Chapter 41

**Jiang’s POV**

“They promised Jiang, where is my son!” Estelle yells, throwing a glass at me, it shattered on the wall beside my head dripping dark red wine down our wall. We have grieved our son for years. During the previous battle with Dark Claw, they attacked my wife and child while they were fleeing for the safe house and I was out on the battlefield alongside our Alpha.

The trauma of it all caused Estelle to have large gaps in her memory of the event but she was left bleeding to death in the grass, and our son Qiang was gone. We searched and searched for him until one of the prisoners we took in from that battle boasted about slitting my dear son’s throat before tossing his corpse to the feral wolves that reside in unclaimed land. Feral wolves have completely lost their human counterpart and behave like rabid beasts waiting to be put out of their misery.

We were assured that there would be nothing left of him to find and it broke my mate, it broke me too if I’m honest. I threw myself into my duties as Beta, if I wasn't busy I was afraid I would simply drown in my grief like Estelle. My mate spent over two years sitting in our son's room day and night, barely speaking, being forced to eat or shower. She slept in his red racecar bed every night and spent her days clutching one of the last photos we ever took of him.

Qiang was holding up an award he received for being MVP in a game of soccer, his glasses were crooked and his smile was missing a few teeth but he looked so proud of himself in that photo.

Months before Roman’s eighteenth I was helping with the night patrols since there had been some strange activity a short distance from our borders and the Alpha wanted me to get a report back to him.

I had just stepped over the pack lines when I was approached by Todd and his brother Clive. Not knowing who they were at the time, I assumed they were rogues, but instead of attacking me they introduced themselves, handing me an envelope.

“Our Luna has something you want and is generous enough to offer you a deal” Todd smirks before turning away, his brute of a brother following right behind him.

Tearing into the paper, inside the envelope is a photo of my boy, but it doesn't look like the bright child I knew. Qiangs clothes are clean, hair long but neat and he is in what looks to be a regular tween boy’s room but the grey eyes he inherited from his mother now match the emptiness that I see in hers everyday. His face looks puffy from crying and gone is the tan that he earned from spending every waking minute outside playing different sports with other young pups

I feel dizzy seeing him again, I thought he was gone, I gave up on looking for him but he has been alive this whole time. Alongside the photo is a handwritten letter from Luna Samira of Dark Claw. we had assumed that Alpha Edward survived, but was simply too embarrassed to show his face again, we were wrong though. His mate has spent the last two years rebuilding this pack and has been awaiting the perfect opportunity to sink her claws in for revenge.

The letter gave very strict instructions, outlining a deal between her and I. She will continue raising my son as her own out of the ‘goodness of her heart’ and eventually return him if I feed her information about Silver Eclipse.

I know that agreeing to her terms is treason against the pack that I have spent the better part of my life running alongside my best friend. Romeo and I have fought together, laughed together, raised our families together and grieved together. Doing this though will be throwing all that away but I need to save my wife from her depression, and save our son from Dark Claw.

Coming home I showed Estelle the photo of Qiang and I saw a spark ignite in her, even if for a brief moment she seemed to be truly awake seeing that our boy was still alive. I knew that I had to fight for this even though it would destroy the lives of so many around us.

So I spent months feeding Dark Claw vague bits of information, hopefully not enough to help them win against us but enough that whenever I met up with Todd and Clive I would receive another envelope with a precious photo hidden inside. Every picture I brought home the more Estelle improved.

After Roman killed Clive our alliance hit a wall, they stopped bringing me photos, as punishment. Apparently Samira had grown bored with my vague crumbs of information and Todd was furious at the fact he lost his brother. In desperation to get any sign of life that Qiang was alive I started divulging more and more, even though it was eating away at my soul.

I even warned them that we were coming to raid their land to search for Roman. I gave them an opportunity to hide him, the child I helped raise, the child that called me his uncle and trusted me with his life. For my selfish actions though I was given a gift though.

Holding up Roman’s head in that damn polaroid was my son, the large port-wine stain birthmark crawling across his pale skin from his wrist to his thumb. They must have known that Romeo and Adam would be so focused on Roman that only I would see that they were telling me that my son was still alive and well thanks to my treasonous contributions.

It has been over a week now since I brought that photo home and long gone is the Estelle that is practically a hollow shell, now she is hysterical and anxious to get our son back in her arms. She even distracted Adam to give Dark claw more time to take our future Alpha thinking it would get Qiang back home sooner.

“They have ceased communication with me Stelle, I go to our meeting spot every night and nothing, I’m sorry my love” I reach for her to pull her into a hug. I crave to hold her against me, not only to soothe her but for myself too. After losing Qiang it was like I lost her too and now in an effort to get them back I have been tearing my soul apart and I need her to hold me before I fall apart entirely.

Estelle pulls away from me though, turning to run upstairs slamming shut the door to our son’s room where she will likely spend the rest of the night, leaving me alone shattering like the broken glass beside me.