DEREK
The scream tore through me like a blade.
Aiden.
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I shifted mid–motion, bones snapping, fur ripping free of skin, the world sharpening into Erebus’s senses before the tent flap even hit the ground. I lunged straight through the sliced back panel, teeth bared, paws hitting earth as I hit the woods at a dead sprint.
“Dad!”
His voice was close. Panicked, but not far. Whoever had him had gotten far. Not yet.
Branches whipped past my flanks. My lungs burned, muscles coiled and snapping as I pushed harder, the scent trail sharp and recent–two wolves, one older; one leaner, and the unmistakable tang of Aiden. Sweat, fear, but no blood.
Not yet.
My vision tunneled. Rage and instinct merged into one long snarl of fury. They had my son.
“Dad!”
Another shout–clearer, just beyond the ridge.
And then, a woman’s voice rang out, furious and high with disbelief.
“A kid?! You took a kid?! There’s a kid here?!”
I skidded to a halt behind a thicket, ears straining.
“Let him go. Now. Get out of here!”
Her scent was foreign, her cadence somewhat refined. Rogue? I wondered.
I didn’t wait to hear more. I crashed through the brush and into the clearing, a growl building so deep it shook my ribs.
Aiden stood in the center, wide–eyed, his small fists clenched at his sides.
The two wolves who had grabbed him were backing away, tense and startled.
A second later, they turned and bolted, the smaller one tripping over a root before darting into the underbrush.
The woman–a brunette in torn leggings and a half–buttoned shirt–stood for one heartbeat more. Her face was shadowed by the low moonlight, but I caught the edge of something like regret on her features before she dropped to her knees and shifted.
Her wolf was lean and wiry, silver–streaked and fast. She snatched her bundle of clothes in her mouth and vanished into the
trees after the others.
Cowards.
All of them.
But I couldn’t chase.
Aiden was already running.
“Dad!”
I shifted back in a burst of heat and agony, catching him just as he flung himself into my arms.
His body hit mine hard, and I wrapped him up, holding him so tight I could feel his little heart thudding against my chest. His
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face pressed to my neck, arms locking around me, shaking but solta.
“I’m here,” I whispered, breathless. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
۱۶
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We stood like that in the middle of the clearing for a long minute, just breathing. Just being. His fingers clutched at me like he thought I might disappear if he let go.
Eventually, I pulled back just enough to look at him. “Are you hurt
He shook his head. “No. They just grabbed me. But she told them to let me go.
“Who was she?”
She was really mad. She said they were stupid.”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “She sounded kind of familiar, but I didn’t see her.”
Inodded slowly. “We’re going back to camp.”
“Are they gonna come back?”
“No,” said firmly. “Not tonight.”
He held my hand the whole walk back, fingers tight in mine.
By the time we made it to the firepit, his adrenaline had faded. His body sagged with exhaustion, his steps dragging. He was still shaken, still pale under the firelight, but his grip on me didn’t loosen until we were back beside the crackling fire.
I pulled on pants quickly, then knelt and took his face in my hands. “You okay?”
He gave me a tremulous smile. “I knew you’d save me.”
My chest cracked wide open.
“You’re not allowed to scare me like that,” I said, brushing hair off his forehead.
He grinned, the bravest little six–year–old I’d ever seen. “I didn’t mean to. It’s not like I invited them.”
I exhaled a shaky laugh. “Fair enough.”
Then he yawned–long and loud and completely unbothered. As if being kidnapped and rescued within the span of five minutes was just a footnote to his night.
“I’m so tired.”
I looked toward the horses, toward the ridge, toward the trail home.
Even if I saddled them up right now, even if we rode hard back to Silverclaw, he wouldn’t make it. He’d fall asleep in the saddle. Or worse.
I couldn’t risk it. Not after this.
“Take this water,” I said, handing him a bottle from the cooler. “And brush your teeth.”
He gave me a look.
“Yes, now. I don’t care if it’s survival mode. Your mom will ask me.
“Ugh,” he muttered, but took the bottle and his travel toothbrush and wandered toward the edge of the camp to brush, yawning the whole way.
I set to work dismantling the tent.
We couldn’t sleep in there now. Not after what happened. Not with the flap sliced open and the scent of fear still clinging to the fabric.
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I pulled the sleeping bags out and laid them on a bed of pine needles beside the fire. I stacked extra logs nearby and checked the perimeter one more time. No stent. No sound. Whoever they were they were gone.
But the chill in my bones said this wasn’t over.
When Aiden came back, I guided him toward the sleeping bag. He crawled in without protest, curling into the warmth like a pup.
I sat beside him on top of the second bag, my eyes scanning the trees.
“I’m gonna stay up,” I said. “Keep watch all night.”
He looked up at me, lids drooping. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” I said. “Just to be sure.”
He yawned again. “You’re the best, Dad.”
Then he curled into his side, and within minutes, he was asleep..
I sat beside the fire, knees pulled up, eyes on the trees..
Every so often, the fire popped. A breeze stirred the leaves. The horses, finally calm, shifted and sighed.
And I just sat there, still shirtless, still barefoot, replaying the night over and over.
They took him.
They got that close.
And I hadn’t stopped it.
I clenched my fists against my knees. My breath came slow and heavy.
When I tell Elena…
She’s going to kill me.
Not metaphorically. Not in a joking, “oh Derek, you fool” kind of way.
I was going to die.
Because she’d trusted me with the most important thing in her world.
And I’d almost lost him.
I stared into the flames, the guilt rising with the smoke. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this. For being a real father. For being the man they both needed. Maybe it wasn’t enough to want it. To try.
But then I looked down at the little sleeping form next to me. His chest rising and falling in even breaths, soot smudged on his cheek, one hand still clutching the edge of the sleeping bag.
He believed in me.
He knew I’d come for him.
So maybe I wasn’t perfect. Maybe I was still figuring it all out.
But tonight–I had shown up.
And I would again.
Every night. Every day. Until no one could ever get close to him again.
I swallowed hard. Wondering how loudly she was going to yell.
