Seraphina’s POV
"I think my mama’s around here sowhere."
The words hit like lightning.
My heart stopped. The blood in my veins turned to ice.
Adrian stood there on the sidewalk, his small body tense with concentration, his silver-blue eyes scanning the street with an intensity that made my soul scream.
"Oh God," I whispered, my hands flying to cover my mouth. "Oh God, oh God, oh God."
"Sera, get down!" Caleb’s voice was sharp, urgent. "Get down right now!"
But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t do anything except stare at my five-year-old son as he searched for with senses I’d forgotten he possessed.
"Sera!" Caleb grabbed my shoulder, pushing down toward the floor. "Duck! Now!"
I collapsed forward, my forehead hitting my knees, my whole body shaking like I was having a seizure. Through the car window, I could still hear the nanny calling to Adrian.
"Adrian, honey, what are you doing? We need to go ho."
"We’re leaving," Caleb said grimly, starting the engine. "Right now."
Through the rear window, I watched Adrian take another step forward, his head tilted, his whole body focused on sothing he couldn’t quite identify. The nanny was beside him now, her hand on his shoulder, trying to guide him back to the car.
"Adrian, sweetie, there’s no one here," she said gently.
Then we turned the corner, and I lost sight of him.
I collapsed back into my seat, my whole body convulsing with sobs I couldn’t control. My chest felt like it was being crushed, like soone was squeezing all the air out of my lungs.
"He knew," I gasped between sobs. "Caleb, he knew I was there."
"Alpha blood," Caleb said tightly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "He’s got enhanced senses."
"What if he tells Damien?" Panic clawed at my throat. "What if he goes ho and says—"
"What’s he going to say? That he thought he slled his mother near his school?" Caleb’s voice was steady, trying to calm down. "Kids say stuff like that all the ti. Damien might not even take it seriously."
But I knew better. Damien would take it seriously. Damien would tear apart every building in a five-mile radius if Adrian told him I’d been there.
"I can’t do this," I whispered, pressing my hands against my face. "I can’t keep hiding. I can’t keep running. And I can’t..."
I couldn’t finish the sentence. Couldn’t say out loud what I was thinking.
I couldn’t stay here. Not anymore.
---
The drive back to the Morrison house passed in a blur of tears and silence. Caleb kept glancing at , his face tight with worry, but he didn’t try to talk. Probably figured I was too far gone for conversation.
He was right.
By the ti we pulled into the familiar gravel driveway, I’d cried myself empty. My eyes burned. My throat was raw. My whole body felt like I’d been hit by a truck.
Margaret appeared on the front porch before we’d even gotten out of the car, her face creased with concern. She took one look at and imdiately opened her arms.
"Oh, honey," she murmured, pulling against her soft warmth. "What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"I saw my son," I whispered into her shoulder. "And he knew. He knew I was there."
Margaret’s arms tightened around . Over my head, I heard her and Caleb exchange words in low voices, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying. All I could think about was Adrian’s face. The way he’d stood there, so sure, so certain that his mother was nearby.
"Co inside," Margaret said gently, guiding toward the house. "Let make you so tea."
I let her lead to the kitchen, let her settle at the table, let her fuss with the kettle and tea bags because it seed to make her feel better. But I wasn’t really there. I was still standing on that street corner, watching my son search for .
"Here, drink this," Margaret pressed a warm mug into my hands. "It’ll help with the shock."
I took a sip. It tasted like nothing.
"Talk to , sweetheart," Margaret said, settling into the chair beside . "Tell what happened."
So I did. I told her about seeing Adrian co out of school. About how happy and normal he’d looked. About the mont he’d stopped and started searching for with senses that should have been impossible for a child.
"I can’t stay here," I said quietly.
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Margaret’s face went very still. "What do you an?"
"I an I can’t stay here anymore." I looked up at her, saw my own pain reflected in her kind eyes. "As long as I’m anywhere near them, I’m going to want to see them. And if I see them..."
I pulled my hands free, wrapping them around the warm mug. "I need to go sowhere they’ll never look. Sowhere completely different."
"Where?" Caleb’s voice ca from the doorway. He’d been listening, probably for several minutes.
I turned to face him. "The human world. A big city. Sowhere I can disappear completely."
The kitchen went dead silent. Margaret’s face crumpled with distress. Robert appeared behind Caleb, his expression grim.
"Sera," Caleb said carefully, moving closer. "You don’t an that."
"I do an it." My voice was steady now, resolved. "I’ve been kidding myself, thinking I could hide here and still sohow be close to them. But today proved that’s impossible. I won’t put you all at risk anymore. I won’t put them at risk anymore."
"This is your ho," Margaret protested, tears starting to fall. "We’re your family now."
"And I love you for that." My voice cracked. "I love all of you so much. But I can’t... I can’t do this anymore."
Caleb stepped forward. "Where will you go?"
I looked around the kitchen that had beco so familiar, at these people who’d given everything without asking for anything in return. "I can get a job in an office. Rent a small apartnt. Start over completely."
I walked to the window, staring out at the setting sun. "I’ll leave tomorrow morning. Early, before you’re all awake. I don’t want to drag this out."
Behind , I heard Margaret start to cry. Soft, heartbroken sounds that made my chest ache.
"We won’t try to stop you," Caleb said finally. "If this is really what you want."
"It’s not what I want," I admitted. "It’s what needs to happen."
"Then we’ll help you," Robert said firmly. "We’ll drive you to the bus station. Make sure you get to wherever you’re going safely."
I turned around, looking at these three people who’d saved when I had nowhere else to go. "Thank you," I whispered. "For everything. For giving a place to heal. For treating like family."
"You are family," Margaret said through her tears. "You’ll always be family. And if you ever change your mind, if you ever want to co ho..."
"This door will always be open," Robert finished.
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