The moon hung heavy and low over the skyline of Greystone City, cloaking the streets in silver. Fog coiled through alleyways like whispers of forgotten secrets. Somewhere beneath that moon, Selene's past stirred—and tonight, it was catching up to her.
The steady hum of fluorescent lights above the hospital corridor was the only thing grounding her. She pushed her cart through the ICU wing, heart thudding louder than her footsteps. Her eyes flicked nervously to the nurse station's clock: 2:43 AM.
Her wolf twitched.
That instinct—primal, cold—rose like a chill against her spine. Something was wrong. She felt it in the silence, in the way shadows pressed too thick against the walls. Not human danger. Wolf danger.
Selene didn't know how she knew. She just did.
She swallowed, brushing her fingers against the pendant tucked under her scrubs. A gift from her mother. Silver and moonstone—it shimmered faintly now.
Then—
CRASH!
Glass shattered in room 403.
Selene darted in, expecting a patient's fall.
Instead, she found the man from the elevator.
Or rather, the man whose scent had lingered on her skin for over four years.
Killian Black.
She hadn't seen his face clearly that night. Only fragments—his touch, his voice, the burn of lips against her throat. But now, seeing him fully under flickering emergency lights?
Selene's breath caught.
Tall, commanding, with eyes that flickered like dying embers—Killian was danger in a tailored suit. His shirt was torn at the shoulder, blood dripping from his palm, fangs barely retracted.
Not fully shifted. But close.
He looked up. His wolf eyes locked on hers.
And everything stopped.
Her scent hit him like a freight train.
"...You," he breathed, his voice a low growl.
Selene's blood froze. She turned—bolted—but he moved faster. In a second, he was in front of her, blocking the door with his massive frame.
"Who are you?" he asked, though part of him already knew.
Selene kept her head down, heart threatening to crack ribs.
"I'm a nurse," she whispered.
"Don't lie to me."
His voice rumbled with Alpha command.
She looked up. His eyes widened.
Those eyes—moonlit silver with an echo of pain. He remembered. Not everything, but enough.
The hotel. The night. The scent. The goodbye that never came.
"You ran."
Selene's mouth trembled. "You don't know what I'm running from."
Before he could reply, an agonized scream split the air from outside.
Killian's head snapped toward the window.
Selene ran to it. Her gut twisted.
Down on the street—blood. A body. Another nurse, throat torn open.
"No," she whispered.
Killian snarled, ripping his coat off. "It's one of them."
"Rogues?"
He looked back at her, startled.
"You know about rogues."
Too late. She'd slipped.
Selene looked away, fists clenched.
Killian stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"You're one of us."
She flinched.
"Tell me your name."
"I can't."
"You will."
His command curled around her, sharp like a leash tugging at her wolf.
Selene pushed him back, surprising them both with the strength behind it.
"You don't get to demand anything," she hissed. "You don't know what I've been through—what I left behind."
Killian looked stunned.
But outside, a second scream pierced the night.
No time.
He turned to leap from the window, shifting mid-air into a massive, jet-black wolf with glowing eyes.
Selene stood frozen, watching him land with a growl and vanish into the shadows.
Tears pricked her eyes. Her wolf howled deep within.
Killian Black.
The father of her child.
And now... the man hunting her truth.
The Alpha's Voice, The Luna's Fire
Killian's voice cracked like thunder through the room, low and lethal.
"You think you can disappear for six years and walk back in like nothing happened?"
His eyes were sharp, dangerous—but behind the fury, she saw it. The betrayal. The agony he refused to show.
Selene's lips trembled. "I didn't come back to you. I came for my son."
Killian's jaw clenched. "Our son." He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "You kept him from me. You lied. You ran. And now I'm supposed to—what? Forgive and forget?"
The room shook with silence. The bodyguards exchanged nervous glances but stayed back. No one dared interfere.
"I did what I had to do," Selene whispered, backing against the glass wall. "You would have never let me go. You—your pack—they would've—"
"Protected you!" he barked. "I would've protected you with my life!"
"But you weren't there, Killian!" Her voice broke as tears spilled freely now. "You were gone every night, buried in war councils and blood. I was drowning. And when I found out I was pregnant—"
She swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I knew he'd be a target. Just like I was."
Killian stared at her, stricken. For a moment, the anger drained from his face, replaced by something raw.
Pain.
Guilt.
"His name?" he asked softly.
She hesitated. "Kael."
Killian's eyes fluttered shut. "Kael," he repeated, as if committing it to memory. "Is he... like us?"
Selene nodded. "He shifted early. Just once. He doesn't understand it yet."
Killian turned his back to her, shoulders tense. His hands balled into fists at his sides. "You raised him alone. All those firsts—his laugh, his fears, his first full moon—you had them all without me."
Her voice was barely a whisper. "And I died inside each time he asked if he had a father."
Killian turned, eyes blazing. "Then let me be one now."
Face to Face With the Heir
Killian's demand echoed in the silent room like a challenge from fate.
