#Chapter 6#::The park

Chapter 6: The Park

I shouldn’t have brought them to the park.

But Asher had been bouncing off the walls all morning, and Ember kept asking to go outside. They were three years old. They needed fresh air and sunshine and normal kid things.

So I took them to Riverside Park on a Saturday afternoon. It was crowded with families. Safe. Public. What could go wrong?

Everything, apparently.

“Mama, push me!” Ember called from the swings. Her dark curls flew behind her as she kicked her little legs.

“I’m pushing, baby. Hold on tight.”

Asher was already at the top of the jungle gym with three other kids. Climbing. Jumping. Showing off like he always did. He had no fear. Just like his father.

I tried not to think about that.

The twins looked so much like Chase it physically hurt sometimes. The same dark hair that curled at the ends. The same golden eyes that caught the light. The same stubborn tilt to their chins when they didn’t get their way.

But they were mine. Only mine. And I’d kill anyone who tried to take them.

“Higher, Mama!”

I pushed Ember higher. She squealed with delight.

That’s when I smelled it.

Pine and earth. The scent I’d been trying to forget for three years.

My whole body went rigid. Every muscle tensed. My wolf, who’d been quiet since yesterday, suddenly woke up alert.

No. Not here. Not now.

I turned slowly, scanning the park.

He was standing by the trees about fifty yards away. Just standing there. Staring.

Chase.

He looked worse than he had yesterday on the street. His clothes were rumpled like he’d slept in them. His hair was a mess. Dark circles under his eyes are even more pronounced.

He’d been following me. Tracking my scent like some kind of stalker.

Our eyes met across the playground.

The mate bond tried to pull. Tried to connect. I shoved it down hard. Not happening.

“Mama?” Ember’s voice pulled my attention back. “Why did you stop pushing?”

“Sorry, baby. Mama’s just tired.”

But I wasn’t looking at her. I was watching Chase as he started walking toward us. Slowly. Like he was afraid I’d run.

I should run. Should grab the kids and get out of here.

But Asher had already seen him.

My son jumped down from the jungle gym and came running over. “Mama, who’s that man?”

“No one important. Go back to playing.”

But Asher didn’t listen. He never listened when he was curious about something.

He walked right up to Chase and stopped. Stared up at him with those golden eyes that were identical to the ones staring back down at him.

“You look like me,” Asher said.

Chase dropped to his knees. Right there in the middle of the playground. His hands were shaking.

“How old are you?” His voice was hoarse. Broken.

“Three. I’m going to be four in six months.” Asher tilted his head, studying Chase’s face. “Are you my daddy?”

The world stopped spinning.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

Chase’s face did something complicated. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes filled with tears.

“Asher, come here right now,” I said sharply.

But my son ignored me. He was too focused on Chase.

“Mama says our daddy is busy. That he loves us but can’t be here. But you look just like me and Ember. So are you our daddy?”

“Twins,” Chase whispered. He looked at me with so much pain in his eyes I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “You were pregnant. That night at the ceremony. You were carrying my children.”

I didn’t answer. Just walked over and grabbed Asher’s hand.

“We’re leaving.”

“Wait!” Chase stood up fast. “Please, Mira. How old did he say? Three?”

I didn’t respond. Started pulling Asher toward the swings where Ember was still waiting.

“If they’re three, that means you were pregnant when I rejected you.” His voice got louder. Desperate. “I threw you out while you were carrying my babies. Oh God. I could have killed you. I could have killed them.”

People were starting to stare. Parents pulling their kids away from the crazy man who was yelling.

A few had their phones out. Recording.

My stomach dropped.

“Mama, why is that man crying?” Ember asked when we reached her.

“Come on, baby. We’re going home.”

I lifted her out of the swing and grabbed both twins’ hands. Started walking toward the parking lot.

Chase followed. “Mira, please. Please just talk to me. I have a son. A daughter. I have children I never knew about.”

“You don’t have anything,” I said without turning around. “They’re mine. Only mine.”

