Without thinking, I got up, packed a few things, and slipped out of the house. The darkness wrapped around me as I left the mansion, left the pack, and walked away from the life I had known. I was carrying Alpha Damon’s child, his heir, but I couldn’t stay any longer… not when staying felt like I was losing myself piece by piece.
I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. Not even my father. I simply disappeared into the night, determined to start a new life, away from the pain and jealousy that had consumed me.
“I can do this,” I told myself with a bitter smile on my lips before looking down on my bulging stomach. “I have you, baby. We can do this without your… d-dad.” My voice cracked a bit but I still smiled despite my heart aching.
For five years, I lived in hiding, raising my son alone. Aaron was a bright child, full of laughter and life, with eyes that reminded me of Alpha Damon every time I looked at him. He was my world, my reason for getting up every day, and he made the ache of the past a little easier to bear.
But some nights, I would lie awake, haunted by memories of his father. I had tried to let go of the past, but the pain lingered, a dull ache in the background of my quiet life.
One day, as I was preparing dinner, Aaron tugged on my sleeve, his young face scrunched up with curiosity.
“Mommy,” he said in that innocent tone, “where is my daddy? Why isn’t he with us?”
My heart skipped a beat. I had known this question would come eventually, but I hadn’t prepared for it. I knelt down, forcing a gentle smile, even as my heart ached with the weight of what I was about to say.
“Your daddy… he’s not with us anymore,” I whispered, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.
Aaron looked at me, his young face full of quiet wisdom, as if he could sense the truth beneath my words. “What do you mean, mommy? Most of my friends have their dads. They pick them up in our school. Maybe what Trevor told me was right,” he said, pertaining to his classmate.
I smiled bitterly and caressed his face that resembled his dad's so much. “You will understand everything soon, honey.”
“Why, mommy? I don't… really have a dad, right? Is it true? Maybe I'm just… adopted,” Aaron said bitterly.
I immediately shook my head. “No, you're not an adopted, okay? Don't listen to him, okay?”
“Yes, but… I want to know where my dad is, mom.”