"Let me meet him. Now."
Selene froze. Her heart thudded so hard it hurt. Every instinct screamed to shield Kael—to run again, far from the chaos.
But the ache in Killian's voice wasn't just a father's demand.
It was a soul's cry for something he never knew he'd lost.
"He's at home," she said slowly, choosing each word like walking a tightrope. "He doesn't know... anything. About you. About the pack."
"Then it's time he learns," Killian said, stepping forward, the fire in his eyes burning with resolution. "He deserves to know who he is. Who we are."
Selene's throat tightened. "And what if your enemies find him? What if they use him like they used me?"
Killian's jaw clenched, but his voice dropped to a low vow. "No one will touch him. Not while I breathe."
She stared at him. That same fierce protector—the Alpha she once fell for—was still there beneath all the scars.
But could she trust him again? With their child? With her heart?
"He's strong, Killian," she whispered. "More than I ever imagined. But he's... angry. He senses something's missing."
Killian's gaze softened. "Then let me be what he's missing."
A sharp knock at the door made them both stiffen. The scent that filtered in from beyond was faint—but unmistakable.
Selene's eyes widened. "No..." she breathed.
The door creaked open.
And there he stood.
Kael.
His wild chestnut curls tousled, golden eyes wide with curiosity and a strange recognition as they landed on Killian.
"Mom?" he asked. "Who's that man?"
The air grew electric.
Killian dropped to one knee, unable to tear his eyes away. His voice broke as he spoke.
"I'm your father."
The Bond of Blood and Truth
Kael blinked at the man kneeling before him. His small brows furrowed, his voice uncertain.
"My... father?"
Selene stepped forward instinctively, but her feet refused to move past the invisible line fate had drawn. Her heart thundered, caught between fear and hope.
Killian's voice trembled as he nodded.
"Yes, Kael. I'm your father. And I've waited your whole life to meet you."
Kael tilted his head. His golden eyes—so much like Killian's—searched the man's face. "Mom said my dad was gone... like the wind. But you're real."
Killian swallowed hard, fighting the sting in his throat. "I didn't know about you. If I had—"
"Would you have come for me?" Kael interrupted.
The question was sharp, honest. The kind that wounds.
Killian didn't hesitate. "I would've torn the world apart to find you."
Silence fell. Selene's breath caught as Kael looked down, fists clenched.
"I used to dream about you," he whispered. "You were always a wolf. But when I called out... you never turned back."
Killian knelt lower, pain shadowing his features. "I didn't turn back... because I didn't know to listen. But I'm listening now. I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."
Selene watched, tears sliding down her cheeks.
Kael looked at her, eyes shimmering. "Can I trust him, Mom?"
She nodded, a fragile smile trembling on her lips. "He's not the same Alpha we left. He's... learning to be more."
Kael stepped forward slowly, his small hand reaching for Killian's.
The moment they touched, the room seemed to pulse—the ancient bond of blood and wolf sparking awake. A soft golden glow flickered where their hands met.
Killian's eyes widened. "He's already awakened..."
Selene gasped. "His wolf—he's shifting early..."
But before panic could settle, Kael grinned. "It doesn't hurt, Mom. It feels... like home."
And for the first time, in a long, aching forever—home didn't seem like a place they'd lost.
It was standing right here. Together.
The Awakening and the Warning
Kael's fingertips sparkled with golden threads of energy as the ancestral power of the bloodline coursed through him. The ground hummed beneath them. Killian knelt still, stunned—not just by the bond, but by the sheer force radiating from the boy.
"He's already awakened," Selene whispered again, shaken.
Killian looked up at her, voice thick. "No Alpha heir has ever shown this much power before a full moon... He's more than we imagined."
Kael, unaware of the magnitude of his awakening, simply laughed—a sound pure and innocent as he let go of Killian's hand. But the light didn't fade. It shimmered around him like a shield.
Suddenly—
CRACK.
The air split, and a raven landed on the windowpane, its wings tattered, eyes blood-red. It spoke—not with words, but with power. A projection from far beyond.
Killian stood, his expression darkening.
The Alpha Council.
The bird's form twisted, becoming the stern face of Alpha Magnus, council leader. His voice rang out:
> "Killian Thorne. We sense the Heir has awakened. You were warned—any child born of the cursed bloodline was to be destroyed or surrendered. You've broken ancient law."
Selene stepped in front of Kael, baring her teeth. "He's just a child. My child. You'll do nothing to him."
Magnus sneered. "The prophecy is in motion. If the boy survives his first full shift, the balance of power tips. War will follow."
Kael clutched his mother's hand. "I'm not afraid."
Magnus' eyes burned. "You should be."
And with a shriek, the raven shattered into smoke.
Killian turned to Selene, jaw set. "We don't have much time. We need to prepare him—for everything."
Selene stared into Killian's eyes and saw the Alpha she once loved, the one she feared—and the man she might still trust.
Kael's power hummed louder, responding to the threat.
Innocence was gone.
The Heir had awakened.