Valerie’s POV 1
The drive toward the territorial borders felt endless, made worse by the constant chattering from the back seat. Adrian had been
asking questions nonstop for the past hour, his little voice bright with excitement and hope that made my teeth clench with irritation.
“Are we almost there? When will I see my daddy? What does he look like? Does he know about me?”
Each innocent question was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I nced in the rearview mirror at the child strapped into Gabriel’s old car
seat-a pathetic piece of safety equipment that had seen better days, much like everything else in my miserable life. Adrian’s dark curls
were messed from leaning against the window.
“Soon,” I said tersely, not bothering to hide my annoyance anymore. “We’ll be there soon, and then you can ask him all the questions you
want.”
Adrian bounced excitedly in his seat, pressing his small hands against the window as we passed increasingly sparse neighborhoods. “Will
he like me? Mommy says I’m a good boy. I can tie my shoes now, and I know all my
letters!”
“I’m sure he’ll be… thrilled,” I muttered, pressing harder on the elerator. The sooner I finished this unpleasant task.
The residential areas gradually gave way to industrial zones, then to empty lots and finally to the wild foresnd that marked the outer
boundaries of our territory. This was as far as I could go without crossing into rogue territory-dangerous,wlessnd where pack
protection didn’t extend and anything could happen to an unwary traveler.
Perfect for my purposes.
I’d heard the reports over the past few months about increased rogue activity in this area. Lone wolves and outcasts who’d been
banished from their packs, desperate and dangerous, with nothing left to lose. They wouldn’t hesitate to attack anything they perceived
as weak or vulnerable.
Like a four-year-old child who hadn’t even had his first shift yet.
“Aunt Valerie?” Adrian’s voice had grown smaller as he noticed the changingndscape outside his window. “This doesn’t look like where
people live. Where are we going?”
“We’re almost there,” I said, pulling off the main road onto a dirt track that led deeper into the forest. The car bounced and jolted over
the uneven ground, and I could hear Adrian’s confused whimpering from the back seat as branches scraped against the windows.
“I don’t like this ce,” he said, his voice trembling with the first hints of fear. “It’s scary. Can we go back to Mommy now?”
“Not yet,” I said, my voice sharp enough to make him flinch. “We have something important to do first.”
The dirt track ended in a small clearing surrounded by thick forest on all sides. Perfect. Remote enough that no one would find him quickly, but not so deep that I’d get lost trying to find my way back out. I put the car in park and turned to face the child who was looking at me with growing uncertainty.
“Alright,” I said briskly, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Out you get.”
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“But where’s my daddy?” Adrian asked, his eyes darting around the empty clearing. “You said he was here.”
“He’s waiting for you in the forest,” I lied smoothly, getting out of the car and opening his door. “Come on. He’s been waiting a very long
time to meet you.”
Adrian hesitated, his small hands gripping the edge of his car seat. “I don’t see anyone. And Mommy said I should never go into the forest
alone.”
“You won’t be alone,” I said, my patience finally reaching its breaking point. “Your daddy will be there. Don’t you want to meet him?”
The child’s desperate desire to find his father won out over his caution. He unbuckled himself and climbed out of the car, his small hand
reaching automatically for mine.
I led him to the edge of the forest, where the trees grew thick enough to block out most of thete afternoon sunlight. The air was
cooler here, carrying the earthy scent of dposing leaves and something else-something wild and predatory that made my wolf
pace uneasily in my mind.
“He’s in there?” Adrian asked, staring into the shadowy depths between the trees. “It looks really dark.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, crouching down to his level and speaking in the same sweet tone I’d used at the school. “Your daddy loves ying
hide and seek. He’s waiting for you to find him.”
I guided him several steps into the forest, far enough that he wouldn’t be visible from the clearing but not so far that I’d have trouble
finding my way back. When we reached a small cluster of fallen logs, I stopped.
“There,” I said, pointing deeper into the forest where the shadows grew thickest. “I think I see him! Do you see that movement between
those trees?”
Adrian squinted into the darkness, hope and fear warring on his small face. “I… I don’t see anything.”
“Look harder,” I insisted, already backing away from him. “He’s there, waiting for you. Go find him!”
“Wait!” Adrian turned toward me, panic flickering in those distinctive blue eyes. “Don’t leave me! I want to go with you!”
But I was already moving, my high heels clicking against the forest floor as I hurried back toward the clearing. Behind me, I could hear
Adrian calling out-first to me, then to his imaginary father, his voice growing smaller and more frightened with each passing second.
“Aunt Valerie! Come back! I can’t find him! AUNT VALERIE!”
By the time I reached my car, Adrian’s voice had faded to a distant cry echoing through the trees. I mmed the door and started the
engine, the sound drowning out whatever final pleas he might have been making.
The phone rang just as I reached the main road, Elizabeth’s name shing on the disy. I answered immediately, eager for good news.
“Please tell me you have her locked up somewhere,” I said without preamble. “Because I just finished handling my end of the bargain, and
I want my money”
“We have a problem,” Elizabeth’s voice came through the speaker, tight with rage and something that sounded like pain. “That little bitch
attacked us! She hit Harold with a wine bottle and bit me-ACTUALLY BIT ME-and then she ran off!”
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I nearly swerved off the road in shock. “What do you mean she ran off? How could you let one omega overpower both of you?”
“She fought like a rabid animal!” Elizabeth shrieked. “Harold’s unconscious, bleeding all over my carpet, and my arm looks like it was
mauled by a wolf! We had to call an ambnce!”
“That’s my money bleeding all over your carpet!” I shouted back, my voice rising to match hers. “Do you have any idea what I just
sacrificed to make this work? What I had to do?”
“I don’t care what you had to do! Harold might not even want her anymore after this! He’s talking about pressing charges, about how
dangerous she is-”
“Then MAKE him want her!” I interrupted, rage making my voice crack. “Tie her up, drug her, I don’t care what you have to do! But I am
not walking away from this empty-handed!”
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