37. Daddy

Mia Miller

Have you ever felt out of place, as if everything you knew about yourself was a lie? That feeling of urgency in your chest, wanting to change everything happening around you, but you couldn’t, because it was real… That’s exactly how I felt. It’s strange how, in the blink of an eye, your life can go from normal to a whirlwind.

"Get up, Mia," I heard, as the light flooded my eyes. I looked to the side and saw Ethan’s figure. Great. I never had peace.

"What’s up?" I mumbled. "It must still be early." He had slept here, on the couch, of course, after our argument last night.

"I’m taking you to our training grounds."

"Training?" I raised an eyebrow. "Do wolves train?"

"Obviously. We need to get stronger and improve our skills whenever we can."

I looked around. Lorenzo was still asleep.

"Why did you wake me up?"

"I wanted to kiss you. Will you let me?" He said, making me widen my eyes.

I almost fell over at the sound of his voice saying those words.

"Just kidding, human. Get ready, we’re training!"

"Training? I..."

"Listen, Mia," he said, holding my shoulders. "There are bad people and wolves after you. If you really are a hybrid, you need to develop your wolf and transform."

"I don’t want that," I said firmly.

"You don’t get to decide. If it’s in your nature, it’s part of who you are."

Those words hit me like a punch in the stomach. Ethan, with all his determination, wasn’t giving me a choice. He’d always been controlling and self-assured. But me? I just wanted my life back. No wolves, no hunters, no constant feeling like I was about to lose everything.

"I don’t want this," I repeated, more to myself than to him. "I don’t want to be part of this world, Ethan. It’s not for me."

Ethan sighed, his fingers tightening a little more on my shoulders before he let go. He stepped back, running a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.

"You think you can escape who you are, Mia? You think you can live a normal life when there are wolves and hunters lurking? They won’t stop until they find you. Until they destroy everything you love."

My stomach churned at hearing those words. I knew he was right. Since Lorenzo had been kidnapped, my life had been a mess. But accepting that there was a part of me I didn’t know... a supernatural part... was still hard to grasp.

"I don’t want to be like you," I murmured, more of a confession than an accusation.

Ethan narrowed his eyes at me, his jaw clenching. "You don’t have to be like me. You just need to survive."

I took a deep breath, trying to process everything. The weight of his words, the gravity of the situation. He was right. There was something inside me, something I’d been ignoring since I found out I was a hybrid. But the idea of transforming, losing control of my own body, terrified me.

"How can you be so sure I’m a hybrid?" I asked, crossing my arms, trying to keep up the façade of not being terrified.

He looked me in the eyes, his lips forming a thin line. "I can feel it. Your scent... it’s different. You’re not fully human, and that means, at some point, your wolf will awaken. It’s just a matter of time."

I shook my head, trying to push away the growing fear inside me. "What if I don’t want that to happen? What if I’d rather live like I am now?"

Ethan took a step forward, his expression softening for a moment. "Mia, you don’t have a choice. Denying who you are will only put you in more danger. I can’t protect you from everything if you’re not ready to fight for yourself."

I hated admitting it, but there was a part of me that knew he was right. Running from the truth wouldn’t save me. But the idea of embracing something so wild and unknown... it terrified me.

"I... I don’t know if I can," I confessed, my voice low.

Ethan cupped my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. "You can. I know you can. And I’ll be by your side every step of the way."

For a moment, his eyes weren’t those of an unyielding Alpha, but of someone who genuinely cared. I didn’t know if it was my vulnerability or the exhaustion of so many internal battles, but something inside me softened.

"Okay," I murmured, feeling the weight of my decision. "I’ll train."

A slow smile appeared on Ethan’s lips, and he took a step back, releasing me. "Good. Now go get ready. We’ve got a long day ahead."

He helped me get Lorenzo out of the crib and change his clothes.

"Do you need money? Anything?" His question caught me off guard.

"No, why?"

"I had you working in the bar’s administrative department. But with all this danger, it’s not feasible. I’ll have Nick deposit a monthly sum into your account."

"No, Ethan..." I murmured. "You don’t need to. I’m fine here. I have food, housing."

"You’re the mother of my son, Mia," he said, and our eyes met.

I realized my lips were forming an involuntary smile. Damn.

I nodded while combing Lorenzo’s almost-blond hair. It was his first day at the "wolf" school. I had no idea what that was.

"He really looks like me when I was younger," Ethan commented.

"Yeah, he didn’t take anything from me, he’s all his dad, huh son?" I smiled at him, tickling his little foot.

Ethan fell silent for a moment, watching Lorenzo. I was playing with my son, tickling his feet when something unexpected happened. Lorenzo, with his curious little face and sparkling eyes, looked directly at Ethan and babbled:

"Dad."

Time seemed to stop. I immediately looked at Ethan and saw something change in his expression. He, who always kept a tough and distant posture, suddenly seemed vulnerable. His gaze met Lorenzo’s, and there was an emotion there I’d never seen before.

Ethan took a deep breath, as if trying to process what he had just heard. He opened and closed his mouth several times, clearly unsure of how to react. I had never seen him so hesitant.

"He... he said ‘papa,’" he murmured, almost incredulous.

I nodded, trying to hold back my own smile. "Yes, he did."

Without saying anything else, Ethan stepped closer to Lorenzo, gently picking him up, still seeming a little stunned. Lorenzo laughed, loving the attention from his dad, and Ethan, although unsure how to express his feelings, smiled. A rare smile, but genuine.

He started swinging Lorenzo back and forth like an airplane, the little one laughing loudly with every movement. Ethan’s usual hardness seemed to vanish entirely as he played with his son, his eyes shining with a joy he rarely showed. I watched, surprised by the scene before me. It was as if, for a moment, all the weight of the world had disappeared.

Lorenzo kept laughing, and Ethan, despite always trying to hide his emotions, could no longer hold back what he felt. There was a shine in his eyes, something that touched me deeply.

"Did you hear that?" Ethan asked, still a little in disbelief, his voice softer than usual.

"I heard," I answered, smiling.

Ethan placed Lorenzo on his shoulders and started walking around the room, making little wolf growls that Lorenzo loved. It was such a simple scene, but so full of meaning. Seeing Ethan like this, so open, so... human, made me realize that, no matter how complicated our relationship was, he would love Lorenzo deeply.

And me? Well, part of me felt a spark of hope.