Bella’s POV
The question hung in the air like a blade waiting to fall. Tara’s innocent eyes searched my face, desperate for an answer I wasn’t ready to give.
"Is it true, Mommy? Are we Alpha Derek’s children?"
My heart shattered into pieces. The sa man who had walked away from years ago, who had built a life without ever looking back, now stood ready to tear my world apart with DNA tests and legal demands.
If Leah’s test returned positive, which it inevitably would, Derek could claim them all. Every single one of my babies.
The audacity of his supposed rcy made my blood boil. Did he honestly believe I would be grateful that he wasn’t demanding tests for the other two? Did this man think my fear of exposure as a gray wolf outweighed my love for my children?
He was dead wrong. I would fight him with everything I had.
After they finally left our ho, I couldn’t contain my fury any longer. Hugo listened as I unleashed my disappointnt about Derek’s betrayal.
How dare Derek assu I would sacrifice my children to protect so secret? The assumption felt like a slap across my face.
That would never happen. Not while I drew breath.
"Don’t worry about this," Hugo said, his voice gentle but strained. "I’ll handle it."
"Handle what exactly? What can anyone do now?" I asked, exhaustion creeping into every word. My breathing ca heavy and labored.
The children sat secured in their car seats behind us, absorbed in their tablets for now. But I knew those questions would resurface soon. Children always rembered the important things.
"I promise I’ll find a solution," Hugo insisted, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
"I’m going to take action imdiately," he whispered, and sothing dark flickered in his tone that made shiver.
"Derek has completely lost his mind. I’ll corner him when his father isn’t around to poison his thoughts. I’m convinced his father is pulling his strings."
Hugo’s words carried an edge as he navigated us toward ho. I sat silent, my anger burning too hot for speech.
Derek had truly, genuinely disappointed beyond asure. I found myself analyzing our past friendship, searching for red flags I might have missed.
All I could recall was his obsession with never losing people he cared about. He constantly spoke about failing his mother by not being vigilant enough.
His promises about love had always been intense. If Derek ever fell for soone, he claid he would move heaven and earth for them.
"Can we stop at that park for a bit?" Tara’s request snapped back to the present mont.
"Sweetheart, that’s part of the forest," I replied wearily.
"But the sign says ’park’ right there," she persisted, pressing her small finger against the window.
I turned to Hugo with questioning eyes.
"It’s designed for children interested in werewolf culture. Think of it as an educational the park. That’s why they built it deep in the woods," he explained carefully.
He caught Tara’s disappointed expression in the rearview mirror.
"Why can’t we go to the park?" she whined.
Hugo glanced at as he slowed the vehicle. He’d stopped driving completely when her requests began, knowing that passing by would trigger a ltdown.
"Why isn’t anyone listening to ?" Tara demanded, turning to recruit her siblings.
"Mommy, please, can we play at the park?" Leah and Zack chid in, forming their united front.
I released a long, defeated breath. The last thing I wanted was to socialize or linger outdoors. My plans involved going straight ho and burying myself in work.
But faced with three determined children, resistance beca futile.
"Just a little while," I conceded.
Their cheers filled the car, and despite everything, my spirits lifted slightly. Hugo parked, and the kids tumbled out one by one. They grabbed their few balls, which would serve as entertainnt alongside the playground equipnt.
The park featured elaborate thed structures. Alpha swings dominated one section. Beta slides curved through another area. The monkey bars bore signs marking them as gamma warrior bars.
We entered to find the place buzzing with activity.
"Popular spot," Hugo observed, staying close to our group.
"Alpha Hugo," soone called from the crowd, imdiately recognizing his presence.
People throughout the park bowed respectfully. He acknowledged them with a simple wave before guiding the children toward the slides.
He positioned himself at the bottom, catching each child as they descended with squeals of delight.
I settled onto a nearby bench, clutching my phone and staring at Derek’s contact information. My thumb hovered over his na.
Speaking with him felt impossible after his betrayal, but the situation demanded action.
"Hello?" His voice ca through after it rang.
"Derek, we need to et privately. Just the two of us, without your father or anyone else interfering," I said imdiately.
"Wait, you want to et my husband?" The voice responding definitely wasn’t Derek’s.
I pulled the phone away to double-check the screen before continuing.
"Serena?" I asked uncertainly.
"Yes," she snapped. "His wife, Serena. Care to explain why you’re calling my husband and demanding alone ti with him? Have you lost all sense of decency? Don’t you have your own husband?"
Her accusations hit like machine gun fire. From any wife’s perspective, I understood how suspicious this appeared. An old friend with a complicated history requesting private etings.
"I only need to discuss the DNA situation," I explained, feeling trapped.
"Oh, that ss. Tell the truth. Didn’t you claim you never slept with him? So what’s really happening here?" Her questions ca rapid-fire as chaos erupted in the background.
"Tell everything. Does her husband know she cheated? Have you two been secretly communicating all these years?" she scread at soone else, obviously Derek.
"Give my phone back," Derek’s voice cut through, sharp with anger.
Sounds of struggle filled the connection as they fought over the device.
"No. I want answers. Did that woman seduce you again? Is that why you stopped loving ?" Serena sobbed.
"How many tis have I told you not to touch my phone?" Derek roared at her.
"Because you were having an affair with her?" she scread back.
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