Kieran's POV
"Mama, my wolf is acting weird."
Storm's whisper cut through the noise of the busy airport. We were walking fast—almost running—trying to get away from Ashton and the security guards and the staring crowd. Darius had his arm around me, practically carrying me forward. Sage was sobbing against my shoulder.
But Storm's words made me freeze in the middle of the terminal.
"What do you mean, baby?" My voice shook. "Weird how?"
Storm touched his chest, right where a wolf's bond would settle. Four years old was too young for a wolf to fully emerge, but pups could feel things. Sense things. "It's pulling. Like it wants to go back to that scary Alpha."
No. No, no, no.
"That's just stress," I said quickly, starting to walk again. "Your wolf is confused because of all the yelling. It'll calm down once we get to Grandpa's house."
But I knew the truth. Storm's wolf recognized Ashton. Recognized its father.
"Kieran, breathe." Darius's voice was low and steady. "We're almost to the car. Just a few more steps."
I nodded, but my chest felt like it was breaking open. The mate bond—which had been quiet for so long—was screaming now. It knew Ashton was close. It wanted me to go back, to run to him, to fix what was broken. But I couldn't. I wouldn't.
We burst through the airport doors into the cold evening air. Darius's car was waiting at the curb. He opened the back door and I practically threw myself inside with the twins.
"Drive," I gasped. "Just drive."
Darius got behind the wheel and pulled away from the airport fast. Through the back window, I could see Ashton burst through the same doors, looking around frantically. Our eyes met for one second before we turned the corner and he disappeared from view.
"Mama, you're shaking." Sage touched my face with her small hand. "Are you cold?"
"A little." I pulled both twins close, breathing in their scent. My babies. My everything. "But I'm okay now. We're safe."
"Safe from what?" Storm asked. He was watching me with those too-smart eyes again. "Was that Alpha dangerous? Is that why you were scared?"
How did I explain this? How did I tell my four-year-old son that the "dangerous Alpha" was his biological father? That the man who'd made me scream in an airport was the same man whose DNA he carried?
"It's complicated, Storm."
"You always say that when you don't want to answer." He crossed his arms, looking exactly like Ashton when he was frustrated. "But I'm not a baby anymore. I can understand things."
"Your Mama will explain everything when we get to Grandpa's house," Darius said from the front seat. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "Right now, everybody just needs to calm down."
But Storm wasn't done. "That Alpha said we were his children. He said the word 'our' when he looked at us. Does that mean he's our father?"
Sage gasped. "We have a father? I thought Papa Darius was our father."
"I am your father in every way that matters," Darius said firmly. "Biology doesn't change that."
"But biology does matter." Storm's voice was small now, uncertain. "In school, the teacher said everyone has a biological parent. Two of them. Mama is one. But who's the other?"
I couldn't speak. My throat was closed up, tears burning behind my eyes. This was my worst nightmare. I'd spent four years building a perfect little world where the twins didn't need to know about Ashton. Where they could grow up happy and safe and loved without the shadow of their father's rejection hanging over them.
And Ashton had destroyed it in five minutes.
"Storm, Sage, listen to me." I took both their hands. "I will tell you everything. I promise. But not right now. Right now, Mama needs you to trust me. Can you do that?"
Sage nodded immediately. She was my easy child, always willing to trust. But Storm stared at me for a long moment before asking, "Did that Alpha hurt you? Is that why we never met him before?"
Smart. Too smart.
"Yes," I admitted. "He hurt me very badly. Before you were born."
"Then I don't want him as a father." Storm's face went hard. "If he hurt you, he's a bad person. I don't care if his eyes look like mine."
My heart broke and healed at the same time. "Baby—"
"No!" Storm's voice got louder. "You said bad people don't get second chances to hurt you again! You said that when that mean lady at your company tried to come back! So why does that Alpha get a second chance?"
He was right. I had said that. Three months ago, when my former assistant had tried to return after stealing company secrets, I'd told the twins that some people proved they couldn't be trusted. That protecting yourself wasn't mean—it was smart.
But this was different. Wasn't it?
"Ash is calling my phone," Darius said quietly. "He's called six times already."
"Don't answer." My voice was sharp. "Block his number."
"Kieran, we need to talk about this. He's not going to just disappear. You saw how desperate he was. He'll fight for custody—"
"Let him try!" I snapped. "I have money. I have lawyers. I have my grandfather's entire family backing me. Ashton Cross can file every petition he wants. No judge will give custody to a man who abandoned his pregnant mate!"
"But he didn't know—"
"That's not my problem!" I was shouting now, scaring the twins. I took a breath and lowered my voice. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, babies. Mama's not angry at you."
"You're angry at that Alpha," Storm said. It wasn't a question.
"Yes. Very angry."
"Because he hurt you?"
"Because he hurt all of us." I squeezed their hands. "But I won't let him hurt us again. I promise."
We drove in silence for a while. The city lights blurred past the windows. Sage fell asleep against my side, exhausted from crying. But Storm stayed awake, staring out the window with a troubled expression.
Finally, Darius pulled up to the Vale Estate gates. They swung open automatically, recognizing the car. The mansion glowed at the end of the long driveway—my childhood home, my safe place.
Grandpa Theron was waiting on the front steps. The moment I saw him, something in me broke. I got out of the car and ran to him, and he caught me in a hug that felt like coming home.
"He was there," I sobbed into his shoulder. "Ashton was at the airport. He saw the twins. He knows, Grandpa. He knows they're his."
"I know, child. Marcus called me twenty minutes ago to warn me." Grandpa pulled back to look at my face. "Ashton's lawyer has already filed a petition for a paternity test. It'll be delivered to you tomorrow morning."
The ground tilted under me. "Tomorrow? How is that even legal?"
"He has connections. And rights." Grandpa's voice was gentle but firm. "If he's the biological father, the court will grant him access. We can fight it, but Kieran—you need to prepare yourself. This is going to get ugly."
"I can handle ugly." I wiped my eyes. "I survived five years ago. I'll survive this."
"Mama?"
Storm's voice made me turn. He was standing by the car, looking small and scared. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, baby. Anything."
He walked over slowly, like he was gathering courage. When he reached me, he looked up with those gray eyes—Ashton's eyes—and asked the question that made my blood run cold:
"If that Alpha is our biological father, and you're our Mama, and the mate bond connects you... does that mean you still love him?"
The silence was deafening. Grandpa Theron looked at me. Darius looked at me. Sage, now awake, looked at me.
Everyone was waiting for my answer.
And the horrible truth was, I didn't know what to say.
Because the mate bond was still there, still alive, still connecting me to Ashton Cross whether I wanted it or not. And if Storm could feel the biological pull to his father after five minutes, what did that mean for me? For the bond that had survived five years of rejection and hatred?
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:
"I know you hate me. I know I don't deserve a second chance. But those children deserve to know their father. Please don't punish them for my mistakes. We need to talk. Tomorrow. I'm not asking anymore. I'm begging. - Ashton"
Below the message was an attachment. A photo.
My hands shook as I opened it.
It was a picture from five years ago. From before everything went wrong. Ashton and me at the campus gardens, his arms around me, both of us laughing at something. We looked so happy. So young. So in love.
And written at the bottom of the photo in Ashton's handwriting were words I'd never seen before:
"The day I realized I wanted forever with you. Three days before I destroyed everything. I'm so sorry."
Storm was still waiting for my answer about whether I loved his father.
But as I stared at that photo—at the proof that Ashton had once wanted me, had once chosen me, had once loved me—I realized the terrifying truth.
I didn't know if I still loved Ashton Cross.
But my wolf did.
And that was going to make everything so much harder.