The Bond That Burns

Concealed

I don’t understand, Father.” Cameron’s voice cut through the silence, tight with disbelief.

He spread his hands wide, almost in plea. “What do you mean I have a son? This better be some kind of sick joke,” he demanded, his glare sharp as steel.

His father leaned back against the bed, one frail hand clutching his chest as a cough tore through him.

His lips trembled before he managed to rasp out, “It’s no joke, Cameron.

You do have a son… just as I said a child born out of your… outburst, three years ago.”

Another coughing fit wracked his body, his shoulders shaking violently as he struggled for breath.

Cameron’s jaw clenched until the muscles in his cheek twitched. “Three years ago?” he barked, his voice cracking with fury.

He jabbed a finger toward the bed before continuing,

"the only thing I remember from three years back was you and your precious wife stabbing me in the back! Both of you—” he stabbed the air again, his hand trembling with rage, “—chaining me like a monster.

Stripping me of everything I trusted you with.

If I hadn’t managed to escape…” His chest heaved, his fists curling.

“I don’t even want to imagine where I’d be right now,” he spat.

“Cameron, that’s enough!” his father coughed, slamming a trembling fist weakly against the bed as if to punctuate his words.

Though his voice cracked, it still carried authority.

“Do you really think you escaped on your own? If I hadn’t loosened your restraints, you’d still be rotting in that cell.”

His eyes glinted with something between anger and sorrow. “You are blind to the truth, son. You are the next in line. The Alpha. I will not live forever, and you know as well as I do—the Moon Goddess chose you,” he insisted, coughing again into his palm.

Cameron raked a hand through his hair, pacing a step before turning back, his eyes blazing.

“Don’t start this again, Dad,” he snapped, his voice trembling with both rage and disbelief.

“Not now. I’m still trying to process the fact that I apparently have a son I was never told about, and you’re dragging the Moon Goddess into this?”

A bitter laugh broke from his chest, hollow and sharp. “Why me? Why not my brother? He’s your blood too. Why was I the one chosen?”

He stepped closer to the bed, looming over his father.

“You know what, Father?” he growled. “I think I’ve seen enough.

You’re in far better health than I thought—only someone strong enough could waste time planning the future of someone else’s life.

But hear me well—” he jabbed his finger again, his eyes burning—“I will not accept any child as mine. I have never laid with anyone but my wife. Ever.”

The door creaked open, breaking the heavy silence. Marcus strolled in, munching noisily on a piece of duru, crumbs trailing down his shirt.

Cameron’s glare snapped to him like a whip. “Seriously, Marcus?” he barked.

Marcus froze mid-chew, blinking at the intensity in his friend’s eyes. “What?” he mumbled around the food. He lifted both hands helplessly.

“I was hungry, bro. You dragged me out of New York without so much as breakfast. A man’s gotta eat,” he muttered defensively, crumbs still clinging to his lips.

Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply through his teeth. “Whatever. Pack our things,” he ordered flatly. “We leave tomorrow at dawn.”

Marcus nearly choked, lowering the half-eaten snack. “Wait, what?” he sputtered. “You’re leaving already?

You haven’t even seen your mother,” he reminded, his brows knitting together.

“My mother died a long time ago,” Cameron bit out, his tone low and icy.

His eyes flickered, dark with a pain he refused to show.

Marcus frowned, lowering the duru completely now. “Cameron… are you alright?” he asked softly, searching his friend’s face.

“No, I’m not!” Cameron snapped, pacing the room like a caged animal. His hands flexed open and closed as he spoke.

“Can you believe this? My father claims I have a son. A son I never knew existed!”

Marcus froze mid-step, his jaw slackening. “Hold up.” He lifted a finger, his voice rising.

“Don’t tell me that boy earlier—the one asking if you were really his father—don’t tell me he’s the one?” His eyes widened, his breath catching.

“Holy hell, man… that’s heavy,” he whispered, dragging a hand over his mouth.

