CHAPTER NINE : THE EYES THAT WATCH

Daisy’s POV

The knock on the door came just as I was pouring hot cocoa for the kids. I froze, mug halfway tilted.

Three short taps. A pause. Then two more.

Not Lycan’s knock. Not the nanny’s.

“Stay here,” I told the children quietly, handing the mug to the eldest. “Keep the door locked behind me.”

I moved to the door, heart steady but alert. I cracked it open just slightly—and sighed in relief.

“Mirah,” I breathed.

She stepped inside, her coat drawn tight against the wind. “Sorry for dropping by unannounced,” she said, brushing snow from her shoulders.

I shut the door behind her. “No, I’m glad you came. I didn’t want to call and risk someone tracing it.”

Her eyes swept the room as if assessing safety. “Still staying off the grid?”

“As much as I can.” I led her to the couch and lowered my voice. “They’ve been watching. It’s not just Dickson.”

Mirah’s brows lifted. “You’re sure?”

I nodded. “Photos. Unmarked envelopes. Someone followed the kids to the park last week.”

Her mouth tightened. “And the man you called—Lycan?”

I hesitated. “He says he’s trying to help. But... I don’t know anymore.”

“Then trust me when I say this,” Mirah said, lowering her voice, “you need to get them out of here. Somewhere isolated. Just for a few weeks.”

I glanced toward the hallway where the kids were giggling softly. The thought of running again pulled at my chest.

“I’ll think about it.”

---

Dickson’s POV

“She’s moved,” Rita said as she stepped into my office with her tablet in hand. “Not far. Just outside the city. A clinic run by a private physician.”

“Name?” I asked, already pulling on my coat.

“Dr. Mirah Lenz.”

I paused.

Mirah. That name again.

“She helped deliver the kids,” Rita added. “But something’s off. I tried pulling medical records—they’re sealed tighter than royal scrolls.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why would she keep things that are hidden?”

“Because Daisy asked her to,” Rita said plainly.

That made sense. Daisy was always careful, always protective.

I grabbed the car keys off the desk. “Let’s pay the good doctor a visit.”

---

Later that evening…

Daisy’s POV

Mirah left just before sundown. I walked her out the back way, scanning the trees like I always did now. The wind whispered strange things tonight. The woods felt heavier.

As I turned to go back inside, I caught something in the corner of my eye.

A car. Parked across the street.

It wasn’t there earlier.

My chest clenched.

Back inside, I turned off every light, closed every curtain. I ushered the kids into the basement, where emergency bedding was already laid out. I tried to smile through it, make it feel like an adventure.

“Movie night,” I said. “Downstairs. Blankets, snacks, and no rules.”

They cheered.

But I kept the remote in one hand and my phone in the other.

Lycan didn’t pick up.

---

Dickson’s POV

I stayed in the car.

I wasn’t going to knock—not yet. Not until I knew what I was walking into.

The house was dim. No shadows moved in the windows.

I reached for the photo I’d brought with me. Four children. The same picture Rita found in the school files. I’d stared at it so long, I could see the curves of their cheeks even when I closed my eyes.

“Who are you to them, Daisy?” I whispered. “And why won’t you let me in?”

I sat there for two hours.

The house didn’t stir.

Until someone suddenly stepped out from the dark and knocked on my window.

I jolted—and rolled it down slowly.

Lycan.

He didn’t look pleased.

“You need to back off, Dickson.”

I met his eyes calmly. “You’re hiding something.”

“So is she,” he fired back.

We both knew it.

“What’s your angle?” I asked him.

Lycan stepped closer. “Protection. Something you gave up when you chose your throne over her.”

He turned and walked off into the darkness without another word.

---

Daisy’s POV

That night, I didn’t sleep.

I lay on the floor beside the kids, staring up at the ceiling while the soft hum of the portable heater buzzed in my ears.

I kept thinking about Dickson. About his eyes when he asked me the question I couldn’t answer.

“Are they mine?”

I never told him yes.

But I never told him no either.

Tomorrow, Mirah will return with supplies. Maybe we’d move again. Maybe I’d change their names a second time.

Maybe...

But deep down, I knew the truth wasn’t going to stay hidden forever.

And when it finally broke through the surface?

None of us would be the same.

Dr. Mirah Lenz's POV

"You know you can't keep shielding her forever."

I didn't flinch as Elder Tarman spoke. His voice, hoarse from years of commanding lesser wolves, still carried enough venom to turn stronger backs than mine. But I had seen worse—held screaming mothers through miscarriages, stitched open battle wounds, and faked medical reports to protect victims who'd never see justice otherwise.

And now, Daisy.

"She has rights, just like every other she-wolf in this territory," I replied, my tone flat but firm. "And unless you've come with a court order, you won't see anything."

Elder Tarman leaned against the desk in my private clinic office, arms crossed. "Don't test me, Mirah. You've always been a rule-bender. This is different. This involves the Alpha."

"Which Alpha? The one who threw his Luna away? Or the one hiding something darker?" I rose from behind my desk, meeting his glare. "You said it yourself, Tarman. I'm a rule-bender. Not a rule-follower. So unless you're bleeding, shift out of my clinic."

He bared his teeth, more annoyance than threat. "You're shielding pups that don't belong to her."

I arched my brow. "That your assumption or Rosa's latest conspiracy theory?"

He stormed out.

I locked the door behind him and turned to the shelves where Daisy's real files sat, buried behind old medical ledgers and unlabeled storage. It wasn't just about Daisy anymore. Something bigger was happening. Elders poking around, Lycan too conveniently protective, and now Rosa? Coordinating behind the scenes?

I had to act. And that meant calling someone I hadn't spoken to in years.

---

"You still breathe, old man?"

