THE RUNAWAY LUNA RIDER

Chapter6

RHEA

Rowan stood at the doorway, between the safety I'd built for five good years and the reality that everything was shattering right before my eyes like someone pushed a domino piece.

Rhea. Darius calls out my name slowly, careful, relaxed, trying not to break an egg. His eyes are not on me, but they are on the tiny figure that stands in the doorway, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Rowan looked around, at Darius, at me, and the rest of the people gathered in a formation, wolf and humans, weapons drawn.

"Mama..." His voice is uncertain now, shaking slightly. His dark hair falls over his eyes, partly covering the gold in them, but it's still visible enough.

He takes a step back. The tension in the garage is thick enough to cut with a knife. For a moment, even Darius is frozen.

I could feel the members of the Steel standing behind me, staring at the scene unfolding in front of them in complete confusion. Bear's eyes locked on mine. He shook his head twice. I immediately snapped out of the daze.

"Come to mummy, baby," I whispered, spreading my arms.

Rowan's gaze anchors me. He immediately runs over, crossing the bike shed and past Bear, past Cassie. He's about to fling himself into my arms, but Darius is faster.

He steps between us. I let out a scream, shoving him hard, but he stands there like a f*****g wall. I glare hard at him, ignoring the heat in my face. I can feel the shift in his energy when he looks at Rowan and maybe that was what broke me.

Rowan stops walking, just looks at Darius, who has taken a step forward.

"Don't," I snapped, hating the way my voice trembled and how desperate I sounded. "You can take your bike and get out of here but don't you dare come near us."

He takes another step forward like he can't hear me.

"All these years..." He trails off, crouching down in front of his son, who looks back at him with wide eyes.

I look between the two of them. Father and son. Alpha and pup, reunited.

Tears threaten to pool in my eyes and a part of me is glad. f**k it, a treacherous part of me is glad that he found us, that he never stopped searching.

I blinked back the tears immediately. Weakness. I can't afford it. I'm a strong woman, not the girl he betrayed five years ago.

I pushed down that part immediately.

Rowan's eyes were glowing gold as he looked at his father and at that moment, they couldn't have looked more alike. The resemblance is uncanny. Darius reaches out, pausing halfway, not sure what to do, how to acknowledge his son, but Rowan outstretches his little hand, reaching his father halfway, letting out a whimper.

It's not a child's sound, definitely not human. His small frame shakes as their hands meet, and his eyes flash fully gold for a second.

I recognize what I am seeing in front of me.

It's the call of a pup to his alpha. So ancient that only a few wolves remembered it. Rowan might not know anything about wolf packs or what he's feeling, but he knows that the man standing in front of him is his father.

The wolves surrounding the garage all drop to one knee, acknowledging the alpha's heir. Cassie sucks in a breath behind me and suddenly, I feel my whole world shattering once again.

"Papa?" Rowan asks. His eyes are back to normal now, and he retracts his hand, his head tilted to the side.

"Yes, yes son." Darius whispers like he's talking to something fragile. The bond between them is.

He rises to his full height and turns to look at me. When he does, I see it in his eyes. The determination. He's found me now and more. And he isn't letting go.

"Rhea," he begins.

I'm already shaking my head, refusing whatever he's proposing. He continues anyway.

"You will return to the Goldblood territory and resume your position as Luna," he says, his voice firm.

I let out a laugh. "And what makes you think that I'll go?"

His eyes darkened. Fingers clenched beside him. I can feel his anger returning.

"Rowan will be raised as my heir. This is non-negotiable."

"I won't," I snap.

"You have no right to claim my son after what you did. And I definitely have no obligation to you."

"You will obey me!" Darius' voice rises.

Rowan runs to my side, planting himself between him and me, both his arms lifted in a protective gesture. "Don't yell at mama!"

"Baby, don't." I pulled him back, crouching down to his level. "Look at me, sweetie. I need you to go back inside. Mommy will take care of this, okay?"

"B-but..."

"Shhh." I cupped his cheeks, kissing his forehead. "Okay?" I repeat.

He pouts, then nods slowly.

I let him go, watching as he raced back into the house, the door banging shut behind him.

"And then what? You raise him as a human and suppress his nature till he accidentally shifts and freaks out? You would lie to our son?" Darius asked with a scoff. "He'll only grow to resent you."

I stood up straight, walked over to him until we were face to face, and then I jabbed a hand to his chest.

"I'm not going back to the pack that humiliated me," I say slowly. "And I'm not raising my son in a world of violence and power play."

Darius stares at me, his nose flaring. He could do more. He could order his men to attack and drag me back to Dark Howl MC screaming. In fact, I can see in his eyes that he considers it, but he settles for glaring instead.

"You disobey your alpha."

I hold his gaze and reply in the coldest voice I can summon. "To hell with you, alpha."

Darius takes a deep breath, stopping himself from lashing out. "You have three days," he says finally.

"Make your decision and say your goodbyes to this world. Or I'll bring you back by force."

He turns around, swinging his legs onto his bike. His men follow suit.

Darius' golden eyes linger on mine for a second longer and then the engine roars into life.