Damien’s POV
Panic.
Pure, undiluted panic flooded every cell in my body.
"LILY!" My voice tore through the bakery. "LILY!"
The cupcake box hit the floor. Frosting exploded across the tiles in a purple and pink ss. I didn’t care.
"Where is she?" I grabbed Betty’s shoulders. Too hard. My claws were extending. "WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?"
"I—I don’t know!" Betty’s eyes went wide with fear. "She was just here! Right behind you!"
I released her and spun toward the door. My wolf was surging beneath my skin, threatening to break free right here in this human bakery.
*Find her. Find our pup. NOW.*
Alex’s voice in my head was feral. Desperate. Every protective instinct screaming.
I burst through the door onto the sidewalk. The street was busy. Too many people. Too many scents mixing together.
But there—beneath the exhaust and perfu and a thousand other slls—I caught it.
Lily’s scent. That unique combination of baby shampoo and the lavender soap and sothing purely her.
I followed it like a bloodhound. Down the sidewalk. Around the corner. My heart hamring so hard I thought my ribs might crack.
*Please. Please let her be okay. Please let her be safe.*
Then I saw her.
Running toward on those mismatched shoes. Pigtails bouncing. Face streaked with tears but lit up with sothing that looked like pure joy.
"DADDY!"
Relief crashed through so violently my knees almost buckled. I dropped to the ground just in ti to catch her as she threw herself into my arms.
"Lily." I crushed her against my chest. "Oh my God, Lily."
"Hi, Daddy!" She pulled back, her small hands cupping my face. "I found her! I found Mama!"
The words hit like a physical blow.
Everything inside went completely still.
"What?" My voice ca out strangled. "What did you say?"
"I found Mama!" She bounced in my arms with excitent. "She was right there! Just standing on the street! And I knew it was her because she looks exactly like you said!"
My heart started pounding for an entirely different reason. "Lily... baby... you couldn’t have found Mama."
"But I did!" Her face was so earnest. So certain. "I was looking at the cupcakes in the window next door, and then I saw her and I just knew!"
"Sweetheart." I tried to keep my voice calm. Gentle. "You’ve never t Mama. You don’t know what she looks like."
"Yes I do!" She insisted. "You tell all the ti! Black hair and green eyes and the most beautiful smile in the whole world!"
Fuck.
I’d been telling her those things. For three years, I’d been keeping Sera alive in bedti stories and whispered mories. Making sure Lily knew her mother even though they’d never truly t.
"Lots of won have black hair and green eyes," I said carefully. "You probably just saw soone who looked similar—"
"No!" Lily’s voice got louder. More insistent. "It was her! I know it was!"
"Baby, listen to ." I set her down gently, kneeling so we were eye level. "Mama isn’t here. She’s far away. You just saw soone who reminded you of her."
"But she looked exactly right!" Lily’s bottom lip started to tremble. "And she slled pretty! Like flowers and sothing else! Sothing that made feel safe!"
My chest tightened painfully. "What did she sll like?"
"Like... like jasmine!" Lily’s face scrunched up with concentration. "That’s what Mrs. Betty has in her garden! And rain! She slled like jasmine and rain!"
Oh God.
Sera’s scent. But she already lost that, how could Lily...?
My hands started shaking. "Lily. Look at . Look at Daddy."
She t my eyes, her own filling with tears.
"Where did you see this woman?" I asked. "Where exactly?"
"Around the corner!" She pointed back the way she’d co. "By the street with all the trees!"
Maple Street. Two blocks away.
"And she talked to you?" My voice was getting rougher. Harder to control.
Lily nodded. "She was really nice! Her voice was all soft and pretty. And she knelt down to talk to like you do. And her eyes—Daddy, her eyes were so pretty! Deeper than mine. Like green glass! Like the forest!"
"What was she wearing?" I stood up, already scanning the street. "Do you rember?"
"Um..." Lily bit her lip, thinking hard. "Jeans! Dark blue jeans. And a white shirt with buttons. And a jacket! A brown jacket!"
"Was she alone?"
"No! There was a man with her! He looked worried when I ran away."
Sothing ugly twisted in my chest. Jealousy. Rage. Possessiveness.
"Show ," I said, taking Lily’s hand. "Show exactly where you saw her."
We moved fast. My wolf was clawing at my insides, desperate to find our mate.
*Three years. Three fucking years of searching and she’s here. Right here.*
"There!" Lily pointed to a spot near the corner. "Right there! That’s where I found her!"
I lifted my face, breathing deep. Searching for any trace of her scent.
But nothing. I can’t sll her scent anymore.
"She was real," Lily tugged on my hand. "She was really here."
I knelt down, pressing my palm against the sidewalk. My chest felt like it was being crushed.
"Daddy?" Lily’s small voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "Why did she say she wasn’t my mama? I told her she was, but she said she wasn’t. She said she had her own children. Far away."
I pulled Lily close, letting her cry into my shoulder while my mind raced.
"Maybe it’s just a sweet mistake, babe."
I stood up, lifting Lily with . My eyes scanned every face on the street. Every woman with dark hair. Every potential glimpse of the person I’d been searching for.
But no one was her.
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