The Secret Heir
1962 Words
The wind howled as I stepped out of the car, cloak wrapped tightly around me. We were deep in the outskirts now—no pack borders, no Alpha law. Just silence, forest, and the tiny cabin I had called home for the past five years.
I’d built a new life here. A quiet one. One I fought to protect.
But fate doesn’t care about quiet.
As soon as my boots hit the gravel path, the door to the cabin flew open—and there he was.
Aiden.
My son.
Five years old, small but sharp-eyed, standing in the doorway in his favorite wolf-print pajamas. His silver-flecked eyes—so much like his father’s—lit up when he saw me.
“Mama!”
I dropped to my knees just in time for him to barrel into my arms, his warmth banishing the chill of the Moon Summit from my bones. I buried my face in his hair, breathing in the scent of pine, soap, and childhood.
“You were gone too long,” he mumbled into my shoulder.
“I’m here now,” I whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His little fingers fisted the edge of my coat. “Did you see the Alpha men in suits?”
I froze. “What?”
He pulled back just enough to look at me. “In my dream. They were looking for you. One had silver eyes, like mine. He said you’re his.”
My breath caught in my throat.
It wasn’t just a dream.
He’d felt it. Somehow, even without meeting Kael… Aiden knew.
I forced a smile. “It was just a dream, love. Nothing more.”
But his eyes narrowed, like he didn’t believe me. “Dreams tell the truth sometimes. I know things.”
“I know,” I said softly, brushing his hair from his face. “That’s why I need you to trust me, okay? You’re safe here.”
He looked down at the floor, then nodded. But I could tell he was still thinking—his little mind working faster than I liked.
Later that night, after I tucked Aiden into bed and kissed his forehead, I sat by the fireplace staring at the flickering flames. The cabin creaked around me, familiar and comforting, yet tonight it felt suffocating. Like a cage.
Kael had seen me. Touched me. Heard me say the words I swore I’d never speak again. And now the rejection bond was complete.
But bonds don’t always break clean.
My wolf still ached for him. Still remembered the warmth of his touch. Still howled at the memory of his lips on mine.
I reached for the moonstone pendant around my neck. My fingers trembled.
Five years ago, I made a choice.
To protect my pup.
To walk away from the man fate tied me to.
But what if walking away only delayed the storm?
Aiden stirred in the other room—whimpering. I rushed to his side and found him tangled in his sheets, sweating, brows drawn together in a frown.
“Mommy...” he whispered. “Don’t let them take me... don’t let the silver-eyed man find me...”
I stroked his hair and hummed a lullaby my mother once sang to me.
He quieted. But my heart didn’t.
He hadn’t even met Kael.
And yet his dreams…
His blood knew.
At midnight, I stood outside, watching the forest. My senses were sharper than usual. Restless. Like a storm on the horizon that only wolves could feel in their bones.
Then, I heard it.
A knock.
Hard. Measured.
I froze.
No one comes out here. No one should even know we exist.
Another knock.
Louder this time. Commanding.
I stepped backward, grabbed the silver dagger hidden under the table, and approached the door.
“Amara Black,” a deep voice called from outside. “By order of Alpha Kael Draven, you are to return with us. Immediately.”
He found me.
My hands tightened on the hilt of the blade. I didn’t answer.
“You have three seconds before we force the door,” the voice warned.
I turned and bolted to Aiden’s room.
He was already awake—sitting up, eyes wide with fear.
“They’re here,” he whispered.
“I know.” I lifted him into my arms, wrapped him in a blanket, and opened the hidden floorboard under the rug.
“Aunt Lys gave you this hiding place for a reason,” I whispered. “Stay quiet. Don’t move. No matter what happens.”
He clutched my hand. “Are they going to take you?”
“I won’t let them.” I kissed his forehead. “Be brave, moonlight.”
He climbed into the hiding space without another word.
I closed the panel just as the door burst open.
Three men stepped inside. Wolves. Tall, suited, and cold-eyed. One of them sniffed the air.
“She’s here.”
I stood in the center of the room, dagger in hand, heart pounding.
“You’re trespassing.”
“We’re under direct orders,” the one in the middle said, holding up a sealed scroll. “Alpha Kael commands your return. Now.”
“I rejected him.”
“He didn’t reject you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“He never accepted your rejection.” The man’s mouth curled into something that wasn’t quite a smirk. “The bond still lingers.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
That’s not possible. I said the words. We both did.
“He wants to see you,” the wolf said. “And we don’t leave without you.”
I gritted my teeth. “Then you’ll have to drag me.”
They stepped forward.
I raised the dagger—
Then a voice cut through the air like thunder:
“That won’t be necessary.”
My breath caught.
