CHAPTER 54

CHAPTER 54
DALTON

"You know my name, but you don't know my story. You've heard what I've done, but not what I've been through," my gaze fixes on the floor as I keep talking. "My mother was the pack's queen for a while because she thought she lost my father in a battle against the rogues. It's said that while my mother cried for the loss of her king, the moon and the sky wept with her," I lean back on the chair's backrest, not letting go of Blair's hand. "Sometime later, my father returned to the pack as if nothing had happened. The entire pack howled with joy; their alpha had returned, like the phoenix rising from the ashes. My mother embraced him with the love she believed he needed, but she never noticed what was going on.

"Months after my father's return, the pack celebrated again because the alpha was going to be the father of a boy—me. I was almost a legend when I was born. I was the lost king's son; they called me that because I survived in rogue territory without any help—well, that's what we believed," I scratch my head. "My mother faced her greatest fear one day when she took me for a walk. I was about eight years old, and some men with torn clothes emerged from the woods. They didn't harm us, but I'll never forget their words:

"Let him die like the coward he is, but run away. The heir and the moon will be safe, but he'll have to perish."

They came with a boy about ten years old. My mother knew exactly who that boy was; he was my father's child, and based on his age, my mother knew he was conceived during my father's disappearance," I take a breath. "If only she had listened to those men, we went back home, and my mother confronted my father. I witnessed every act, and my father vehemently denied the existence of that child. Of course, I believed him; I was just a child. But my mother didn't believe anything; she was broken.

"What broke her?" Blair asks.

"The spirit of my mother, that day I saw something on my mother's face that I had never seen before, she was devastated, but even knowing what would happen if we didn't leave, she stayed," my eyes well up, and I feel like a fool. "She stayed, Blair," she told the staff to leave the house, and everyone did, except the butler and me, I knew what would happen if I left. The men arrived at dusk, my mother and I were in the main hall when they broke down the front door, and my mother ran upstairs with me in her arms.

"We entered my room, I packed a backpack with some of my things, she opened the window, and we went out through it, she jumped with me in her arms from the roof, and the war raging inside our house could be heard. "The memory is stronger than I thought." She took my face and said, "I love you, Dalton, you must never forget that, you are the best thing that happened to your father and me, you must never forget that you are the only alpha of this land, no one can take that away from you, Dalton, now go, run." She wiped away the tears I didn't know were running down my face. She went back to the house, and I did as she told me: run through the forest, wherever the paths may lead me.

My parents died that night at the hands of the rogues because my father had a child with one of them. And my mother, like the perfect woman she was, gave my father an honor he didn't deserve after what he did; she died by his side, undeserving and unsuspecting.

"Dalton... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she says, crying with me.

Now, repeating these words aloud, I know what my mother's purpose was in everything she did. She knew that even if she had gone with me, it was only a matter of time before they would come after us too. Instead, if I survived, the pack would protect me fiercely. And I know Blair is just like my mother; they would do anything to protect their family, especially their pups.

"And the thought of that happening again terrifies me."

"It won't happen, darling, we will make the change," she says, and her words give me hope.

Eleven months later.

BLAIR

"Happy Birthday, Eros," Mika says as she hands a wrapped package to Eros.

"Thank you, Aunt Mika," says Eros with his adorable baby voice, emphasizing "thank you" since he barely speaks.

It had been over eleven months since we returned from Russia and left everything behind. Today, Eros turns one, and we are celebrating at our house with my siblings, my parents, Mika and her husband, leaders of some nearby packs, Deborah, and Elliot, but what matters most is that we left everything behind.

"Thank you for coming," I say, kissing Mika.

"No, we wouldn't miss it. It's our little alpha's birthday," the smile never leaves her face.

"Anyway, seeing so many people here makes Eros happy."

"Is he happy about the people or the presents?" We both laugh.

"Mummy," Eros takes my hand, demanding my attention.

"What's wrong, my love?" I crouch down to his level.

"And daddy?" He puts his hand on his mouth.

"He's outside with your uncles."

"Are we going to eat cake?" His sudden change of topic delights me.

"Yes, yes, we are going to eat cake." I kiss him on his forehead.

Eros runs off, and a big smile forms on my lips. Eros is beautiful, and not just because he's my son, but because he truly is. Those big green eyes, his little nose, and those small dimples that appear on his cheeks when he laughs, I know they will charm many girls when he grows up.

"Do you know where my wife is?" Hands grab me from behind and embrace me.

"Who are you?" I say, laughing, pretending not to know, playing along with Dalton's joke.

"I am the one who makes you more than happy in bed." His lips are near my neck.

"Then you're not my husband," I say, laughing.

"Then what am I to you?" He says, half-hurt.

I turn around and put my hands around his neck, bringing our lips together for a mini-second, and as I pull away, I tell him:

"You're the one I never want to lose."

"I love you," he says with a smile of pure pride.

"Why are you hugging my mummy?" A small voice can be heard.

"Because your mummy is mine," Dalton says.

"That's not true," Eros argues, it's so adorable.

"Yes, it is true," Dalton says, kissing me on the cheek while I watch everything attentively.

"Mummy." Eros comes closer and hugs my leg, looking at me with his tender eyes, those eyes that almost make me cry. "Do you love me?"

Dalton lets go of me and bends down to pick Eros up in his arms. I hug them both and give each of them a kiss, on Eros's cheek and Dalton's lips.

"I love both of you."

"And we both love you, Eros," Dalton adds for me.

"And where's my grandson?" My father says, entering the kitchen.

"Here," says Eros, and as soon as he sees him, he reaches out for my father.

"Don't take too long with that dessert," my father says, taking Eros with him.

"Let's go." I take the bowl of strawberries, and Dalton takes the cake.

We go outside, and everyone is there, either sitting or the men by the grill.

"Here." Dalton places the cake on the table we've set up outside.

"Eros," Dalton calls for Eros, and he comes running into his arms. I put the birthday candles on the cake, and we start singing "Happy Birthday" to Eros.

Dalton helps Eros hold the knife, and they start cutting the cake. After two slices, I take over, giving cake to all the guests. Once I finish, I see Eros and Dalton sitting with my parents and Mika. Eros is sitting on Dalton's lap, and he helps him eat the cake. I take a seat next to Dalton, grab the beer from his hand, and take a sip.

As soon as Eros sees me, he gets off Dalton's lap and comes to mine. I kiss him on the top of his head and join in the family conversation.

This is my life, the life I always dreamed of having with my mate. I have an amazing family, a beautiful son, and a husband who I couldn't ask for anything more, and I love him. And I hope it stays this way.