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***💔 He’s their biological father, unknown to the kids*** I was watching them when I noticed Emilia's posture change. She'd gone rigid, her head turning slightly as if sensing something wrong. Following her line of sight, I saw what had caught her attention. Dain Hartwood, one of my own pack members, was moving through the crowd with purpose. At first his approach might have seemed casual to others, but I could see Emilia's growing alarm as she realized he was positioning himself directly behind her. "Mommy?" Hazel's small voice carried across the distance, sensing her mother's tension. Emilia's protective instincts kicked in immediately. She moved to put herself between Dain and her children, her hands reaching out to pull them closer to her. The fear in her posture was unmistakable. Warning bells screamed in my head. Something about Dain's movements, the way Emilia was reacting, set every protective instinct I possessed on high alert. Then I saw his hands change. His fingers elongated slightly, nails extending into claws as he prepared to strike. "Emilia!" I shouted, but she was too far away to hear over the crowd. My wolf exploded to the surface, but I fought to maintain control. The children were right there. I couldn't terrify them by fully shifting, especially if they didn't even know what they were yet with her raising them with a human. Instead, I let the change take me only partially. My eyes blazed gold, canines extending, muscles bulging as I launched myself forward with supernatural speed. Dain spun as I approached, his own eyes widening in shock. "Get away from them!" I snarled, my voice distorted by the partial change. He tried to run, but the moment I was out of the children's sight behind the trees, I let the full shift take me. My wolf form exploded from my human shape in a burst of silver fur and rage. The hunt was brief. Dain knew he couldn't outrun me, couldn't outfight me. In desperation, he shifted back to human form long enough to grab something from a hidden cache in the underbrush. Poison. He chose death over capture, his body convulsing as whatever he'd consumed took hold. He'd clearly been ordered to take his own life rather than be questioned. But why? What had he been trying to do to Emilia? When I returned to the celebration, I found chaos. Emilia was pale, her arms wrapped protectively around both children, who were pressed against her sides with wide, frightened eyes. "What happened?" she whispered as I approached, back in human form but still radiating barely controlled fury. "That man, he was coming toward us, and then you..." "You're safe now," I said, crouching down to check on the children. "All of you." "Thank you," Ethan said fiercely, his young voice strong despite his obvious fear. "Thank you for protecting us." Hazel also stepped forward, pulling something from her pocket. A small bracelet, delicate and clearly handmade. "This is for you," she whispered, pressing it into my palm. "So you remember us." The gesture nearly destroyed me. This innocent, trusting gift from a daughter who didn't know I was her father, given after I'd protected her from a threat she didn't understand. "I could never forget you," I told her softly, closing my fingers around the bracelet. “Thank you for saving us,” Emilia said in a shaky voice, looking into my eyes before leading the children away. FREE in Kindle Unlimited! 🔥 A pack traitor tried to harm her kids, the Alpha shifted to hunt him down—but why did the traitor choose to poison himself❓