“Did you get what you needed?” I ask Delilah before taking a long pull of water.
She nods as she stands up, towering over Tyler and me and planting her hands on her hips.
“That man you're seeing is definitely the rogue wolf. You're not just putting a random face to the creature.”
Partly shocked, I gulp. I had no idea James was a dangerous, mutated wolf creature, and I'd been so close to him.
“Okay…what else? Why is he after me?”
Delilah begins pacing in a circle, biting her bottom lip in contemplation. “He is not after you, Arianna. He's after your son.”
“Noah…?” I gasp, my heart freezing at the revelation that it's my son who's in danger.
Instinctively glancing at Tyler, I notice his face paling, as shocked as I am.
“It appears you're running only to save your son from the rogue,” Delilah continues, still pacing around.
“Why is he after Noah?” Tyler asks, straightening up and helping me to my feet.
“Because…” Delilah turns and meets my eyes. “Noah is a precious, gifted child, Arianna. You are a witch, and Noah is the son of an alpha.”
My heart instantly sinks, and I pick up on a distinct glint of recognition in Delilah's eyes as she purses her lips.
She'd been inside my head, so of course, she knows who Noah's father is. She presses her lips in a firm line, a frown flitting across her brows as if she's gauging my reaction. She gives me a brisk nod as if to encourage me to take the leap of faith. There's no hiding the truth from her, and I can't hide it from Tyler any longer.
I gulp hard, turning slowly toward Tyler, knowing that this is the moment I will have to seize to tell Tyler the truth. It's the only way I can keep Noah safe, and Tyler is bound to find out eventually.
This is bigger than either of us, and I've been contemplating telling him, anyway. Especially since he's been so supportive these past few days, and I've been growing to trust him again.
When I catch him frowning at me with pain in his eyes, I want to change my mind.
“So, James was an alpha, then?” he scoffs, running a hand through his hair, but I'm left frowning.
“James?” I ask, frowning back. “No, James is the name of the man who I thought was human, but turns out, he's the mutated rogue that's after Noah.”
“So, he's not Noah's father, then?” Tyler's frown deepens. “I heard you murmuring his name in your sleep, and I thought he was.”
“I must have been murmuring his name when he was chasing me in the nightmare. Tyler, there's something I need—”
“Wait,” Tyler cuts me off with a hand in front of my face, and when he draws it down, his eyes are full of horror. “If James isn't Noah's father, then who is?”
Gulping again, I take a step forward, but Tyler moves away. “Tyler…I can explain…”
“Just answer the fucking question, Arianna!” he snaps, eyes dark as he glares at me. “Were you with another alpha?!”
“No,” I hang my head sullenly. “I was never with another man…”
The sound of Tyler's sharp intake of breath sends a cold shiver down my spine, forcing me to look up and find his wild, deadly glare piercing my being.
“How old is he? How old is Noah?” Tyler asks, nostrils flaring with the heat of his fury.
I hear Delilah walking away to give us privacy, and I can't drag my eyes from Tyler to see her leave. My heart pounds in my chest, and I realize that I shouldn't have kept this a secret for so long.
Now, I'm staring at a man who's putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and turning livid as he does.
“He'll be four in June,” I admit, and Tyler pauses to put the last piece in place.
He left for black ops in March, four years ago. I was pregnant for exactly three months, carrying a werewolf pup with rapid growth spurts.
