Chapter 72
The morning came with the same dread it always did. My mind was already racing. Today, I told myself, it has to be today. I have to find a way to leave
I don’t even understand how because my wolf can’t even stand hearing me talk about leaving
Astor.
Every day here was worse than the last, a slow tightening of the rope around my chest. Astor seemed to enjoy watching me struggle, like a cat playing with a mouse it knew couldn’t run
far.
I was sitting up, pulling the sheet tight around me, when the door burst open. I flinched, expecting one of Astor’s guards, or maybe Astor himself, here to start the day’s torture.
But it wasn’t a guard.
It was a small, fast blur of energy.
“Mommy!”
The single word hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air right out of my lungs.
Marco.
He launched himself across the room, his little body wrapping around me, his arms tight around my neck. The smell of him was so real, so solid, that I forgot everything. I just held him, clutching him tightly, feeling the tears clog my throat.
“Marco, baby, what are you doing here? How…?”
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes wide and worried. “I missed you so much, Mommy! Why did you go away?”
I kissed his forehead, trying to breathe past the sudden, overwhelming joy. For a moment, nothing else mattered. I had my son.
Then, my eyes lifted, moving past Marco’s bright head, and I saw them standing just inside the doorway.
Mr. and Mrs. Gable.
My heart didn’t just sink; it dropped straight into my feet. My arms loosened around Marco in absolute shock.
“Mr. Gable? Mrs. Gable?” I stammered.
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Mrs. Gable, sweet and kind as always, rushed forward, looking nervous and tired. “Oh, Faith, thank goodness. We were so worried about you.”
I awkwardly reached out and hugged them both, my mind screaming. This was wrong. This was dangerous. They are human. They shouldn’t be here. This is deep inside the pack grounds. It is unprecedented. It is completely unacceptable unless you are given special clearance.
I pulled back from their embrace, pinching the skin on my arm hard enough to hurt. Yes, I was awake. Marco was real. Mr. and Mrs. Gable were real.
“How did you get here?” I whispered, looking from them to Marco, then back to them. “Who brought you? Nobody knows about you, nobody was supposed to know about Marco!” The panic was a sharp, bitter taste in my mouth. Astor couldn’t know about my history with the Gables. He especially couldn’t know about Marco.
Before I could start yelling about the danger they were in, the silence was broken by a new sound. The slow, confident footsteps of someone who owned the place.
Astor walked in.
He stood by the doorframe, tall and relaxed, looking at the perfect picture of reunion. A taunt played on his lips.
“Faith, my love,” he said, his voice smooth and fake. “I thought you’d be happy.”
I stared at him, my mouth completely dry. “You… what?”
“I called them,” he explained, as if ordering breakfast. “They seemed so distraught about your health that I thought it best to assure them you were safe and invited them to visit.”
Shock turned instantly into heartbreak. My knees felt weak. I looked at Astor, trying to send a thousand silent messages with my eyes: Why? Please, don’t do this. Don’t take him. I’m sorry.
Astor didn’t back down. He gave me a cold, taunting look that promised there was hell coming, and there was no forgiving me.
He pushed off the doorframe and walked closer, moving with that effortless alpha grace until he was kneeling right in front of Marco and me. Marco, totally unaware of the truth in the room, looked up at this man with bright curiosity.
“And who is this handsome young man?” Astor asked warmly, reaching out a finger to gently tap Marco’s nose.
“I’m Marco,” my son announced proudly, puffing out his chest a little. “And you must be Astor.” I don’t even know who told him his name but I think I was going through a few
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minutes of shock because everything was happening and I couldn’t completely register it in my mind.
“That I am, Marco,” Astor said. He tilted his head, studying Marco’s face carefully.
Marco studied him back, then smiled. “You know, we kind of look alike.”
The air in the room froze.
Astor’s easy smile vanished, replaced by a deep, dark glare directed straight at me. It was a silent dagger, showing me he knew everything and that I had failed to hide the truth.
he has every right to be angry but I also can understand how everything happened. I thought I
could hide the secret forever and somehow it’s come back to bite me.
I could feel the tears starting, stinging the backs of my eyes, but I swallowed hard. I couldn’t cry. I had to be strong. I had to look like everything was normal for Marco.
“We were so worried, Faith,” Mr. Gable explained softly, stepping forward. “After you called us using that strange number, the line kept cutting out. We couldn’t get back in touch. Then Astor called us. He said that you were safe and that we could come see you to make sure.”
I forced the most convincing smile I could manage. It felt stiff, like a mask of plaster.
“I’m okay now,” I lied smoothly. I squeezed Mr. Gable’s hand, feeling the bone–deep terror of trying to protect these fragile humans in the middle of a wolf pack. “Coming here was a really good idea. Thank you for making the long trip.”
I looked at Marco, who was still examining Astor with innocent interest. “Marco, sweetie, why don’t you go with Mr. and Mrs. Gable? Get some juice or something in the big kitchen. I just need to have a quick talk with Astor.”
I waited until they had all walked out of the room. Marco still chatting happily about his journey, the Gables looking confused but obeying before I turned back to face the man who had just found out he was a father.
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