<b>Chapter </b><b>96 </b>


    Summer’s POV


    Today is the day we’re taking Felix to Disnend, but there’s an ominous feeling hanging over me.


    “Mom?<b>” </b>


    “Nothing, sweetheart,” I said, forcing a smile as I brushed a hand over his hair. “Everything’s fine<b>.</b>” (1)


    That was when I heard it.


    “Summer.“Alpha Foster’s voice carried across the space between us, drawing curious nces from passing tourists.


    Alexander’s arm came around me protectively, his body shifting to shield both me and Felix. I felt his muscles tense, ready for confrontation.


    “Alexander, we have to leave–now.”


    “I see him,” Alexander murmured back, his eyes never leaving Alpha Foster. “Jackson,” he addressed his gamma who materialized seemingly from nowhere, “call Brayden and the others. Now.”


    By the time he finished speaking, Alpha Foster was already in front of us–close enough that <b>I </b>could see the toll the past weeks had taken on him.


    He looked awful. Unshaven, hair a tangled mess, clothes wrinkled and stained. But it was his eyes that froze me–wild, fever–bright, burning with a manic intensity that sent a chill down my spine.


    This wasn’t the calcted,posed Alpha I had once married.


    This was something far more dangerous: a desperate, cornered predator.


    “Summer, please,” Alpha Foster called, his voice unexpectedly soft. “I just want to talk. I’ve missed you both so much.”


    “<b>You </b>need to leave,” I said firmly, surprised by the steadiness in my voice. “You’re not wee here.”


    Felix, who had gonepletely silent the moment he spotted Alpha Foster, suddenly tugged at my sleeve.


    “Mom, I want to talk to him,” he said quietly.


    I looked down at my son in shock. “Felix, no-”


    “Please, Mom. I need to say something to him.”


    Alexander and I exchanged nces. The determination in Felix’s eyes was unmistakable–that same stubborn resolve he’d inherited from me.


    oter


    “Two minutes,” Alexander said tersely. “And I’ll be right here.”


    Alpha Foster’s face lit up with something like hope as he approached. He dropped to one knee in front of Felix’s wheelchair, bringing himself to eye level with my son. The gesture might have seemed respectful if I hadn’t recognized it as the same maniptive tactic he’d used countless times before.


    “Felix, buddy,” Alpha Foster said, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve missed you so much. How are <b>you </b>feeling? Are they taking good care of you?”


    Felix stared at him with an expression far too old for his young face.“Why are you here?” Felix asked


    bluntly.


    “<b>I </b>came to bring you home,” Alpha Foster replied, reaching for Felix’s hand. “Both of you. Where you


    belong.”


    Felix pulled his hand away before Alpha Foster could touch him. “I am home. With Mom and Alexander.”


    Alpha Foster’s expression hardened slightly, though he maintained his fa?ade. “Felix, I know you’re


    angry with me. I made mistakes. But I’m still your father-<b>” </b>


    <b>“</b>No,” Felix interrupted, his voice surprisingly powerful for a child. “You’re not my daddy,” Felix continued, his small hands gripping the armrests of his wheelchair. “A real daddy doesn’t hurt his family. A real


    daddy doesn’t make his son give away his eye.”


    He paused, then delivered the final blow. “Alexander is my dad now.”


    The transformation in Alpha Foster’s face was instantaneous. The mask of contrition fell away, revealing


    the rage underneath. His eyes shed dangerously as he stood up, looming over Felix’s wheelchair.


    <b>“</b><b>You </b>ungrateful little—<b>” </b>


    “That’s enough!” I stepped between them, my maternal instincts overriding any fear. “You’ve had your


    time<i>. </i>Now leave.”


    Alpha Foster’s gaze shot to me, then to Alexander who had moved closer, radiating lethal intent.


    “You’ve poisoned my son against me,” Alpha Foster snarled. “Both of you.”


    Alexander’s voice was deadly calm, “You did that yourself when you chose Suzanna over your family.


    When you let her harm an innocent child–your own son.”


    “Where is she, by the way?” I couldn’t resist asking. “Your precious Suzanna? Still standing loyally by


    <b>your </b>side?<b>” </b>


    A flicker of something–pain, rage, humiliation–crossed Alpha Foster’s face before he masked it. “You’reing home with me,” Alpha Foster dered suddenly, reaching for my arm. “Both of you. This charade


    ends now.<i>” </i>


    Alexander moved so fast even I couldn’t track it. One moment Alpha Foster was reaching for me, the next he was stumbling backward, Alexander’s hand around his throat.