Because standing in the doorway, silver eyes glowing in the moonlight, was Kael Draven himself.
My entire body locked in place.
The enforcers stepped aside.
And there he was.
Tall, commanding, dressed in obsidian black. His silver eyes were lit with something fierce—something unreadable. But my wolf knew. She recognized him instantly. His scent hit me like a crashing wave—cedarwood, frost, and fire.
Kael Draven.
Alpha of the Crescent Blood Pack.
My fated mate.
The father of my son.
And the man I left behind.
My mouth opened, but no words came. I hadn’t seen him in five years—yet his presence hit me harder than it ever had before. Time hadn’t dulled the connection. If anything, it felt stronger. More dangerous.
His gaze swept over me like he was memorizing every inch of me. His jaw clenched, and for a long moment, no one spoke.
Then he said my name.
“Amara.”
A quiet fury lived in that single word. Not loud. Not shouting. Just controlled—like a predator stalking its prey.
I forced myself to speak. “You have no right to be here.”
“I have every right,” he said coldly. “You are still mine.”
“No,” I snapped. “I rejected you.”
“And I never accepted.”
My stomach twisted. No… no, that couldn’t be possible. He had looked me in the eye all those years ago. He had said—
But he hadn’t said the words, had he?
He’d let me go. But not officially. Not completely.
The bond had still lingered.
My wolf surged beneath my skin, confused. Torn between fury and longing. My hands trembled around the dagger, but I didn’t lower it.
“I made my choice,” I whispered.
“So did I,” Kael said. “You disappeared. I let you go once. I won’t again.”
His voice was like ice.
“I came here to speak,” he continued, stepping closer. “But if you raise that blade again, Amara, I’ll treat it as a threat. Not a greeting.”
I wanted to scream at him. Curse him. Shove the truth in his face.
You don’t get to threaten me.
You don’t get to speak to me like I’m yours.
Not after everything.
Not after I nearly died saving him. Not after I lost my home, my family, my future. Not after I raised our son in secret with nothing but fear and desperation as companions.
But I said none of it.
Because my wolf… she didn’t want to fight him.
She wanted to run to him.
And I hated that.
Kael took another step, his voice lower now. “I know you’re hiding something. I could smell it the moment I entered the forest.”
My heart slammed in my chest. I said nothing.
“I could have sent my enforcers,” he said. “I could have ordered them to drag you out in chains. But I didn’t. I came here, alone, to give you a choice.”
I lifted my chin. “There is no choice. I’m not going back.”
His eyes darkened. “Then you leave me no other option.”
He turned to the enforcers. “Search the house.”
“No!” I moved instantly, putting myself between them and the hallway that led to Aiden’s room. “There’s no one else here.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Then you won’t mind if we check.”
“You’ll do it over my dead body,” I growled.
And that’s when his expression changed. Subtle. But I saw it. Recognition. Suspicion.
And then—realization.
He stepped closer, slowly now, like a hunter approaching an injured creature.
“You’re protecting something,” he said quietly. “Or someone.”
I stood my ground. “There’s nothing here for you, Kael.”
“Liar.”
The word was a whip.
I flinched. My hand trembled.
And then the floor creaked.
Aiden.
Kael’s head snapped toward the sound.
“No!” I cried, lunging forward—but it was too late.
The floor panel shifted, and Aiden, sleepy-eyed and confused, peeked out.
“Mama?”
I froze. The world stopped spinning.
Kael turned back to me, slowly. His face pale. Expression unreadable.
And then he saw him.
Saw our son.
The same silver-flecked eyes. The same bone structure. The same quiet fire in his gaze.
It was like looking in a mirror.
Kael said nothing.
Aiden stepped out from the panel fully, rubbing his eyes. “Who’s that?”
My voice cracked. “Go back, baby.”
But Kael dropped to one knee.
He didn’t say anything.
He just looked.
And in that moment, the fear that had ruled my life for the last five years shattered like glass.
Because I saw it in his eyes.
Not rage.
Not betrayal.
Just heartbreak.
“Is he…” Kael’s voice was barely a whisper. “Is he mine?”
I couldn’t speak.
Aiden tilted his head. “Mama?”
I nodded slowly, the words tearing out of me. “Yes. He’s yours.”
Kael didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
And then, slowly, he looked up at me.
“You kept him from me.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I had to.”
“You let me believe—”
“You were in danger! If they had known you had a mate—if they’d known about him—they would’ve used us to get to you! I didn’t leave because I hated you, Kael. I left because I loved you.”
Silence.
The only sound was the soft wind through the trees, and Aiden’s small breath.
And then Kael said something I wasn’t ready for.
“I want him.”
My breath caught.
“I want my son.”
- Writer
