Then, I saw him glance around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kylo, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Where did you hide him again?"
The accusation in his voice cut deep. If only he would come home more often, he’d see the table covered in medications and herbal medicine, the endless pile of medical records written by our wolf healers, and the truth of our son’s condition. But he never did. He preferred to listen to Ophelia’s lies, the lies that painted Kylo as a manipulative child rather than the sick boy he truly was.
I remembered the day Kylo told me he didn’t have much time left. He had one final wish: a trip to the ocean. He had always loved the sea, fascinated by its mysteries and beauty, a love nurtured by the stories his late grandmother used to tell him. But we lived far from the coast, and the only way to make his wish come true was to convince Caspian to join us.
I had begged him—no, I had humiliated myself, kneeling before him, clinging to his pants as I pleaded for Kylo's last wish. "Please," I had whispered, my voice breaking. "This will be the last time I ever ask anything of you. I promise... I’ll set you free."
Caspian had looked down at me then, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Was it joy? Was it relief? I couldn’t tell. "You mean that?" he had asked, his voice cold and calculating.
"Yes," I had murmured, tears streaming down my face as I closed my eyes, feeling my heart shatter.
The truth was, when Caspian was young, his parents were killed in a rogue attack, leaving him a wanderer. I still remember the day I found him, a skinny, half-starved boy lying on the forest floor, barely alive. I was just a child, playing among the trees, when I stumbled upon him. He was nothing but skin and bones, too weak even to speak.
My heart ached for him. "You poor thing," I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from his dirt-streaked face. "You must be starving."
He looked up at me with those haunted eyes, and something inside me broke. I couldn't leave him there. I couldn't let him die.
I took his frail hand in mine and pulled him up with all the strength I had. "Come with me," I said, determination flooding my young voice. "I'll take care of you."
When I brought him home, my parents—Alpha Aldous and Luna Eveline Laurentia of Bloodvenom Pack—were reluctant to take him in. My father’s stern voice echoed in my ears. "Claire, he’s a stranger."