Chapter 199 199
Roland POV
“Dad? What is it? What’s wrong?”
I rub at my eyes, still heavy with sleep, as I stand at the top of the stairs. It’s far too early for him to be awake. Even on training days when he rises before dawn this is early. Too early. And he’s just come back into the house. Where had he gone? Training wouldn’t have been finished yet.
Something had dragged me out of sleep. A strange dream. I’d woken hot and sweaty, which made no sense I hadn’t done that since I was probably Dominique’s age. So why now? My superhero T-shirt clings uncomfortably to my chest, damp and cold.
“Nothing. Go back to bed,” he says.
The lie sits wrong on him. Dad never lies.
Something is wrong. Is it Mum? The baby?
Since the day Mum tripped on the stairs, I’ve made sure every single toy is put away. I even gave most of them to the children’s unit at the hospital. I couldn’t let something like that happen again. I wouldn’t.
“Dad?” My voice sharpens, demanding answers, as he starts up the stairs. He pauses, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I need you to stay here and look after Mum.”
“Why… Dad, what’s going on?” His body is tight, wound like a spring. I know then this isn’t about Mum. He groans softly, his eyes glazing over as he slips into a mind-link. A second later he turns, strides back down the stairs, and pulls open the front door.
Whoever called him is outside.
“Two minutes,” he orders sharply, then spins around and rushes back upstairs.
I strain to listen. Mum’s startled cry echoes from above, small and sharp, and my heart slams hard against my ribs. It feels heavy, like something pressing down on my chest.
I move closer to the open door.
Warriors.
They’re gathering outside the house.
What on earth…?
“Roland, I need you to” Dad starts as he comes running back down the stairs.
“Dad, what’s going on?” My eyes are wide as I stare past him at the armed warriors filling our front yard.
“Son, I need you to look after Mum,” he says again, trying to brush me aside as he reaches for the door.
Why would Dad be calling the warriors when the Alpha family is at the Saint Wolf pack?
I don’t know why, but my thoughts jump straight to Delphine. A sharp ache cuts through my chest.
“Tell me!” I slam the door shut before he can step outside.
I plant myself in front of it, blocking his way. He studies me for a moment his six-year-old son, small enough that he could easily lift me out of the way. But he doesn’t.
Something is wrong. Something really wrong. And a horrible thought twists in my head that this is my fault. If Mum hadn’t fallen down the stairs, Dad would have gone with the Alpha family for Beta Fabrice’s marking ceremony.
“The Alpha family left the Bloodnight pack late last night,” he says quietly, “and they haven’t been seen since.”
The worry in his voice chills me. I know what that sounds like. I know what it can mean. He was with Aurélie the day her parents died, the day the pack was attacked. He’s spent his life trying to make sure something like that never happens again.
“What does that mean?” I ask, fighting the lump in my throat.
“It means…” He drops down in front of me, both hands gripping my shoulders not as a warrior now, not as part of command, but as a father breaking bad news to his son.
“It means they’re in trouble. All of them. Alpha Damien has ordered our warriors to join his. I need you to”
“I’m coming,” I state, firm and unyielding.