CHAPTER 75

CHAPTER 75
Dan’s POV

The doorbell rang a third time, sharp and insistent, slicing through the charged silence of the house. I prayed that none of my workers open that door.

I descended the stairs slowly, every step a battle. My muscles burned as if my bones were trying to crack and reform. I kept my hands balled into fists, claws pricking against my palms. 

The scent from beyond the door hit me first cold stone, pine, and something ancient like old blood. I opened the door with more force than I intended, the wood groaning under my grip.

A tall man in a tailored black coat stood on the porch. His eyes were pale silver, reflective in the porch light. He smiled like we were old acquaintances.

“Daniel. You must be feeling it by now.” I stared at the man looking unimpressed, ready to pounce on him if need to be.

“I don’t know who you are,” I growled, voice lower and rougher than normal, “but you need to leave, now.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture.

“I’m only a messenger. Mr Elias sends his congratulations on the birth of his grandson. He also sends a warning. The child carries both the Wolf and the Flame. Such power cannot be left unchecked. In four nights, under the full moon, he will come to guide the boy’s future.” My vision tunneled. 

A surge of pure rage flooded me, and for a terrifying second my teeth felt too sharp against my tongue. I stepped forward, towering over the man even though he was nearly my height. “If Elias or anyone else comes near my family, I will rip their throat out. Tell him that.”

The messenger’s smile faltered when he saw my eyes. He took one step back. 

“Control is difficult in the beginning, isn’t it? Your father never mastered it either.” He placed a small black envelope on the porch railing. “Read it when you’re calmer, I will be back.”

He turned and disappeared into the night before I could respond. No dramatic showdown. Just words that settled like ice in my gut.

I slammed the door, locked it, and leaned my forehead against the wood, breathing hard. The beast inside howled in frustration, demanding I chase the man down. I fought it back with everything I had. Sweat rolled down my spine. My hands slowly returned to normal mostly.

When I finally climbed the stairs, my legs felt heavier. I paused outside the bedroom door, composing myself. Emerald didn’t need to see me like this.

I stepped inside to find the room bathed in a soft, golden glow.

Emerald sat propped against the pillows, Sigurd cradled against her chest. Her flames had settled into a gentle, flickering warmth that hovered around them like a protective aura not destructive, but alive. 

The fire danced softly across her fingertips as she stroked our son’s back. Sigurd was calm now, making tiny contented sounds, his earlier cries forgotten.

She looked up at me, exhaustion and love mixing in her eyes. “He’s gone?”

I nodded and crossed the room, sinking onto the bed beside them. “For tonight. He was just a messenger.” My voice cracked. I don’t understand a thing that is happening right now but I will fight anyone who tries to get to my family.

“But he’s not getting anywhere near either of you. I swear it.”

Emerald reached out with her free hand. When her fingers brushed my cheek, a wave of soothing heat flowed into me. 

The fire in my blood quieted, like her power was calling the wolf to lie down.

“You’re burning up,” she whispered. “It’s happening to you too, isn’t it?”

I swallowed hard and nodded. There was no point hiding it anymore. “My mother told me tonight. My father was an Alpha. The change is starting because of the stress, the fear of losing you two. I feel it every second stronger, angrier, sharper. I’m terrified I’ll hurt you.”

“You won’t.” Her voice was quiet but certain. She shifted closer, resting her head on my shoulder while Sigurd nestled between us.

“Look at how gentle you are right now even while fighting it. That’s who you are, Dan. Not the monster you’re scared of becoming.”

I wrapped my arm around them both, careful. Sigurd’s tiny hand curled around my finger, and something inside my chest broke open.

This little person so fragile, so new trusted me completely. His heartbeat was a soft, rapid flutter I could hear perfectly now. Every instinct, both man and wolf, screamed the same thing: to protect him.

“I almost lost you,” I said thickly, pressing my lips to Emerald’s hair. “Two days of you lying there unconscious I kept thinking what kind of father I’d be without you to guide me. You make me better, Em. You make all of this worth fighting for.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she smiled. The flames around us softened into a warm amber light that bathed the room in peace.

“We’re going to figure this out together. My fire kept me warm in the dark. And when I heard Sigurd crying, it just flared like it knew he needed me.”

I watched the gentle flames curl protectively around our son. They didn’t burn they warmed.

“He calmed down the second you held him,” I murmured. “And you calmed down the second I came back. We’re already a team, the three of us.”

For a long while, the room was quiet except for Sigurd’s soft breathing and the occasional pop of Emerald’s fire. Victoria had slipped downstairs earlier, giving us space.

Even Luca hadn’t returned yet. For the first time in days, the house felt like a sanctuary instead of a battlefield.

I reached over and picked up the envelope the messenger had left. Inside was a single card with elegant handwriting:

‘The boy belongs to the old blood.  
Four nights. Come willingly, or we will come for him.‘

I crumpled it in my fist. Emerald’s fire flared brighter for a moment, then settled again as I dropped the ashes into the bowl on the nightstand.

“Not tonight,” I said softly. “Tonight is ours.”

Emerald nodded, exhaustion pulling at her again but not as heavily as before. “Stay with us?”

“Always.” I kicked off my shoes and carefully lay down beside them, pulling the blanket over all three of us. Sigurd made a small sigh of contentment. 

Emerald’s flames dimmed to a faint, comforting glow, like a nightlight made of pure love and power.

As her breathing evened out and sleep claimed her, I stayed awake, watching over them. The wolf inside still paced, still pushed against my control, but it felt quieter. 

Like it understood that this holding my exhausted wife and our miracle son was the reason it existed.

I will train and I will learn control. Become whatever I needed to be to keep them safe when the full moon came. Even if I have to kill my own father to protect my family.