The Alpha's Dark Solstice Claim

Chapter 4 - Seven Years Later.

Marybeth

RETURNING TO ALDER RIDGE hadn’t felt like a summons. It had felt like gravity. Not something I could fight forever … just something I had delayed until delay wasn’t possible anymore. My father hadn’t threatened me.

Hadn’t demanded. He had simply called, his voice steady as always, and said: “It’s time to come home.” And somehow, that had been harder to refuse.

“You don’t have to decide today.” My father’s voice was calm, carrying easily through the study without pressing. I stood near the window, watching the snow settle over the training grounds.

“I know,” I said.

“And I’m not asking you to.” That, too, was true. He hadn’t asked. Not directly. He had simply… opened the door. Left it there. Waiting. “You’ve built a life,” he continued. “I’m not dismissing that.” I glanced back at him.

He stood behind his desk, not rigid, not imposing … just present. Older. More tired than I remembered. And, for once, not trying to win an argument. Age had definitely softened Alpha Calloway.

“I just want you to consider something more stable,” he added.

“For me?” I frowned.

“For you,” he said. “And for him.” My gaze shifted briefly toward the hallway. Toward where Eli’s laughter echoed faintly from the living room. It softened something in my chest.

“I’ve managed just fine,” I said quietly.

“I know you have.” No challenge. No correction. Just acknowledgment. “That doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it alone.” I turned back to the window. Snow gathered along the fence line, clean and undisturbed. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

“You don’t know who his father is,” my father said gently. The familiar lie rose easily.

“No.” I sighed, unable to look him in the eye. He didn’t push it. Didn’t question. He never had. Not in a way that forced answers.

“Then maybe,” he continued carefully, “it’s worth thinking about what comes next.” I didn’t like where this was going.

“What do you mean?” I frowned slightly.

“A partner,” he said. “Someone steady. Someone you trust.” I huffed a quiet breath.

“That sounds dangerously close to one of your strategic plans.” I studied him carefully. My father has changed a lot since I left. I could tell it each time we spoke over the phone for the past seven years. But had he changed enough not to force me into anything?

“I suppose it does.” A faint smile touched his mouth, catching me off guard a little.

“I’m not interested in being managed.” I set my boundary.

“I’m not suggesting that.” He shrugged, confusing me even more. My father was never cruel. He was never unkind, but he was the alpha, and he always got his way. However, this time it was almost as if something had softened even his gaze.

“Then what are you suggesting?” I was still suspicious. He considered that for a moment before answering.

“That you deserve support,” he said. “And that Eli deserves consistency.” The words didn’t land like pressure. They landed like something else. Something quieter. He wasn’t trying to control me. He was trying to prepare me.

“I haven’t even decided if I’m staying,” I said.

“You don’t have to decide that today either.” He shrugged. Of course, I didn’t. But we both knew I would. Eventually. “I just want you to think about what your life would look like if you do,” he added.

“And that includes finding someone?” I raised one brow.

“It might.” This was very strange territory. My father wasn’t ordering me to do anything. I let that sit. Not rejecting it. Not accepting it either. Just … acknowledging it existed, while trying to figure out if my father had been taken over by some strange shifter or something.

“And the pack?” I asked after a moment. His expression shifted slightly. Not harder. Just more honest.

“I won’t lead forever.” There it was. The real reason. Not pressure. Not expectations. Reality.

“You want me to take over.” I nodded. I had always known that was what he wanted. My father made it clear since I could remember that he wasn’t going to pick a new alpha male to lead just because I was a girl.

Now that I had a son, it has drastically changed things. The pack would already see the future heir and that would put their minds at ease.

“I want you to consider it.” His voice broke through my thoughts, bringing me back to the present.

“That’s not the same thing.” I frowned, feeling strange that he hadn’t made any demands the moment I walked through the door. This was not turning out the way I had imagined it the past seven years, and I wasn’t sure if it was a pleasant surprise or not.

“No,” he agreed. “It isn’t.” Silence settled again. This time heavier. Because the weight of it had changed. This wasn’t about control. This was about inheritance. Responsibility. A future I hadn’t decided if I wanted.

“I’ll think about it,” I said finally.

“That’s all I’m asking.” And somehow … That made it harder. Later that evening, the town square was already alive when I arrived. Lights stretched across the street in soft golden lines. Music drifted from the gazebo.

Vendors called out to passing families, their voices warm against the cold air. It looked the same. Felt the same. And yet … It didn’t. Because I wasn’t the same girl who had walked these streets seven years ago.

We quietly slipped into town a day ago and even though I knew it wouldn’t take long before everyone knew Eli and I were there, I hoped. Boy did I hope we could just stay invisible, but I couldn’t very well keep my son locked away at home and completely avoid everyone.

“Can I get something?” Eli asked, pointing toward a stall with roasted nuts.

“In a minute,” I said. “Stay close.” He nodded easily and wandered a few steps ahead, already distracted by something else. I let my eyes move across the crowd carefully. Habit. Instinct. And then … I saw him.

Rowan Blackridge stood on the far side of the square. And for a second, everything else disappeared. Seven years hadn’t erased him. If anything, they had sharpened him. Broader shoulders. Harder lines.

A presence that hadn’t just settled into authority … it had become it. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Eli. And he wasn’t moving. The stillness hit first. Then the expression. Shock. Not curiosity. Not a calculation. Shock.

His gaze moved slowly, deliberately, over Eli. Taking in details. Processing. Recognizing. My stomach dropped. He knows. The certainty came fast and cold. Not because of logic. Because of instinct. Rowan’s expression shifted again.

The shock didn’t fade. It deepened. Something almost like pain flickered across his face. Like he’d been hit. I felt my pulse spike. This wasn’t how I had imagined it. If I had imagined it at all. I had expected control.

Distance. Alpha composure. Instead … He looked like the ground had just disappeared under him. Eli turned, laughing about something I hadn’t heard, and for a brief moment their profiles aligned. The resemblance was undeniable.

There was no hiding it. No explaining it away. No delaying it. Rowan started walking toward us. The crowd parted without realizing why. Of course, they did. Alphas didn’t ask for space. They took it. Every step he took tightened something in my chest.

Eli didn’t notice him at first. He was too busy kicking at a patch of ice near the edge of the square. I reached out and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.

“Stay here,” I murmured.

“Why?” He frowned.

“Just stay.” My voice was thick with strain. He shrugged but didn’t argue. Rowan stopped a few feet away. Up close, the shock in his eyes was even clearer. For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just looked at Eli.

Really looked. Then his gaze lifted towards me. Seven years collapsed into that single moment. The night behind the community centre. His hands. His voice. “You need to forget this.” The memory hit sharp and immediate. Rowan swallowed.

“Marybeth.” His voice, when it came, was quiet. Controlled. But not steady.

“Rowan.” I felt a little trapped in his gaze. Eli glanced between us, curious now.

“You know him?” Eli asked.

“Yes,” I said. Rowan’s gaze flicked back to Eli again. Like he couldn’t stop himself. And that was when I knew for certain. He had already put it together. He wasn’t guessing. He wasn’t calculating. He knew.

“Can we talk?” His voice dropped slightly. Barely above a whisper. I hesitated. Everything in me wanted to walk away. To take Eli and leave before this turned into something I couldn’t control. But it was already too late for that.

“Go get what you wanted,” I told Eli, handing him some cash. “Stay where I can see you.”

“Okay.” He ran off toward the stall without another thought. Rowan watched him go. Then he looked back at me. And the question came without hesitation. Not Alpha. Not calculated. Just raw.

“Is he mine?”