Chapter <b>13 </b>


    ** Ryder’s POV **


    I’m a father. There’s no doubt about it. This boy is mine A good mix of me and his mother.


    The boy runs to me like I’m some kind of long–lost hero. I’m not. I’m the bad guy in this scenario. The selfish viin that left his mother alone and pregnant so I could live a life without her.


    It doesn’t matter that I did it with the best intentions for her, because it turns out it was the worst thing I could have done.


    My son wraps his tiny arms around my legs. He has no fear. Something deep within him knows I am his sire. That we are pack.


    My wolf hums with pride under my skin, but there’s a sadness there, too. A mourning for everything we have missed in our son’s life.


    There’s so much I need to say. So much I should tell him but I can’t form the words. I can only marvel át this tiny human that I helped create.


    He is perfect.


    I ce a hand on his head, the only affection my stunned body is capable of right now.


    I can barely breathe as emotion threatens to strangle me.


    My mind races with ghosts of the past and thoughts of the future.


    Somehow, I find enough function to crouch down to his level to get a proper look at him.


    He grins at me, waiting for me to do something or say something, but all I can do is stare at this perfect soul that somehow belongs to me. He is mine.


    My blood.


    My boy.


    Tears sting my eyes, and I don’t bother trying to stop them. If there was ever a time to cry, this is it, and I’ve shed tears for much less before. This is different, though. This is joy and guilt and awe all tangled together in a knot that I can’t untangle.


    Nothing about this moment is easy. It’s raw and painful, yet wonderful at the same time.


    I ce my hands on his upper arms, my hands trembling as I look into his eyes that mirror my own.


    “I’m sorry. So damn sorry I wasn’t there. If I’d have known…” I trail off, unable to hold back the huping


    sob.


    “It’s okay, Daddy. You were just lost, but my mum found you. I knew she would. She always finds things when I lose them,” he grins<b>. </b>


    “That’s because she is amazing. You are the luckiest boy to have her as your mum,” I tell him, and I truly mean it. I couldn’t have chosen a better woman to be the mother of my child.


    “I know,<i>” </i>he says, and turns to look at Paige.


    I follow his gaze and my heart clenches as I look at my mate. She is so beautiful. The years have only made her more stunning, but I can see pain behind her eyes. She hasn’t had the easiest life. She hasn’t had the life I had hoped for, the one I’d imagined her living to keep myself from going to her.


    I should have checked.


    It’s going to be something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.


    “Hey kid, should we go check on that pizza whilst your mum and dad talk?” Parker asks, holding out a hand


    to my son.


    “Okay, but don’t get lost again,” Jaxon says, turning to look at me and my heart almost breaks to see the genuine fear in his eyes.


    “I promise I won’t. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere,” I say, swearing it like an oath.


    He throws his arms around me again, and I hold him to me, hugging my son for the first time, I take in his scent. He is still human, his wolf has not yet awoken, but it’s there. I can scent it, strong and familiar. Mine.


    Parker leads my son down the stairs, followed by Remy, who is now dressed and looking calm. I still need to find out what happened between him and my brother, but I suspect it was because of the tension my mate brings to their rtionship.


    “Paige. I’m so sorry. I know all this is a lot, but I will exin everything, if you will let me.”


    “The only thing I want you to exin right now is why your brother kidnapped us and why he’s holding us captive here,” she demands, her hands folding over her chest and her expression hard.


    “I decided to bring you here. Don’t me him for that,” Callen says as hees out of his bedroom, now fully dressed, too.


    “Yes, I am aware of that. It seems neither of you can be trusted. One of you abandons me without so much as a goodbye and the other imprisons me and won’t let me leave. How can you be so alike yet so different?”


    She huffs.


    “We are two sides of the same coin, which means we are a package deal,” Callen grins.


    “What’s that supposed to mean?” She scowls, and I shake my head at my brother, warning him not to go any further.


