Chapter 39
Alaric’s POV
I fall silent.
How can I supposed to explain this to Cara’s child?
But Mia notices my hesitation and, in her thoughtful way, quickly changes the subject.
“The ice-cream is so good! Can I have some more?” Mia takes another lick of her ice cream cone.
“No, this is the last scoop. You’ve eaten so much already,” I say to her.
Mia is devouring this ice cream like she hasn’t had any treats in years.
She treasures the ice cream so much that even after finishing it, she still seems reluctant to part with it. I notice her cheeks are even redder now.
"Well, thank you, Uncle... Mommy usually doesn’t let me have ice cream," she says softly.
I reply, "I’m sure your mom has her reasons. Be a good girl and listen to her, okay?"
Mia beams at me with a pure, innocent smile. "Of course! I love Mommy the most!"
It took a great deal of effort. I stopped myself midway, swallowing the question: "And what do you think of your dad?"
It’s a question that mustn’t be asked.
I can’t disrupt Cara’s new life, her new family... and her new husband.
The maid tries to take Mia to the couch to rest, but Mia refuses. Instead, she follows me to my study, her tiny voice humming a tune softly behind me.
She doesn’t seem afraid of me. The observation surprises me greatly.
Because the children of DarkWood usually fear me. They respect me, but they’re too afraid to say much to me.
I should stop Mia from entering my study. It’s filled with important documents, not a place for a child to treat as a playground. But when I turn to face her and see her eager little face, I find myself unable to say no.
But when I look at her, all I can see are Cara’s features.
Cara’s beauty. Cara’s eyes. Cara's hair.
...She's Cara' daughter.
She’s Cara’s daughter with another man.
Mia’s scent feels so familiar, so comforting, but I tell myself it’s probably because of Cara.
“Do you like word games?” I hear Mia’s sweet voice ask me.
“Word games?” I reply, shocked to hear the question. Cara and I used to play all the time…in this villa.
I shake my head, trying to keep those memories in the past.
“Yes! Big, bad boulders brawl!” Mia speaks with a gleeful giggle.
“Toddling turtles try to turn,” I reply.
...Who could her father be?
Cara’s POV
“Mia is safe.” Eamon says to me.
This makes me feel relieved.
I can’t believe I fainted. I can’t imagine a worse time to lose consciousness—in the middle of Alaric and my kids rescuing me from being raped.
This is such a relief... Thank the Goddess, everything is safe.
But Eamon watches my face carefully, he says, “...But she’s with Alaric, Cara.”
“Alaric?!” I say, astonished.
How is that possible?
Had he realized she’s his daughter? Did he take her?!
“Apparently she snuck into his vehicle when he left,” Eamon says, reading my expression. “We’ve sent Ethan home to avoid him running into Alaric as well.”
“She did?” I ask, knitting my eyebrows together in confusion. Why would she do such a thing?
I start marching towards Eamon’s car. When I reach for the door handle, Eamon calls to me, “Wait, you’re going back home. We’re just waiting for Colin to get back—”
“You must not know me very well if you think I’m just going to go home instead of getting my daughter,” I reply to Eamon seriously.
“You realize that means going to the DarkWood Alpha villa?” Eamon asks me. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
Eamon’s face is full of concern for me.
But I must go to her, for my little Mia.
“Yes,” I reply. “Let’s go.”
Every second that goes by is another opportunity for Alaric to realize who he is to Mia. That she’s his child.
Or for Mia to realize that he’s her father.
I can’t let that happen. Not now.
If that means facing Alaric again, and so soon, well that’s just something I’m going to have to do.
Alaric’s POV
“Running rabbits right wrongs!” Little Mia cheers, relishing in her victory with a toothy smile. “I won! I won the game!”
I don’t even have the heart to tell her that ‘wrong’ sounds like an R but is spelled with a W. I’ll let little Mia cherish this win anyway.
I look at this small red-headed child and feel like a tiny little string is pulling on my heart…
What is this feeling?
“It’s only natural to want to father pups.” My wolf, Grey, says to me in my head. We haven’t talked to each other much in the last six years, at least not as much as we used to. “It’s your natural instinct,” he finishes.
“It’s not that,” I reply to him internally. “It’s something about this one, this little girl in particular. She’s… special in some way.”
I’m looking at the little girl’s face, searching for an answer. But I can’t find it. I can’t see it.
But I am looking at her long enough to notice her face start to look different.
It starts with a flush, almost like she’s blushing at something. But then the color turned darker… almost blue or purple.
I’m shocked to see it happening. I spring up from my chair and crouch in front of her in a flash. “Mia? Are you alright?”
Even more shockingly, the little girl is incredibly calm. Like she’s having a stroll around the park, rather than losing her ability to breathe.
Mia puts her hands up, with fingers splayed, to cross her wrists in front of her throat. Her movements are almost like it’s been well-practiced, even she's very pain now.
I say loudly, “What can I do? BUTLER, COME QUICKLY!”
I yell to my butler to gather my family doctor for an emergency. There’s not a moment to waste.
When the family doctor rushes in, she’s got a variety of items in her hands. “I wasn’t sure what you needed, so I brought what I could carry, sir!” she says.
Mia points to an item in the doctor’s hand, an allergy pen. The little girl’s face is still that uncomfortable purple, but she’s remaining completely calm in the midst of crisis.
She’s certainly Cara’s daughter.
The doctor understands Mia’s motions and acts quickly to inject the allergy pen’s medicine directly into the top of Mia’s leg.
I take a tremendously deep breath at the same time Mia does.
When the doctor assured me that Mia was fine, I took a deep breath and hugged her tightly.
"It must have been the ice cream," I said, guilt heavy in my voice. "I’m so sorry... I didn’t know... I’m so sorry..."
"It’s okay, Uncle..." Mia said softly, her small hand weakly gripping mine.
At that moment, my butler rushed in. "Sir, the Arbuns from Pack BloodyMoon have arrived! Miss Cara demands that you return her child immediately!"
Tap, tap, tap. Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
I looked up to see Cara walking toward me, her red-haired brothers flanking her like a fiery storm. Her eyes locked on Mia in my arms, and her beautiful expression change with a mix of tension and anger.
"What have you done to my daughter?!" Cara demanded, her voice sharp with fury.