Silence for a second. Then laughter. Raspy, familiar.

"Mirah Lenz. The rebel healer. Didn't think you'd call."

"I need your help, Roan. Someone's playing a dangerous game and it's going to fall on four innocent kids."

Roan's voice turned serious. "You said kids. Daisy's?"

"Yes. And no. Long story. Can you come? Quietly?"

"I don’t do quiet anymore. But I’ll do it. For you. Where am I headed?"

"Back to Ridgewood. I’ll text you. And Roan? Bring your eyes. Not your fists. Not yet."

---

Roan Mckellen's POV

The last time I stepped into Ridgewood, it was as a condemned Beta. I left blood behind. Mine. Theirs. Not something I planned to relive.

But Mirah’s voice held that urgency only she could conjure. And I owed her. Big time.

The town hadn't changed much—still too polished for its own good. But I saw the cracks beneath the glitter. Mistrust lingering in stares. Patrols tripled. Wolves trying not to look like wolves.

Mirah met me at the back entrance of her clinic.

"You came fast," she said.

"Always do it for you."

"Still full of flattery?"

"Only when I'm nervous. What's the real problem?"

She led me inside. Locked three doors. Opened the fourth to a room that smelled like eucalyptus and antiseptic.

"There are four kids. All five years old. No father on paper. Four different last names."

I raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess. Alpha Dickson's DNA is stamped on all of them?"

Mirah nodded. "Unofficially. I ran quiet tests at birth. Never filed them. Only I know. And now someone—likely Rosa or her spies—is trying to surface everything."

"Why?"

"To force Daisy to surrender. Or disappear. Or worse."

Roan exhaled sharply. "You always pick messy fights."

"You’re not backing out, are you?"

"Never say that. I just need to know where the bombs are buried."

"Start with the school. Kids go by different names, but there’s one teacher who knows the truth."

"Name?"

"Lucille Tanners."

Roan cracked his neck. "Got it. I’ll go sniff around. You watch your back."

---

Lucille Tanner's POV

I knew this day would come. I just didn’t expect it so soon.

The second that stranger walked into my classroom with a storm in his eyes and gentleness in his tone, I knew who he was.

Not Roan Mckellen, ex-Beta and old legend. No. He was a crack in the surface. The warning bell.

"Miss Tanners?"

"Yes."

"I need to ask you about four students.

I played dumb. "They’re just kids."

"No kid is just a kid in Ridgewood."

I tilted my head. "And you’re what? Security? Law?"

He smiled faintly. "Protector of the inconvenient truth."

I swallowed. Carefully. "What do you want to know?"

"Are they safe?"

That caught me off guard. "Excuse me?"

"That’s all I need. Just the truth. Are they safe in your care? Do they trust you?"

I paused, the memories of their laughter, their secret drawings, the way Max always asked for two cookies because "Mommy was tired again."

"Yes," I said. "They’re safe with me. But I don’t know how long I can keep it that way."

Roan nodded once. "Then let’s buy them more time."

---

Roan's POV

The classroom gave me more than answers. It gave me perspective. The kids were tight. Guarded, even for five-year-olds. That wasn’t normal. That was learned.

Daisy taught them silence. Secrets. Survival.

And someone else was watching.

I spotted the car on my way out. Not Dickson's. Not Lycan's. A third party. Unmarked. Just far enough not to look suspicious.

I took a photo. Sent it to Mirah.

[TEXT MESSAGE: Unknown tail watching the school. Alert Daisy. Fast.]

She replied instantly.

[On it. Get back. I need to show you something else.]

---

Mirah’s POV

Roan returned just as dusk began staining the sky. I greeted him at the rear again.

"There’s more," I said.

"There always is."

I handed him a folder. "Old case. Buried under Rosa’s name. A female wolf was reported missing seven years ago. Disappeared the same week Rosa returned to the capital. No body found."

Roan flipped the page. "Sister?"

"Dickson’s. His younger sister. Disappeared as an infant. Rosa filed a fake death certificate."

"So she’s alive?"

"Could be. And if that’s true, then everything Rosa's done to Daisy was calculated. Strategic."

Roan exhaled. "That changes the game. Where do we find proof?"

"That’s why I called you. You have the contacts."

He nodded. "I’ll reach out to my source."

"And Roan... if this goes public too soon..."

"I’ll make sure it doesn’t."

---

Lucille’s POV (Late Night)

The whisper came in the wind.

I had just locked up the classroom when I heard it. A soft shuffle. A footstep that didn’t belong.

"Who’s there?"

No answer. Just the rustle of papers. I turned back, heart tight.

Someone had broken into my desk.

A folder was missing.

I rushed outside and saw a black car vanish around the corner.

I knew then: someone else was closing in. And they weren’t waiting for truths.

---

Roan’s POV

The contact met me in a parking lot near the edge of Ridgewood. Jace Winters. Hacker. Insider. Former intel handler.

"You owe me," I said.

"This’ll make us even."

He slid a drive into my hand.

"Everything on Rosa’s transactions. Connections to Lycan.

"What’s that?"

My stomach dropped. "She was experimenting on kids?"

Jace nodded grimly. "I traced the funding. It links back to her personal accounts."

I didn’t wait. I turned and ran.

Mirah needed to see this.

And Daisy?

She had more enemies than she realized.

---

Mirah's POV

When Roan returned, his face was pale.

"You found something."

"She’s worse than we thought. She’s not just after Daisy. She’s building an army. Underground. Quiet. Controlled."

I froze. "Children?"

"Likely. And if she finds out those kids aren’t just Daisy’s... but Dickson’s too..."

"She’ll take them."

We stared at each other, fear unspoken.

"We have to move them. Now."