Little Wolf

Daddy Dearest

Paislee

Laying eyes on Sam for the very first time, Paislee is gobsmacked by how much she looks like him. She gapes at him without realizing that her mouth is hanging open. Sam’s emerald green eyes blink several times, and she wonders if he thinks she’s a mirage. “How?”, he finally breathes. “Who?”, he asks as he takes a step towards her.

“The woman who gave birth to me was named Anne Warner”, Paislee answers shakily as she straightens her shoulders. “Won’t you come sit down, Sam?”, Luke asks gently.

“Sam? Is this your daughter?”, Michael asks, dumbfounded. Not taking his eyes off of Paislee, Sam nods slowly.

Lucy, Trevor and Tyler usher everyone into the kitchen where Paislee and Lucy have set up coffee, lemonade, croissants, fruit and muffins. Sam and Paislee haven’t taken their eyes off of each other. Paislee is thankful for Luke’s arm tightly around her, lest her knees give out.

“Anne Warner”, Sam finally whispers, “My mate. Where is she, now?” “Your mate? I thought you never found your mate”, Michael snaps his head to face Sam. “She died during childbirth”, Lucy answers for Paislee, who is still stunned. Sam’s face crumples and tears well in his eyes, “No”.

“Paislee? Would you like to show Sam the letter?”, Luke asks. “N-no! It will break his heart”, she whispers. “I’d like to see this letter, please”, Sam chokes out. Paislee doesn’t trust her legs to carry her to the living room to get the letter, and she can only blink in silence. “I have it”, Lucy says, pulling the letter from her back pocket before handing it to Sam.

Sam is visibly trembling as he opens the letter. Silent tears roll down his cheeks as he reads, and his shoulders begin to heave. Sam throws the letter down and looks up again at Paislee. His pain is evident, his mouth in a grimace. Standing, he takes a step towards her. In a flash, Tyler is in front of Paislee, his arms stretched out wide in a protective stance.

Shocked, Sam looks between Trevor and Tyler. “I have a little girl”, he says, “May I hold her?” Tyler doesn’t move. Luke’s hand is rubbing Paislee’s back and she thinks for a moment. Placing her hand on Tyler’s back she whispers, “It’s alright, Tyler”.

Tyler steps aside and Paislee stands nervously as Sam approaches her. Wrapping his huge frame around her, Sam hugs her tightly. “I’m so sorry”, he sobs. “It’s okay. My parents gave me a wonderful life, Sam”. They stand in their embrace for what feels like forever before Michael reaches out and puts his hand on Sam’s shoulder. Breaking free, Sam steps back and Michael steps in, “Welcome to the family, Paislee. You’ve made us all so very happy”, he tells her as he gives her a giant hug.

Paislee is overwhelmed and tears roll down her cheeks. Wiping them away quickly, she sucks in her breath. “Won’t you have a bite to eat?”, she gestures to the spread of food on the island. Everyone returns to their seats and they serve themselves. “Sam? Do you think you could tell me about my mother?”, Paislee asks shakily.

Sam gets a faraway look in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curl up. “She was beautiful”, he smiles. “She was so elegant and graceful. She had this laugh that was like a song, and you couldn’t help but laugh when she laughed. She was terrible at pool”, he laughs. Luke bursts out laughing and everyone looks at him in surprise “What? Paislee is terrible at pool”, he grins and she punches his arm.

“We only met once. Michael and I went to Ruby’s with some of the guys. I can’t remember what we were celebrating”, Sam says thoughtfully, tapping his finger on the counter. “Anyway, Anne was there with a few people. As soon as I walked in, her scent hit me like a ton of bricks. She smelled like chocolate and coffee, it was the most intoxicating thing”, he smiles and shakes his head.

“We just… went to each other. No precursors, no idle chatter, just Anne and me. We danced, we kissed, we laughed. She was so full of life”, Sam says wistfully. “The urge to… consummate the bond with my mate was all consuming. I never wanted to leave her side, but I had Trevor and Tyler to think about. We left it at one magical night together and then we agreed to sever our bond. I never saw her again. I didn’t even know that her father was Alpha at Blue Moon”, he finishes as he picks at some grapes with a sad look on his face.

“So, you were raised by humans?”, Michael asks. “I was, yes. It appears that they planned to tell me by my 18th birthday, but they were killed by a drunk driver back in December”, Paislee answers before nibbling on a croissant. “I had always assumed my birth parents didn’t want me so I was never interested in looking them up. My best friend Ivy did some super snooping and contacted Mr. Lowell and he sent the letter. That’s how I found out”, she sighs. “And Ivy is a human?”, Michael prods. “She is, dad. She’s cool”, Lucy interjects.

