Summer’s POV ter changed to Sarah)


    I couldn’t help it–I looked closer, searching for the features she might have inherited from Lyra.


    All I could see was this little girl with her rosy cheeks, long curled eyshes, and bright, blinking eyes. She was impossibly perfect, like a porcin dolle to life.


    Thea should be five by now, but this little girl looked… what, maybe four at most?


    I shook the thought away. It couldn’t be her.


    Then I heard her voice-


    “Touch even a strand of my hair and see what happens,” the little girl threatened, her voice surprisingly


    “My uncle Alexander won’t let you get away with it. Your Strong family business in Cedar Ridge?


    Consider it finished.”


    I watched in amazement as Greg Strong’s face transformed from predatory confidence to shock.


    “Alexander ckwood is your uncle?” he sputtered, his voice rising an octave.


    “Yes.”


    “ording to rumors, Alpha Alexander did have a six–year–old niece, but you looked… This little brat is obviously lying,” Greg finally dered, regaining hisposure.


    “No one in Cedar Ridge has even seen Alexander ckwood’s niece. She’s just using his name to scare us.


    ”


    My wolf stirred inside me, bristling protectively. This brave little girl had put herself between me and danger without hesitation, and now this man was threatening her?


    “Alpha ckwood wouldn’t send his mate or niece out shopping without at least three bodyguards,” Greg continued with false confidénce. “This little monster is clearly bluffing. Grab her!”


    Just as the words left his mouth, Greg suddenly froze.


    I watched the color drain from his face like someone had flipped a switch.


    “Holy shit,” he whispered. “RUN! GO, GO, GO!”


    Before anyone could react, he was already fleeing, practically tripping over his own feet in his haste to escape. His confused bodyguards exchanged bewildered nces before hurrying after their cowardly <fna> Original content can be found at f?ndnovel</fna>


    boss.


    I frowned, confusion stirring in my chest. What just happened?


    “Don’t worry, prettydy,” The little girl looked up at me suddenly, her eyes curving into delighted crescents,she said in her adorable voice. “The bad men are gone now. They won’t bother you anymore.”


    She paused, studying my face with surprising intensity for a child so young. “Hey, prettydy, why are you crying?”


    Was I crying? I touched my fingertips to the corner of my eye and found moisture there, glistening under the crystal chandeliers overhead.


    “Are you scared?” she asked, her little brows drawing together in concern.


    I shook my head quickly. “I’m not scared, sweetie. I just remembered something from a long time ago.” Something that still haunted me every night–a family I once had, a mate I’d lost, a little boy who’d called me “Mommy<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    I knelt down to her level, gently pinching her soft, pudgy cheek. “Little one, can I ask <b>you </b>some questions?


    She nodded enthusiastically, her head bobbing up and down. “Of course! I like you, prettydy.”


    <b>“</b>Your uncle, is he-”


    “Uncle!” she suddenly called out, her sweet voice carrying clearly down the corridor.


    I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat as I followed her gaze.


    A man in an impable suit was striding toward us, but disappointment crashed through me immediately. It wasn’t Alexander. Not even close. The bond mark on my shoulder remained cool and dormant, confirming what my eyes already knew.


    The little girl released my hand and ran toward him on her short legs, holding up her arms demandingly.”


    Uncle, up!”


    Uncle?


    The man seemedpletely confused, blinking rapidly as if trying to process what was happening.


    He hesitated briefly before crouching down to lift the little girl into his arms, adopting a fatherly expression that seemed slightly forced. “What’s all thismotion about? Have you been causing trouble again?”


    “L-” he started to say before quickly changing course. “Uncle has told you many times to behave yourself when we’re out, hasn’t he? No causing trouble.”


    “I wasn’t!” the little girl protested, her bottom lip jutting out adorably. “Pudding has been super good! I promise!”


    The man clearly didn’t believe her. “Really?”


    “Yes, really! Cross my heart!” She made an X over her chest with her tiny finger. “Uncle, you have to believe Pudding. Ask the prettydy if you don’t believe me!”


    I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts when they both looked at me expectantly. I nced between the man in the suit and the child in his arms, still trying to make sense of the situation. “But didn’t you say your uncle was…”


    “I was just pretending!” the little girl interrupted with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She blinked those big eyes at me innocently, looking like an adorable little fox. “I only said that to scare the bad men away.”