The thought of Tyler stirred something in Maddis. Her shimmering silver-white coat, the soft grey of her snout and paws—she was mesmerizing. She hadn’t been a large wolf, about average in size, but her speed had been extraordinary. Maddis had always enjoyed being the only one fast enough to catch her. She made him push himself, forcing him to put every ounce of effort into the chase—something few others could accomplish.
The idea of chasing her around the pack now brought a flicker of excitement. But this time, pouncing on her would carry an entirely different meaning.
Luke’s thoughts were interrupted by Benzy, who had just ended a phone call with a sigh that sounded equal parts frustration and concern. Luke hadn’t yet confronted Benzy about whether he had feelings for Bella, though he was certain they existed. Still, he trusted Benzy implicitly; betrayal was out of the question.
“A boy and twin girls,” Benzy began. “Looks like they’re about a year apart, at least by Pete’s judgment. He just got a quick glance—no photos, just saw them in her car as she drove into the secured parking garage of her building. The three were in the backseat.”
Maddis whined in Luke’s mind. “Someone gave her pups—that was supposed to be our job. Someone else got there first.”
Luke sighed, feeling a pang of loss himself. She had used the word family, and while none of them had found evidence of a marriage license or certificate in her name, the news still stung. There was no indication she was married, but the existence of those children raised questions he wasn’t prepared to face.
“Did she come home alone?” he asked, though deep down, he didn’t want to hear the answer if it wasn’t.
“Yes, boss,” Benzy replied. “Just her and the three pups.”
“Are they pups? Or human?” Luke mused aloud, his tone contemplative. The room fell silent. No one offered an answer. Benzy, ever perceptive, would have picked up on the undertone in his voice. Macky, his Gamma, remained silent, his eyes fixed on a computer screen. He had barely spoken a word in the past week.
When Luke had first confided in his most trusted men—Benzy, Macky, and Lanky—their reactions had varied. Macky had stared at him for a long, unreadable moment before turning and walking away. He hadn’t shared his thoughts since, and Luke knew Macky would speak only when he was ready. The Gamma had been part of the pursuit when Bella left pack territory, chasing her alongside Benzy to stop her escape. They had failed. Luke suspected Macky carried guilt over her departure. Protecting the Luna was ingrained in every fiber of a Gamma’s being, and her absence was a wound to his pride and duty.
Lanky, his Delta, had taken the news with a sigh and a resigned shake of his head. “Well,” he had said matter-of-factly, “what are we doing about getting her back then?”
To Luke’s frustration, his father had taken it upon himself to inform his mother and siblings. His mother, furious, had stormed into his office with a glare that immediately told him he was in deep trouble. There was nothing quite like a mother’s wrath—it cut through every defense, every ounce of bravado. The moment she fixed her eyes on him, he felt like a child who had done something terribly wrong.
Raising his hands in surrender, he had admitted, “I know, I messed up.” But his confession did little to diffuse her anger. She charged across the room, delivering slaps wherever she could reach while he awkwardly tried to block her hits.
Maddis, wisely, stayed out of the fray. She was the only woman in his life who could get away with hitting him like that—well, perhaps now one of two. His father eventually stepped in, pulling her back and calming her down. She’d accepted Luke’s apology with a curt, “It’s not me you need to apologize to, son.” With that, and a glare sharp enough to pierce steel, she had stormed out of his office, his father following in her wake to continue soothing her temper.
Shaken but determined, Luke later approved the press conference and began preparations. He instructed his team to hold it in front of the pack’s architectural firm, located just 45 minutes from the pack’s borders. He meticulously reworded his official statement, ensuring it stayed focused and direct. He would accept only minimal questions and stick strictly to the topic at hand.
The next day, however, brought a revelation that rocked his entire world. His father entered his office and dropped a photograph onto his desk. “The boy is definitely yours,” he declared, his tone laced with irritation. He jabbed a finger at the image, leaving no room for doubt.
The photograph was of three children—a boy and twin girls. They looked to be about four and three years old, and the date on the bottom indicated it had been taken a year ago. Luke’s heart clenched painfully as he stared at the image. The children were at the beach, laughing with pure joy, their happiness almost radiating from the photo. The boy had his arms around the girls, his fingers visibly digging into their sides as he tickled them, making them all giggle.
All three had her striking jewel-green eyes, but it was their blonde hair—the exact shade of his own—that stole his breath. The boy, especially, was the spitting image of Luke at that age. Maddis growled in his mind, pacing furiously. “Ours,” he snarled, his voice thick with possessiveness and yearning.
Luke felt an undeniable pull toward them, a visceral connection he couldn’t ignore. His gaze remained glued to the photograph as his heart ached in ways he hadn’t thought possible. When he touched the image with trembling fingers, a sharp pain tore through him. What had he done?
Memories from that fateful day resurfaced. Bella had been desperate, pleading for just two minutes of his time, but he and Maddis had been consumed by the overwhelming discovery of their fated mate. In his blindness, he hadn’t cared about anything else—not her words, not her pain. He hadn’t even wanted her touch, despite cherishing it just days earlier. He recalled glaring at her hand as it reached for him, the same hand he had once craved.
