Chapter 1
When that Lyon Donaldson and Calian Donaldson showed up at my door, I was in the middle of teaching Lilia how to conceal her wolf's aura.
I was explaining carefully when Lilia pointed toward the entrance and asked with innocent curiosity, "Mom, who are they?"
I turned around and saw, standing at the doorway, two figures I had never noticed arrive.
Lyon stood there, his expression controlled and cold, while his gold eyes betrayed a surge of restrained exhilaration.
The way he looked at me made my skin crawl. I was about to ask what business they had here when the boy beside him suddenly broke free and ran straight toward me in excitement.
"Mother," he cried, "We finally found you."
*****
"Mom." As Calian rushed toward me, I instinctively stepped aside.
He reached out but I dodged, and his face fell, clearly hurt.
"Mom, it's me, Calian," he called out, trying to grab my hand.
I stepped back again, pulling Lilia behind me, who was still stunned.
I felt really uncomfortable with the way this boy was calling me "Mom."
I shook my head at him in disapproval and said, "Sorry, kid, but I think you've got the wrong person. I'm not your mother."
The boy froze for a moment.
Seeing how serious I looked, his eyes welled up with tears and he started sobbing.
"Mom, are you still mad at me? So you don't want to recognize me anymore?" he wailed. "Mom, I missed you so much when you weren't with me."
His crying was getting on my nerves, so I turned to Lyon, who was still standing at the door.
Calian looked like him. It was obvious he was the father the boy mentioned.
"Sir—" I started, addressing Lyon. "Could you get your son to stop crying? It's really... grating."
Lyon's brows furrowed.
I couldn't tell if he was annoyed at my comment about his son's crying, or just embarrassed by his son's outburst.
He barked coldly, "Shut up, Calian."
As soon as he heard his father's command, Calian immediately stopped crying, choking back his sobs.
The suddenness of it made him hiccup several times.
He looked downright ridiculous.
Lilia, peeking out from behind me, couldn't help but giggle.
Calian gave Lilia a fierce glare.
But when my own sharp glare met his, all that hostility instantly faded, leaving him looking wounded and pitiful.
This time, though, he didn't start bawling at me.
Instead, sniffling, he turned to Lyon. "Dad, Mom doesn't want me anymore."
Lyon shot him a glare and said, "After what you did to your mother, it's no wonder she doesn't want to take you back."
As his father mentioned what happened, Calian's expression darkened.
"Mom, I know I messed up. Can you forgive me?" he pleaded, his golden eyes full of anxious hope.
Lyon turned his gaze to me as well. "It's been five years. Calian knows he messed up, and honestly, you should be over it by now. Come back with us, Freya."
"Freya?" I repeated.
Hearing him call me by that name, I let out a sigh of relief.
"See? I told you, you've got the wrong person. My name's Elin, not Freya," I said.
"Elin?" Lyon paused, his expression tightening suddenly. "Freya, what are you talking about?"
He stepped closer, and I watched him warily, instinctively backing away.
"Sir, I really don't know you. Please take your son and leave, or I'll have to call the guards." My voice was firm.
From the moment I saw them, I could sense they didn't belong to our pack.
Normally, if any outsider werewolf were to step into our territory, the guards would sound the alarm right away.
But their arrival didn't trigger any alert from the guards.
They'd been here for a while, and not a single werewolf had noticed them. That put me on high alert.
But Lyon didn't seem fazed by my threat to call the guards.
Instead, my guarded attitude only seemed to piss him off.
He suddenly grabbed my wrist, his voice tinged with anger. "Enough, Freya. You should know when to stop being so stubborn."
His grip was iron-tight, and I couldn't help but yelp in pain.
"Let go of my mom." A voice sounded.