35
1293 Words
Leanna Avery
A strange numbness spreads within me at the thought.
I’ve been very careful to avoid any conversations regarding the realm beyond the Veil. I try not to move in any circles that have wolf shifters. Humans are safer to interact with. They don’t know who I am, and they don’t much care. My bloodline doesn’t matter to them.
A part of me is still fearful that one day I will be recognized and my life will be stripped from me. I haven’t forgotten Bella’s threat against my child. Back then, she didn’t know I was pregnant, but if she ever finds out I was, I have a sick feeling that she will do something horrible to Finn.
I have taken so many precautions. I didn’t have to change my name because there were a lot of people called Leanna. Humans. But I did alter my hair. I chopped it off and dyed it a light shade of brown. I also changed my manner of speaking. I let it become more casual and less refined.
I tried to dye Finn’s hair, too, but the color never held. And I couldn’t exactly force my son to wear contact lenses at such a young age to disguise his prominent eye color. Once he is older and I’ve accumulated enough money, I plan to move us even further away, deeper into the human world.
I would never have taken on wolf shifters as clients if it weren’t for Erik. Initially, he asked me for a favor, and when the matter I looked into was resolved, he began recommending me. Every time I tell him not to, he nods agreeably, and then before I know it, I have somebody else at my office with a matter “that simply cannot have anybody else looking into it.”
I have a strange relationship with the king of the Human Wolf Kingdom. I don’t really consider us friends, but he thinks we’re close. He’s the only one who knows who my son’s true father is. I’m lucky that Erik is determined to protect me. I don’t care what his reasons are. As long as I have his protection, nobody can touch me.
I walk into the bathroom, and I see the large scar across my back. It has never healed. Wounds received from the magical, mutated monsters roaming around the Veil can be life-threatening. They don’t heal like other injuries. I still don’t know how I lived through that night. Thanks to Freya’s bracelet, even though I was bleeding and badly injured, I managed to crawl through the Veil.
This scar is a reminder that I survived. Would I have struggled so much had I not known about the child in my womb? I don’t have the answer to that.
I step into the shower and wash off the grime of the day. I hate leaving Finn by himself. Maya always comes over when I need her to, but I worry about whether I’m neglecting my son. He seems pretty well-adjusted. He’s a happy child, and he doesn’t mind me putting in extra hours. But I’m all he has, and I cannot shake off the guilt when I come home sometimes and he’s already in bed.
I do make sure that I always pick him up from school myself. And that we have breakfast and lunch together. It’s just the other stuff that I have to miss out on occasionally. When he was very young, I would take him with me on stakeouts, and he would sleep in the car, completely comfortable. But as he grew older and more curious, I didn’t want to expose him to the darker sides of the world.
Finally clean, I put on my pajamas and open my bedroom door. My son is there, pacing the hallway impatiently with a book in his hand.
“Why do you take so long, Mom?” he complains before grabbing my arm and pulling me into his room. My hair is still wet, but I let it be.
Sliding into his bed with him, I hold him in my arms. “Come on. Let’s read you that story.”
He snuggles into me, resting his cheek on my chest, his arms encircling me, and I begin reading. It’s an adventure story about two heroes who go exploring the world to take down the mighty dragon. I’m only one page in when I hear soft snoring coming from the child in my arms. He is conked out and completely wrapped around me.
Sighing, I kiss his forehead. “You sleep like your father, all arms and legs.”
It’s easier to slip out of his grasp than Cedric’s, though. Once I’m sure he’s not going to wake up, I head to my room. It’s ten o’clock; I still have an hour to write my report. I secure my gun in my desk drawer and make sure all the doors are locked. It doesn’t take me long to send the report to the client. Closing the laptop—one of many incredible human inventions—I decide to make myself a cup of hot chocolate.
When I came home two hours ago, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep without even changing my clothes or cleaning up the mess I had walked into. But that hour-long nap has me feeling more like myself, and while the hot chocolate is heating, I straighten up the living room.
After starting a fire in the fireplace, I settle down in the armchair, warm cup in hand, my legs tucked under me. Another rarity in the human world. They prefer their heaters to fires. Safety hazards, they claim.
They’re right. I would never let Finn sit near the fire like this at his age. But I love it. I don’t know why it comforts me. I stare at the flickering flames as they blend with each other, shades of blue, orange, and yellow. Maybe I’m still holding on to parts of my past.
I don’t want to sleep yet, my mind buzzing with the contents of the report I just sent. The client who hired me is madly in love with her husband and mate. But she has become suspicious of his relationship with her younger sister. Tonight, I removed the tracker from his car. He has been visiting the sister’s house multiple times a week. My client is going to be heartbroken. According to her, her mate had been in love with her younger sister, but she rejected him. He then pursued my client, who fell in love with him. And now, her sister wants him because—
I don’t even know why she wants him. But I can understand how my client must feel.
I felt the same way, knowing my fated mate chose another over me, going so far as to order my death. The agony of learning how worthless I was in Cedric’s eyes never really went away. I moved on, but the memory is painful. The torture that he ordered and his hatred for me still cut me deeply. The bright side is that I’m no longer Princess Vivian’s shadow. I am Leanna. I am a mother. I am a PI. I have friends. I don’t have to bow my head in front of anyone or lean on anybody for survival. I am enough.
My hot chocolate is going cold, and I’m about to sip it when I hear a knock at the door. Frowning, I look at the time before going to check the security camera. When I see the person standing there, I let out a sigh. Of course it would be him at this hour.
I open the door. “Your Majesty.”
- Writer