“But I’m their father!”

“You rejected me, remember? You called me weak and pathetic. You had warriors strip my dress off in front of thousands. You marked another woman while I was bleeding on that platform.”

My voice was getting louder. I couldn’t help it. Three years of rage was bubbling up.

“So no. You are not their father. You’re nothing. You’re nobody.”

Chase grabbed my arm. I spun around so fast he stumbled back.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.”

“I’m sorry.” His face was destroyed. “I’m so sorry. Please let me explain. My father, he paid Seraphina’s family fifty million dollars. It was all arranged. I never wanted to reject you. I was forced…”

“I don’t care about your excuses.”

“Please.” He dropped to his knees again. Right there in the middle of the park. “Please just let me know them. Let me be their father. I’ll do anything. Anything you want.”

“Mama, why is he on his knees?” Asher asked.

“Because he’s begging, baby. Come on.”

I pulled the twins past Chase and headed to the car.

Behind me, I could hear him sobbing. Actually sobbing in public.

Several people were definitely recording now. Phones pointed at the scene. An Alpha on his knees crying in a playground.

This was going to be everywhere.

I got the twins buckled into their car seats. They were both quiet, confused by what just happened.

“Mama?” Ember’s little voice was so small. “Is that man really our daddy?”

I looked at her in the rearview mirror. At her golden eyes and dark curls. At the face that was half mine and half his.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “That’s your father.”

“Why doesn’t he live with us?”

“Because he made a very bad choice a long time ago. And now he has to live with it.”

I started the car and drove away.

In the rearview mirror, I could see Chase still on his knees in the parking lot. Still crying. People were gathered around him now. Filming. Taking pictures.

By the time I got home, my phone was already buzzing.

Text from Victor: “Tell me that wasn’t Chase Black at the park.”

I didn’t respond. Just got the twins inside and locked all the doors.

My phone kept buzzing. More texts. Calls from numbers I didn’t recognize.

Finally, I checked social media.

My blood ran cold.

The video was everywhere.

Someone had posted it fifteen minutes ago. Already had five hundred thousand views and climbing.

“ALPHA CHASE BLACK DISCOVERS SECRET TWINS WITH REJECTED OMEGA”

The video showed everything. Asher was asking if Chase was his daddy. Chase dropped to his knees. Me telling him he was nothing. Chase was begging while I walked away with the children.

The comments were exploding.

“SHE WAS PREGNANT WHEN HE REJECTED HER???”

“Those kids look EXACTLY like him.”

“This is the biggest scandal in PAC history.”

“He threw out his pregnant mate??? What kind of monster…”

“The omega has secret twins omg.”

My phone rang. Victor.

“Mira, you need to see this.”

“I’m looking at it.”

“No. Not just the video. There’s something else.” He paused. “Someone found ancient texts. About a prophecy.”

My stomach dropped. “What kind of prophecy?”

“Twins born from a broken mate bond. They’re supposed to judge all Alphas. One will unite the packs. One will destroy them.”

I looked at Asher and Ember. They were playing with blocks in the living room. Looking so innocent and normal.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means your children just became targets. Every Alpha who’s afraid of that prophecy is going to want them dead before it comes true.”

My hands started shaking.

“How many Alphas are we talking about?”

“Hundreds. Maybe thousands.” Victor’s voice was grim. “Mira, you need protection. Real protection. I’m sending a team to your apartment right now.”

“What about the twins? Are they safe at daycare?”

“I already pulled them from daycare. My people are picking them up as we speak.”

“Victor…”

“This is serious. The video has ten million views now. Every pack in the country is talking about it. About the prophecy. About the twins.”

I looked at my babies playing blocks. Completely unaware that the entire werewolf world now wanted them dead.

My phone buzzed again. New text from an unknown number.

I opened it.

A photo. Of my apartment building. Taken from across the street. Right now.

Below it, a message that made my blood turn to ice.

“Pretty children. It would be a shame if something happened to them.”