chapter 163
Tori's POV:
I turned to face him.
"Lucas, what is it? You've been... different since I mentioned Susan's invitation."
For a long moment, he simply looked at me, his silver-blue eyes searching my face as if memorizing every detail.
The bond between us thrummed with his internal struggle.
Then he moved, his hands cupping my face with infinite gentleness. "Tori," he began, his voice carrying a weight that made my heart race, "do you want to know who your biological father is?"
The question hit me like a physical blow. My breath caught.
"My... father?" The word felt foreign on my tongue.
Lucas's thumbs traced gentle patterns on my cheeks. "I know who he is, not long ago, little wolf."
My hands gripped his wrists, needing the anchor of his touch as my world tilted. "How? Why didn't you tell me immediately?"
"Because," he said softly, "I wasn't sure if knowing would help or hurt you. And I wanted to be certain before I said anything."
My mind raced through possibilities, connecting dots I hadn't known existed.
Olivia's reaction when she'd first seen me—that strange, arrested look in her eyes, as if she were seeing a ghost. You have his eyes, she'd said about William.
And the lunar calculations. My gift with moon phase mathematics, the way the numbers had always come so naturally to me. William Sullivan was renowned for that same talent, his research into lunar patterns legendary among the Packs.
For one breathless, dizzying moment, hope flared in my chest.
What if I was William and Susan's daughter?
But reality crashed down just as quickly. I had a mother. Hannah Sullivan, who'd raised me with cold indifference, who'd made it clear my entire life that I was a burden she'd never wanted.
And Lucas's expression when I'd mentioned Susan—not just concern, but something darker. Guilt, maybe. Or pity.
The conversation with Grandmother Eileen came flooding back. Your mother made a terrible mistake with a married man. And Aunt Janet's carefully chosen words: He had a wife. A family. Your mother destroyed that.
I was the product of an affair. The living proof of Hannah's betrayal. The reason Susan had lost everything.
The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity, and the brief spark of hope died, replaced by a cold, heavy understanding.
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
The air seemed to thicken around me, pressing down on my chest until breathing became a conscious effort.
Through our bond, I felt Lucas's concern spike, felt him reaching for me emotionally even as his hands remained steady on my shoulders.
"That person..." My voice came out as barely a whisper. "Is it William Sullivan?"
Lucas's silence was answer enough. Through our bond, I felt his confirmation before he even nodded.
"The DNA test was ordered by Alpha William," Lucas explained, his voice steady despite the emotional storm I could feel raging within him. "The results were conclusive. William Sullivan is your biological father."
I stepped back, my legs suddenly unsteady. Lucas moved with me, his hands shifting to my waist to keep me upright.
I thought of Susan's wheelchair, her invitation.
The brief flare of excitement died instantly, extinguished by a wave of crushing guilt.
"Does she know?" I asked. "Susan—does she know about me?"
"Not yet. William didn't want her to know." Lucas's voice was carefully controlled.
My hand instinctively moved to my still-flat stomach.
"I can't... Lucas, I can't face her now. How can I look at her knowing that I'm the reason—"
"Stop." His hands caught my shoulders, firm but gentle, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Listen to me, Tori. What happened twenty-two years ago—none of it was your fault. You were an innocent child. You are innocent."
"But her daughter died because—"
Lucas interrupted, his voice hard with conviction. "Those were their choices, their sins. Not yours. You don't carry their guilt, little wolf."
I wanted to believe him. God, how I wanted to believe that I wasn't somehow responsible for that tragedy. But the weight of it pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe.
"I just told her I'd go to her exhibition," I whispered, my voice breaking.
Lucas's expression softened, his thumbs tracing gentle circles on my shoulders. "Then don't go. You can make an excuse," he said firmly.
A moment of silence stretched between us. Then Lucas spoke again, his voice careful.
"Owen Sullivan approached me tonight at the Elder Council dinner. He knows about your identity. He wants to bring you back into the Sullivan Pack."
I froze, my breath catching. "He... what?"
"He made a formal proposal," Lucas continued.
My mind reeled. Going back to them—becoming part of the Sullivan family—would mean facing Susan every day. My very presence would be a constant reminder of her husband's betrayal, of the daughter she'd lost. I wouldn't even have to do anything. Just existing would be enough to hurt her.
"The Sullivan Pack is in turmoil right now," Lucas said quietly. "Your appearance will inevitably cause upheaval. And you're pregnant, little wolf. The last thing you need is to be caught in the middle of their family politics and power struggles."
Through our bond, I felt his protectiveness surge—sharp and fierce.
He'd already made his position clear to Owen Sullivan, I realized. He'd rejected the proposal.
"That's my personal recommendation," he added, his voice softening. "But if you want to return to your blood family, if you want to know them—that's your choice to make. I won't stand in your way."
His hands moved to cup my face, tilting it up so I had to meet his eyes. "Whatever you decide, remember this: I'm here. I'm with you. Always."
The words wrapped around me like a shield, solid and unwavering.
But as I stood there in his arms, feeling the warmth of his touch and the steady beat of his heart through our connection, I knew what my answer would be.
I was silent for a long moment, letting the weight of the decision settle. Then I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling myself against his solid warmth, anchoring myself to the one constant in my chaotic life.
"I have you," I said quietly, my voice muffled against his chest but steady with conviction.
"I have you and our baby. That's enough. I don't need anyone else."