    “That means that you get two for the price of one. You are ours and we are yours. It’s that simple,” he shrugs, and I could punch him in his stupid mouth.


    Is he trying to freak her out even more?


    Paige doesn’t speak for a moment and I know she is trying to make sense of his words. I pinch the bridge of my nose, waiting for all hell to break loose.


    “What the hell are you talking about? You cannot ime like I’m some property. I barely even know you, and if you are suggesting that I’d be in a rtionship with both of you, then you can forget it. I don’t want either of you. You are not even human, for God’s sake. You are monsters, some kind of freak abominations, and I want no part of whatever it is you have going on here,” she shouts.


    I bite my tongue at her harsh words. She doesn’t mean them; she is just upset.


    “Actually, we can im you. All it takes is some hot and steamy sex and a bite to your pretty little shoulder, and you’re tied to us for life. As for the rest… have you told Jaxon he’s a monster? How will he feel that his own mother thinks he’s a freak abomination? Should we go ask him?” Callen challenges.


    He’s going too far now. This is not like him at all.


    Paige takes a step back and shakes her head. “Jax is nothing like you. He’s like me, a normal human.”


    “Enough now, Callen,” I warn.


    “No, she needs to hear this,” he snaps and then turns his eyes back to Paige. “Yes, he’s human, for now, but on his eighteenth birthday… guess what will happen to him then?”


    Paige sucks in a shaky breath and brings a trembling hand to her mouth before her eyes move to mine. They’re full <b>of </b>questions and a desperation that makes me want to lie to her, but I can’t.


    I nod.


    Paige sobs, and I move to her. I can’t bear to see her cry.


    “Keep the f*ck away from me,” she hisses, stepping back, and her words feel like ash against my heart.


    “Paige, please.” I beg. “Let me exin.‘


    “Is there a chance you’re wrong? That he’s not… that he’s like me?” She whispers, her voice sounding weak and defeated, and I hate Callen for doing this to her.


    It was too much, too soon, and I’m not sure how I can fix this.


    What can I say to make this any better for her?


    “He’s one of us. We can sense it. He can too. He just doesn’t understand it yet. That’s why he is so drawn to us. He needs us, Paige. Don’t let him grow up without a pack. Not knowing why he’s so full of rage. Lone wolves don’t cope well. He needs us there to guide him, to help him through his first shift. Don’t let him have to suffer like his father did. It doesn’t have to be like that for him. He will feel safe here, epted, with his own kind,” Callen says, his voice soft now.


    Paige leans against the wall and slowly slides down it, sitting on the floor and bringing her knees up to her chest. She lowers her head and wraps her arms around her legs, almost making herself into a small ball as she cries softly.


    I feel useless.


    I should have stopped Callen. I should have told her all this myself, but the truth is I’m a coward. I’ve already done enough damage. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her and break her heart.


    “He’s going to be okay,” I offer, and I could hit myself.


    Why can’t I find the right words for her? She is my mate She is mine tofort, and I’m failing her. Again.


    “You suck at this, Rye. So bad,” Callen says through the mind link.


    “And you think you are handling this well? Look what you’ve done!” I respond.


    “I was ying bad cop. You were supposed toe in and be the good cop, her hero, and now you’ve got me ying both roles whilst you stand there with your thumb up your ass!<b>” </b>


    A growl escapes me, and I see Paige flinch. Shit.


    “Paige. I’m sorry, I’m so bad at this. Words have never been my strong suit.” I crouch in front of her. Close but not touching. “I know I don’t deserve you or him. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But I will earn you both. I will fight every day to earn your trust. For you to let me in and to be his father. I won’t fail either of you again. I promise you.”


    My mate lifts her head, her eyes searching mine, and I ache to hold her. To pull her into my arms and kiss her, tell her I’ve got her and that everything will be okay


    “Tell me what happened, Rye. That night you left. Tell me everything,” she says.


    “I will,” I nod.


    **Paige’s POV **