supernatural world. She had a role to play. And I needed to be ready to protect her when the truth came to light.

As I read the dossier more closely, one thing stood out: Mia’s father was a rare wolf, with a lineage that few knew, but all feared. Powerful, ancient. If Mia’s enemies already knew this, it wouldn’t be surprising that they were trying to get close to her. She represented a valuable piece in a game I couldn’t even fully comprehend.

The idea that Mia could be used as a weapon or a bargaining chip filled me with fury.

And Charlotte? What did this woman know that Mia didn’t? Was she trying to protect her... or use her?

I sighed heavily and ran a hand over my face.

I was cornered. My connection to Mia went beyond duty. She affected me in ways I didn’t want to admit.

“I need a plan,” I murmured to myself.

I left the office and found her still sitting, going over the accounts. She looked at me casually, but there was tension in the air.

“Done, sorted everything out?” she asked.

“Yes,” I lied, keeping my expression impassive. “Everything’s under control.”

But nothing was under control. And when the truth started to emerge, there would be no turning back.