The Beginning of Their Story
ELARA'S BENNETT POV:
I was running from the goons.
I had nothing left to lose now except my dignity.
“Stop, woman! Cooperate with us, or face the consequences!”
I didn't bother listening to their shitty threats. I just kept running.
I didn't know where I was going.
I had completely lost the path, but I didn't dare stop.
My breath was getting heavier, my legs were aching, and fear kept pushing me forward.
Until suddenly…
Silence.
I couldn't hear them anymore.
I slowed down and finally stopped.
Turning around, I looked behind me.
No one.
They weren't chasing me anymore.
I frowned, trying to catch my breath.
Then I looked ahead.
A massive black iron gate stood in front of me.
Above it were three words carved into a huge stone arch.
BLACKMOON TERRITORY
I barely noticed the name.
I was too exhausted to care where I had ended up.
All I knew was that I had escaped the men chasing me.
What I didn't know was why they had stopped.
And I certainly didn't know that, by crossing that gate, I had just stepped into a world where humans were forbidden.
KAEL’S DRVIN POV
Life without a wife, with a toddler and a two-month-old baby, was tough.
Being a single father was tough.
But being a single father while carrying the responsibility of an entire wolf pack was something else entirely.
There were days when I barely had enough time to breathe.
I had to be a father to my children and an Alpha to hundreds of wolves who depended on me.
And neither responsibility could be neglected.
Our pack lived dangerously close to human territory. Just a few miles separated us from them—humans who had spent generations hunting our kind.
They were selfish.
Cruel.
At least we wolves knew loyalty.
We were loyal to our mates, our families, and our pack.
Humans?
They abandoned their own blood when it became inconvenient.
I was sitting in my study, listening to the board members discuss the matters we had been putting off for weeks.
The meeting had already dragged on longer than expected.
Then the door suddenly opened.
The head maid rushed inside without even knocking.
Normally, I would have reprimanded her.
But before I could say a word, her trembling voice made the world beneath my feet disappear.
“Alpha... Luna’s fever isn’t going down. Prince Ethan’s fever is getting worse too. He started having seizures because of the high fever. The witch is calling for you.”
My mind froze.
My children.
My babies.
For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything else.
Then I stood so quickly that the chair scraped violently against the floor.
The board members exchanged worried glances.
“I’ve waited one week for this meeting, Alpha,” one of them said quietly, standing. “But your children come first. We can wait.”
I barely heard him.
I was already running.
I had faced rival Alphas.
I had fought rogues.
I had stood between my pack and enemies without fear.
But nothing had ever terrified me like the thought of losing my children.
I reached their room within seconds.
And the scene before me shattered whatever control I had left.
Luna’s tiny face was completely red from the fever.
My two-month-old daughter was crying weakly, her little body trembling beneath the blankets.
My heart clenched.
She was so small.
Too small to be suffering like this.
I crossed the room and immediately picked her up, pressing her burning body against my chest.
“My baby...”
The moment she felt my warmth, her cries slowly became quieter.
I kissed her forehead again and again, silently begging the Moon Goddess to take the pain away from her.
Then I heard a frightened voice behind me.
“Alpha...”
I turned.
And my heart stopped.
Ethan.
My firstborn.
My son.
My heir.
The little boy who had made me a father.
He was lying on the bed, his tiny body stiffening as another seizure took hold of him.
His hands had curled tightly.
His legs were rigid.
His face was flushed with fever.
“No...”
I rushed to him.
For the first time in years, I didn’t care about looking like an Alpha.
I didn’t care who was watching.
I was simply a father terrified for his child.
I carefully lifted Ethan into my arms while keeping Luna close against my chest.
Both of my children were burning with fever.
I held them as tightly as I dared, terrified that even the slightest pressure might hurt them.
Ethan’s body slowly began to relax when he felt me.
His little arms moved weakly around my neck.
Then his cracked little voice reached my ears.
“Daddy...”
My eyes burned.
“Yes, my love.”
I pressed my lips against his hair.
“Daddy is here. Daddy came to his babies.”
Ethan whimpered against my shoulder.
“Daddy... itsh huting.”
My heart broke.
“I know, my love.”
I tightened my arms around him.
“I know it hurts.”
I looked at my daughter, then at my son.
My entire world was in my arms.
“Your daddy is here,” I whispered. “I won’t leave you.”
b5I kissed Ethan’s forehead.
“You’ll be fine, my love.”
Then I looked at Luna.
“And so will your sister.”
I didn’t know whether I was reassuring them...
Or myself.
But one thing was certain.
I was their father.
I was their Alpha.
And I would tear apart the entire world before I allowed anything to happen to my children.
____________________
“Leave me! I said leave me! I’m not what you think!”
A woman’s scream echoed from outside.
Both children were sleeping peacefully against my chest.
For four painful nights, neither of them had slept properly because of their fever. Now that they were finally resting, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
I carefully looked toward the door.
Another scream reached my ears.
I clenched my jaw.
I needed to get up.
But both of my children were finally sleeping peacefully.
Before I could decide what to do, the door opened and my Beta, my right hand, Ronan Blackwood, entered.
“Alpha Kael, Gamma Darius has caught a woman near the gate. He thinks she might be a spy from a rival pack.”
My eyes narrowed.
“A woman?”
Ronan nodded.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t think anything yet, Alpha.”
He glanced at the children sleeping against me before continuing.
“We live in a dangerous territory. We can’t trust anyone who crosses our borders without permission.”
He paused.
“I only caught a glimpse of her. She doesn’t look dangerous, but we can’t judge someone based on their appearance.”
His words made sense.
But something about the woman’s screams didn’t sound like a spy.
A spy would know better than to attract the entire pack’s attention.
“Where is she?”
“At the main gate. Gamma Darius is questioning her.”
I looked down at my sleeping children.
For the first time in four days, both of them were resting without crying.
I wasn’t willing to leave them.
“Bring her here.”
Ronan’s brows furrowed.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
I adjusted Ethan carefully against my chest while keeping Luna close with my other arm.
“If she’s a spy, we’ll find out.”
My gaze hardened.
“And if she isn’t...”
I looked toward the door.
“I want to know why a human woman was running through my territory in the middle of the night.”
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