Chapter 5 Papa

Two Years Later

The soft patter of tiny feet echoed across the small apartment.

"That's it, baby... good job!" Sarina laughed softly, her arms stretched out in encouragement.

A little boy wobbled toward her, his steps unsteady but determined. His grey eyes sparkled with excitement, his tiny hands reaching for her but before he could fully get to her, he fell forward into her embrace.

Sarina caught him instantly, pulling him close as her heart melted.

"My big boy," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his soft hair.

Asher giggled, his tiny fingers clutching her sweater.

She held him tighter than necessary, because every time she looked at him...

She always remembered.

'You disgust me. I never want to see your face again.'

Her smile faltered slightly, those words echoed in her mind as if they had been said to her just yesterday. But she quickly retrained her expression smiling down at Asher who was now looking up at her face with his head tilted as if he was trying to decipher why she had such a look in her eyes.

He was just a year and two months old but he was already very smart for his age. He would read her eyes and decipher her mood. Whenever she was happy, he would smile and laugh happily with her, but if he sensed her sadness, tears would well up in his eyes too. It almost felt like he could smell every emotion on her even from afar, which made her very careful how she reacted in front of him. She never wanted him disheartened in any way.

But then he was the offspring of an alpha, and they had extremely sharpened senses, it was no surprise Asher was like that. Looking at the small but adorable face of her son which looked exactly like every feature of Alpha Kane, a sharp pain tightened Sarina's heart.

"Don't worry, baby," she murmured softly, brushing her fingers across his cheek.

"I'll never let your father's anger touch you." His anger and hatred was only for her, she would never let him release that hatred on her son.

And if he ever came to know that the single night he considered a disgusting scheme made up by her ended up getting her pregnant...she couldn't imagine what he would do to her...or to her son.

"Mama..." Asher muttered the word incoherently, reaching a tiny chubby hand to touch her face which made her giggle. She playfully dropped kisses all over his face.

"Mama loves you so much Asher." He gave her a toothless grin as if he understood what she said.

In the past, she had a father and a sister whom she'd loved despite how harshly the latter treated her, she'd had a home and what she considered a family, and yet she had always felt alone.

Now however, it was just the two of them. Her and Asher and a few friends she'd made along the way and that felt like everything. Everything she'd ever needed and more...

"Asher is such a beautiful boy. I don't think I've ever seen a baby as cute as he is."

Sarina looked up as Hailey dropped down beside her on the floor, smiling warmly as she stared at Asher with stars in her eyes.

"He gets more handsome every day," Hailey added, gently tapping Asher's nose. "Honestly, he looks like someone famous, I just can't remember who but he definitely looks like someone I've seen on TV."

Sarina's heart skipped. Many human girls idolized the werewolf alphas like celebrity crushes. Werewolves weren't just supernatural, they were hot and wealthy too so the human communities definitely hyped them up a lot and they were very often showed online and on TV. Hailey must have seen alpha Kane once before.

Though she didn't want Hailey or anyone else finding out about her son's father, Sarina kept her face calm.

"You're overthinking it," she said lightly. "Asher looks a lot like me."

Hailey raised a brow.

"No offense girl, but he really doesn't. He doesn't have your green eyes, blonde hair or even your nose. I think he looks a lot more like his father,"

Hailey continued before suddenly freezing in realization when Sarina's expression stiffened. "Oh...I'm sorry,"

Hailey said quickly, guilt flashing across her face. "I know you don't like talking about him. I didn't mean to pry."

Hailey and Sarina had known each other for two years now as roommates having moved into a shared apartment to lower costs. They'd become really good friends, when Sarina had started falling sick just a few weeks after moving into this small apartment, Hailey had suggested she tried a pregnancy test, and lo and behold it had come out positive.

Hailey was very curious about Sarina's past, as a friend she wanted to know more about who Sarina was, but when they first met Sarina had been closed off, almost broken to the point of hardly opening up to someone else... Hailey had never tried to pry into a life that Sarina didn't willingly want to share.

Sarina exhaled softly.

"It's okay," she said after a moment, her voice gentler now. "The past is... the past. You didn't do anything wrong by bringing it up."

She looked down at her son, her gaze softening instantly.

"All that matters is giving my little angel a better future."

Hailey smiled.

"And you will," she said confidently. "Especially now that you're starting your new job today."

Sarina's eyes widened slightly.

Right.

Her job.

"You don't want to be late on your first day," Hailey added, already grabbing her bag as she stood. "I have to run too-if I'm late again, Dante will actually kill me."

Sarina laughed softly.

"Remember," Hailey called as she reached the door, "tell the daycare I recommended you! You'll get a discount."

"I will. Thank you, Hailey."

"Bye!"

The door shut behind her and silence returned to the warm apartment.

Sarina let out a small breath.

"Alright, Ash," she said, standing up with renewed determination. "Let's get you ready for daycare... and me ready for a fresh start."

---

The streets of South Rivers were already alive by the time she arrived.

Cars passed and people hurried along sidewalks.

It was normal, peaceful.

No whispers, no judgment. No one was looking at her like a freak, no one treated her like an outcast just because she never awakened a wolf like everyone else.

Sarina had never felt like she belonged anywhere, until here. Back at the pack, they used to tell her that she was no better than a human, having no wolf and no powers. Perhaps she was always meant to be human after all.

After quickly getting Asher dressed, she carried him into the daycare.

A cheerful sign at the entrance read:

'Little Angels House'

Inside, everything felt warm and safe, somewhat making Sarina feel reassured to leave Asher here for a whole day while she was at work.

Bright colors filled the space, along with soft laughter and gentle voices.

The owner was a woman who seemed to be in her early forties, she greeted Sarina kindly, guiding her through the registration process.

Sarina signed and filled up several forms and confirmed every detail.

When she was done...the reluctance and a slight ache in her chest made her hesitate to leave her son.

Sarina knelt down, holding Asher close.

"Be a good boy, okay?" she whispered, kissing his forehead. "Mommy will be back soon."

Asher blinked at her, then smiled. That beautiful type of smile she'd never seen on his father's face.

She hesitated for just a second before handing him over to the owner, Avery.

Her chest tightened but she forced herself to let go, handing him over to the woman she knew would take care of him.

Asher seemed to sense she might leave, he grabbed onto her hand tightly, looking up at her with questions in his silver orbs.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to reassure her son to be good and she would only be gone a few hours, a sudden announcement on TV caught her attention.

"...Billionaire Alpha of Blue Moon Pack will be visiting South Rivers soon-"

Sarina froze the moment she heard those words. The television had been playing in the background but she hadn't paid attention to what was being said until she heard the familiar name.

"...his search for a wife seems to have extended into human territory...women have been lining up at Moon Villa since last night and a reward of ten million dollars has been announced for any woman who can give the Alpha an heir..."

Her heart began to pound.

Alpha Kane...

Dread slowly crept into her heart. Why was alpha Kane here in the human territory? Though the fear of seeing him again made her momentarily panic, she assured herself by the reminder that there was no way she would ever see him again if she didn't go looking for him and no matter what, he should never come to know that she'd had his son.

Asher's voice broke through her thoughts in that moment, as he said one single word that made her blood run cold.

"Papa?"