“How did you find out that I’m your father?”, Sam asks, “We haven’t met before today”. “Tyler spoke to her in mind link, not realizing that she could hear him”, Trevor answers. “He’s pretty pleased to have a baby sister to protect, aren’t you Ty?”, Trevor laughs. Tyler grins and nods emphatically. “Are you? Pleased, I mean?”, Sam asks cautiously.

Trevor thinks for a moment. “I’m so happy that Luke has his mate. And Paislee, I think you’re awesome!”, he winks at her. “It’s mom that’s making me nervous”, Trevor sighs as he puts his head down. Lucy rubs his back. “She’s not going to welcome Paislee with open arms. You cheated on her”, Trevor adds, “Is that why she’s so miserable all the time?”

Sam sits back in his chair and rubs his hand over his hair. “She’s miserable because we were forced into a chosen mate situation”, he sighs. “It was part of a treaty with Black River pack. They couldn’t force Michael to do it because he was already mated, so to them, a Beta was the next best thing”.

Michael gasps sharply, “Sam!” “The only reason we have Trevor and Tyler is because her family paid her for each child. I didn’t know until years later. She blurted it out one night when she was drunk after a mating ball”, Sam slumps in his seat.

Lucy claps her hand over her mouth. Everyone in the room is in stunned silence, you could hear a pin drop.

“Paislee, would you do me the honour of letting me make it up to you? I’d love nothing more than to tell the whole world that I have a daughter, one as beautiful as you, no less”, Sam leans across the island, holding out his hand to her.

Lucy is whimpering, now. The moment is like something out of a movie, and Paislee can’t believe what she’s hearing. This is not at all what she expected when Luke arranged this. “Yes, Sam. I’d like that”, she smiles and puts her hand in his. Lucy yelps, and runs out of the room in tears. “Do you think someday you could call me ‘Dad’?”, Sam asks softly. Paislee nods as the tears roll down her face.

Standing again, Sam wraps his arms around Paislee. She can hear his erratic heartbeat as he chokes back sobs. Paislee wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him back.

Luke

Watching Sam and Paislee might be the most touching thing Luke has ever seen. He always knew Sam was a good guy. He has to be, he’s his dad’s Beta after all. But this… this is beyond anything Luke could have ever expected. And to think Sam agreed to the treaty on Michael’s behalf without ever once throwing it in his face. He didn’t even tell Michael, he carried the burden in silence all these years, protecting Michael from the truth. Goddess, the man is a saint.

Luke watches Trevor and Tyler take it all in. Trevor is visibly rocked to his core. Tyler on the other hand… there’s something about his reaction that Luke can’t quite put his finger on. Well sure, the guy never talks, but still. It’s like he already knew, or something.

Lucy rejoins them after cleaning up her face from crying, and she immediately rushes to Sam, engulfing him in a huge hug. “Sam, I’m so sorry your life has been so challenging”. Sam hugs her back, patting her hair. Who knew Lucy was so soft, Luke chuckles to himself.

“Dad? Does this mean I can talk, now?”, Tyler speaks, shocking everyone. Sam drops his croissant and it bounces off the island and on to the floor. Luke nearly gives himself whiplash, snapping his head to look at Tyler.

“I… you… what?”, Sam stammers. “The night you and Anne uh… hooked up… remember I had snuck into the back seat of the car? After it happened, you realized I was there and you told me not to talk”, Tyler says as plain as day.

“Tyler!”, Sam cries out, “You mean to tell me you haven’t talked all this time because of that!?” Tyler looks down at his plate and shrugs as he pushes the crumbs from his muffin around.

“Goddess. I’m a horrible father”, Sam wails, clutching his chest. “No! No you’re not!” Trevor yells. “You’ve been the best dad we could ask for!”, Tyler chimes in. “I’ve made such a mess. I’ll make it up to all of you kids, if it kills me”, Sam vows solemnly.

Lucy throws her hands in the air and runs out of the room again. “You don’t owe any of us anything”, Trevor offers softly.

“Guys, I hate to do this but I have to go. I have a meeting at one”, Luke says. As if on cue, Paislee’s phone rings. “It’s Ivy”, Paislee tells them. “Tell her to come over”, Trevor smiles. Paislee nods and takes the call as she walks with Luke to the front door. “Yeah, it’s been… interesting”, Paislee says, “They want you to come over”. Paislee holds the phone away from her ear as Ivy squeals. “Ok, see you soon”, she laughs before ending the call.

“Wow. What a day”, Luke murmurs, pulling her in close. “I’ll say”, she breathes, nodding. “Will you be alright? I’ll come back as soon as I can”, Luke tells her. “Yeah, but I’ll miss you”, she smirks. Luke bends down to kiss this woman before him. Her lips are like an extension of his own, and they’re soft underneath his. The tingles reverberate up his jaw and he pulls back before he loses control. “There’s nothing more in this world for me but you”, he growls in her ear, and she shivers.

Breaking free from their embrace, Luke walks hesitantly out the front door. He waves as he pulls away.