Cameron let out a humorless laugh, his shoulders shaking. “Yeah, no kidding,” he said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

“But here’s the funny part—” he added with a bitter sneer—“I don’t even remember being with any woman but my wife.”

Behind them, his father’s raspy voice cut in, trembling but firm.

“Marcus… tell him. He doesn’t remember. Tell him about that night.”

The half-eaten duru slipped from Marcus’s hand, hitting the floor with a dull thud. His expression darkened instantly, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Cameron’s gaze darted between them—his father’s expectant stare and Marcus’s silence. His voice dropped, dangerously sharp.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. He took a step closer to Marcus. “Marcus—why the hell are you so quiet all of a sudden?”

Marcus shifted uneasily, his weight moving from one foot to the other before he finally raised his head to look straight at Cameron his voice raspy as he spoke.

After listening to Marcus’s halting words, Cameron couldn’t believe his ears. His whole body trembled as though the ground beneath him had caved in.

He staggered back a step, pressing both hands to his temples, fighting the scream clawing at his throat.

His eyes darted wildly between his father and Marcus.

Finally, his voice broke through the silence, ragged and shaking. “Why?” he demanded, pointing a trembling finger at Marcus.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you keep me in the dark all these years?” His voice cracked, almost pleading.

“You mean to say… I raped a woman?”

Marcus couldn’t meet his gaze.

He swallowed hard, guilt carved deep into his features, and gave the faintest nod.

Cameron stumbled back as if struck, his chest heaving. “No. No, no, no,” he muttered, shaking his head violently. His hands clawed through his hair. “This can’t be happening. Why would I do something like that? No!” His voice broke into a half-snarl, half-cry. “The only thing I remember—” he jabbed a finger against his own chest, desperate—“was chasing a red-haired woman through the pack grounds.

And then—” he turned his blazing eyes to Marcus—“Damon appeared out of nowhere, and we collided. Then the woman was gone. That’s it. That’s all I remember.

So tell me—” his voice thundered, hoarse with anguish—“how the hell did it get from there to me… raping a woman?”

He collapsed onto the floor, knees buckling beneath him. His fingers dug into his hair, pulling at the strands as though trying to rip the memory out.

“God… oh my God…” he whispered, his voice broken. “What about her? The woman? The mother of the child?” His eyes lifted, desperate, to his father.

His father’s face darkened. He exhaled, heavy and pained. “She’s gone, Cameron. She died.”

The words sliced through him like a blade. His body sagged, his back slamming against the wall as he slid into a sitting position.

His chest rose and fell with ragged, shallow breaths. He buried his face in his hands, whispering over and over.

“No… no, no. God, no.” His voice grew louder, anguish raw. “How am I supposed to explain this to my wife? How?”

For a long moment, the room was filled only with Cameron’s broken murmurs.

Then his father rose, coughing as he steadied himself, and walked forward. His hand gripped the edge of the bedframe as he stopped before his son.

“Cameron,” his father said quietly, but firmly. “You know as well as I do—your wife isn’t your fated mate.

And one day, the bond to your true mate will surface, wherever she is. And when it does, your marriage… it won’t last. It can’t. End it before it’s too late.”

Cameron’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing with fury, burning red as his wolf stirred beneath his skin.

He surged to his feet, fists trembling at his sides. “Never,” he snarled, his voice shaking the walls. “I would never leave her.

My wife has been nothing but perfect—better than any so-called gift from the Moon Goddess.

That so-called blessing is nothing but a curse, and I’ll never accept it!”

He jabbed a finger toward his father, his entire frame trembling with wrath.

“Delete that thought from your mind. Erase it, because I swear on my life—I’ll never betray my wife.”

With that, Cameron turned sharply on his heel, storming toward the door.

He yanked it open with such force it slammed against the wall, then stepped out.

The final sound was the BANG! of the heavy wooden door slamming shut behind him, leaving the room vibrating in silence.