Chase POV:
I walked into the café early that morning, the place mostly empty as usual. The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, and I slid into my usual seat by the window, the one where I could keep an eye on the street and on her.
Leila.
It had been almost four full day since she caught , and even though she’d punched in the nose and basically told to leave her the hell alone, I couldn’t get her out of my head. There was sothing about her, sothing magnetic, that I couldn’t quite shake. I was drawn to her like a moth to a fla, but I couldn’t figure out if it was because she was my other half, or if there was sothing darker at play.
Whatever the reason, it was like I couldn’t stop myself from coming back.
But today? Today, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to learn.
---
I sat there, nursing my coffee, when the door opened, and in walked Leila, followed by a woman I’d seen a few tis before, who I gathered was so kind of friend of hers—Lucy, I think. What really made freeze in place, though, was the small bundle in Lucy’s arms.
A baby.
I watched as she ca in, and my eyes imdiately locked onto the child. The baby had dark, curly hair, and a small, delicate face. She was holding him close, but there was no mistaking the scent.
He slled like her.
And I don’t an that in so "oh, it’s her kid, of course he slls like her" way. I an, he slled exactly like her. The sa earthy, sweet, intoxicating scent that had driven crazy the first ti I’d t her. Only this ti, it wasn’t just a trace of her scent. It was all over the kid.
And then I felt it.
I couldn’t explain it at first, not in words, not without feeling like I was losing my mind. But there it was, that unmistakable tingle of power in the air. The kid was a wolf.
Not just any wolf. An alpha.
My mind short-circuited for a mont. The blood drained from my face, and I almost spilled my coffee. I blinked hard, trying to shake off the shock.
How in the hell was this even possible?
Leila, the woman who I knew was my other half, has a kid? Not just any kid, but an alpha wolf’s child? The sheer weight of it hit all at once, and I nearly lost my breath. I wasn’t prepared for this. I wasn’t prepared for any of it.
My world had just gotten even more complicated than I could’ve ever imagined.
---
Lucy and Leila settled at a nearby table, and I forced myself to focus on my drink, though I wasn’t really tasting it. I was watching them. Watching the baby.
I had so many questions, and none of them made any sense. How had she—my mate, my other half—ended up with an alpha? Did this kid’s father know about him? Was the kid’s father still alive?
I an, how did I even process this information? One minute, I was just trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that I was mated to a wolf, and the next minute, I was faced with the knowledge that my mate had a child, and not just any child, but one with a goddamn alpha bloodline.
Was that why she was so guarded? Why she’d kept her distance from ?
---
"Is there sothing wrong with you today, Chase?"
I blinked, realizing Lucy was talking to , her eyebrow raised in mild amusent, her arms crossed over her chest. I hadn’t even noticed her approach.
"I—I’m fine," I managed to say, forcing a half-smile as I tried to shake the disorientation from my mind. "Just didn’t expect to see you here with a baby."
Lucy looked down at the baby, who was peacefully sleeping in her arms, oblivious to the chaos his existence had just caused in my mind. "Oh, yeah. This is Ash," she said, smiling down at the child. "Leila’s little one. He’s a good kid."
Ash.
Of course. The na fit him sohow, like he was born to carry that na. It was strong, elental. Just like the kid.
"Yeah," I said slowly, forcing myself to keep my voice steady. "He’s cute. Real cute."
I could feel the weight of Leila’s eyes on . She was sitting just across the table, arms crossed over her chest, staring at like she was sizing up. I couldn’t help but glance at her. There was that sa fire in her eyes, the sa defiance, the sa strength.
But now, in addition to all that, there was sothing else. Sothing I couldn’t quite place.
A mother’s instinct.
And I had a sinking feeling that instinct was telling her everything she needed to know about . She could feel it, the pull between us. She knew I was her mate, but I wasn’t sure she was ready to acknowledge it.
Especially not with all this.
---
I cleared my throat, trying to steer the conversation away from what was quickly becoming an awkward mont. "So, uh, how old is he?" I asked, nodding toward Ash.
"Three months," Lucy said, still gazing lovingly at the baby.
I froze. The kid was strong. That wasn’t even the half of it. I could feel it—he was a powerful one. The kind of power that could rival any alpha I’d ever t.
Leila shifted uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding my gaze. She didn’t seem to want to talk about the baby’s father, and I wasn’t about to push her. But the questions were gnawing at , driving insane.
How did she end up with an alpha? Was this a mistake? Or was there sothing I was missing here?
I needed answers. And I needed them fast.
But I had no idea how to even approach her now.
---
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the shift in the air. The scent around changed, and suddenly, the room seed to get colder. My senses were on high alert, the way they always were when sothing dangerous was close.
Without even realizing it, I was leaning forward, my hands tightening around the edge of the table.
"Chase?"
Leila’s voice broke through my haze. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line. "You alright?"
I looked at her, and for a mont, I could see everything clearly. She wasn’t just any woman. She wasn’t just my mate. She was a mother. And this baby—this little alpha—was a part of her world.
And I was in it now. Whether I liked it or not.
"I need to go," I said quickly, getting to my feet.
Leila didn’t stop , but her eyes followed out of the door.
As I walked out into the street, my mind was spinning. I had so many questions, and not nearly enough answers. But one thing was clear:
I was tangled up in this. In her. In the kid. In this ss that was suddenly my life.
And I didn’t know how the hell I was going to get out of it.
But I sure as hell wasn’t going to walk away. Not when my other half was right there in front of , with a little alpha in her arms.
No matter how complicated it got.
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