Sorry, Alpha. You’re Not His Dad Anymore

Chapter 3

Damian finally returned to the manor the following afternoon.

When Theo heard the engine, he nearly leaped out of his chair.

Then he remembered himself and stopped short, standing stiffly beside the dining table.

"Alpha."

Damian didn't seem to notice the flicker of disappointment on his face.

He took out a black box.

"A gift for getting out of the hospital."

Inside was a moonstone pendant tied with a silver ribbon.

Theo's eyes slowly lit up.

It was the first gift Damian had ever personally given him.

Theo carefully hung it around his neck, then ran to the mirror and looked at it again and again.

"Thank you, Alpha."

Damian stayed for only 10 minutes.

Before leaving, he noticed the chicken soup on the table.

Theo had spent all morning learning to make it with Nurse Mara, especially for me.

"Pack it up," Damian told the butler. "Celeste needs the nourishment."

I put my hand over the pot.

"No."

He stared at me.

"Theo made this for me."

"He can make more." Damian's voice cooled. "Celeste just gave birth."

"She just gave birth, so you took away Theo's healers, missed his resuscitation, and sent him a cake that almost killed him. Now you want to take the first pot of soup he's ever made too?"

The room fell deathly silent.

Damian's Alpha pressure crashed down around me.

For the first time in 6 years, I didn't bow my head.

Silver light flashed in my eyes as Lyla rose to shield me from his power.

But Theo reached out and slowly pushed the pot toward him.

"Take it."

Damian looked at me, a sneer tugging at his lips.

"Even a child is more reasonable than you."

After the door closed, I crouched in front of Theo.

"You wanted to keep it, no?"

He nodded.

"Then why did you give it to him?"

Theo pressed his lips together, then whispered, "Because your hands started shaking the moment he came back. I wanted him to leave faster."

I pulled him into my arms and couldn't speak for a long time.

Damian returned again that evening.

This time, he carried the baby girl in his arms, and Celeste stood beside him.

When he saw the suitcases in the living room, his steps faltered.

Celeste recognized me first.

"Aren't you the healer from the hospital? Why are you living at the Alpha's manor?"

"She's a distant relative," Damian answered before I could. "She's only staying here for a while."

The words sliced through my mate mark.

I lowered my head and, to my own surprise, laughed.

I had been his secret mate for 6 years. I had given birth to his only biological pup. Yet to him, I was nothing more than a "distant relative".

Damian led Celeste inside as though his next words were the most natural thing in the world.

"She and the baby have nowhere to stay for now. Take Theo to the house on the south side of the city for a while."

"Sure."

My easy compliance made him frown.

"It's only temporary. Once she's settled, I'll bring you both back."

"Don't bother."

He didn't understand what I meant, and he didn't ask.

Theo had been staring at the baby girl's ankle.

An identical moonstone hung there.

No.

The girl's pendant bore the Blackthorn crest on the back. Theo's had only a rough patch where an engraving had been hastily ground away.

His gift was a rejected piece made for someone else.

Theo removed the pendant from his neck.

"Alpha."

Damian had already reached the stairs.

"What is it now?"

Theo ran over and gently wrapped his hand around Damian's finger.

"We're leaving. Before we go, can I call you Dad just once?"

His voice was tiny, as though he were begging for something he didn't deserve.

Damian went rigid.

Celeste called from upstairs, and the baby began to cry.

He pulled his hand away.

"I told you. The rules don't change for anything. Call me Alpha."

Theo stood there and watched him go up.

A few seconds later, he threw the moonstone onto the floor and stomped on it again and again.

"I don't want someone else's leftovers!"

I didn't tell him to stop crying.

I simply crouched beside him among the shards and waited until he wiped his own tears away.

"Mom," Theo asked between sobs, "are we ever coming back?"

"No."

"Do I still have to call him Alpha?"

I looked toward the closed door upstairs.

"Not anymore."

I set the manor key beside the shattered moonstone and took my son's hand.

We had just reached the door with the suitcase when the butler rushed in carrying a stack of documents.

"Alpha, Northern Hospital has confirmed that it is accepting Dr. Bennett. Her resignation has taken effect, and the waiver of her Luna rights and Young Master Theo's petition to sever his bloodline affiliation have both been accepted."

Something crashed on the stairs.

When I looked up, Damian was staring at the shattered moonstone and the manor key.

"Aria, stop!"