After Six Years The Alpha Begs For My Return Chapter 16
“After the child was born, I held him once,” my mother continued, taking another breath. “My wolf didn’t smell the Locke family kin-scent on that pup. It wasn’t enough to make a public accusation, so I kept quiet. But from that day on, I knew something was wrong.”
Gideon’s eyes flew open, bloodshot and raw.
He stared at my mother, his voice hoarse. “Miriam, you never told me.”
“What good would it have done?” My mother gently closed her eyes. “You had already asked the elders to acknowledge her. White Ash River had already entered her child into the inheritance records. Avery was gone. What would you have used to get any of it back?”
Ophelia covered her mouth, swaying on her feet.
She turned to Gideon, her eyes filled with terror and pleading, and reached for his sleeve. “Gideon, listen to me, it’s not like that. Mom’s wolf has gone silent. She’s mistaken. She has to be mistaken…”
Gideon shifted away, and her hand fell through empty air.
It was a slight movement, but it severed Ophelia’s last tether.
She stood frozen, her hand still half-extended, the fear on her face slowly emptying into a hollow blankness.