Rowan floated above the bed.
Not stood.
Not jumped.
Floated.
His back arched, his little arms stretched out, and his body was hard. Beneath his skin, golden light pulsed like moonfire imprisoned beneath his ribs. Behind him, wolf-shaped shadows flickered in and out like smoke, sharp-edged and swirling along the walls.
Jace froze beside me.
"Moon above," he whispered. "That's not possible."
With my arms outstretched and my heart thumping so loudly that I could not hear my thoughts, I hurried to Rowan. "Rowan! Baby—look at me! You're okay, I'm here."
His eyes snapped to mine.
Gold. Wild. Glowing with something more than instinct.
Something older.
The room became almost completely dark as the lights above us broke.
"Rowan," I begged. "Come back down. Please, baby, please."
His lips parted.
A low, unnatural growl vibrated from his throat—deeper than any pup his age should've been able to make.
And then—
He collapsed.
I cradled him against my chest, catching him before he hit the mattress. His breathing was rapid and shallow, and his skin was searing hot.
I gave Jace a warning stare as he approached us.
"Don't," I snapped. "Don't come near him."
He stopped. "What on earth was that?"
With my heart pounding, I answered, "I was hoping you'd tell me."
Pale-faced, Jace knelt next to the bed. "That wasn't a shift. That was... something else."
I pulled Rowan closer, pressing my lips to his temple. "He's never done that before. Ever."
"His energy... it felt like an Alpha command. But twisted."
"He's not even five yet."
"Exactly," Jace muttered. "Which means this isn't just a bloodline issue. It's something else."
I looked up at him. "What are you saying?"
He met my eyes. "I think someone's awakened something inside him. And it's not natural."
When Rowan finally dozed off again, he snuggled up next to me like a newborn wolf after a storm, and I roamed the guest suite.
With his arms folded, Jace stood at the window and gazed into the darkness.
We were silent for a time.
I broke the stillness at last.
"Do you think this has to do with the sigil?"
His shoulders stiffened. "I do."
"You think the rogues are targeting him?"
"I believe they might be calling to him," he remarked in a quiet voice.
I shuddered at the words.
"Rowan is not what they are."
"I know," Jace said quickly. "But if they've discovered who he is—who we are—they might see him as something else. A symbol. Or worse… a weapon."
My stomach turned.
I whispered, "To keep him safe, I raised him away from the pack." "I believed I was acting appropriately."
"You were," Jace said. "But someone else found him anyway."
Jace summoned a healer later that morning to check on Rowan while he was asleep.
The woman was soft-spoken, elderly, wearing pale blue robes that smelled of lavender and crushed sage.
She took a close look at him, examining his bones, aura, pulse, and aroma.
When she was done, her expression was unreadable as she glanced between Jace and me.
"Well?" Grasping the blanket, I inquired.
She took a soft seat at the bed's edge.
"Your son is strong," she said. "Stronger than any pup I've seen in over fifty years."
"That's not an answer."
She nodded solemnly. "He carries more than Alpha blood. Much more."
Jace stepped forward. "Explain."
"Do either of you know of the Old Lines?"
I frowned. "The bloodlines from before the pack system. Before territories. Before Luna Law."
She nodded again. "Yes. The wolves of instinct and moonfire. Of direct descent from the primal ancestors."
Jace's jaw tightened. "Those lines were thought to be extinct."
"Most are," she said. "But not all. Some survived—diluted, dormant, hidden through generations. They only awaken under certain triggers."
"Like what?"
"Trauma. Proximity to powerful blood. Or..." she glanced at Jace, "...reunion with a parent carrying the match signature."
"You're saying I triggered this?" he asked.
"I'm saying your presence, your scent, your bond—even suppressed—may have pulled it out of him."
My heart hammered.
"What does this mean for him?" I asked.
She hesitated. "He may begin to shift earlier. Experience instinct spikes before his time. Emotional surges. Dreams that aren't his."
"Can we stop it?"
"Not without suppressing him fully," she said. "And doing that could cause permanent damage."
When she left, I turned on Jace.
"This is why I never told you."
He flinched. "Quinn—"
"You don't understand," I said. "I lived in fear every day that someone would notice how strong he was. That someone would try to take him, use him, experiment on him—"
"I'd never let that happen."
"But you weren't there," I spat. "You didn't remember. You didn't try to find us."
"I didn't know!"
"You should have felt it," I growled. "You're my mate."
"I am your mate," he snapped. "Whether I remember or not."
Tension flowed through the room.
Sucking back the scream that was tearing at my throat, I looked aside.
Following a protracted silence, Jace remarked, "I'm not asking you to forgive me." "I must know, however, what transpired on the night of the full moon."
I stared at the floor.
"You marked me," I whispered. "We bonded. It was everything I dreamed of. And when I woke up... you were gone."
He sat down slowly.
"Did we...?"
"Yes."
He let out a shaky breath.
"And I left you?"
"No. You came back. But something was... off. You didn't remember. You denied we bonded. Said you didn't feel anything. Then you told the council you weren't choosing me."
He stared at me in horror.
"That's when I left," I said. "I couldn't stay."
"I don't remember any of that."
"Good," I muttered. "Because I can't forget."
That afternoon, the council summoned us.
It was worse than I remembered.
There are seven wolves sitting in a half circle. Jace seemed tall and calm as he stood next to me, but I could see that his jaw was clenched.
Rowan's tiny fingers were entangled in mine as I stood there holding his hand.
Elder Vessa spoke first.
"We were told Quinn Vale had returned to the pack. We did not expect to find a child at his side."
Jace stepped forward. "Rowan is my son."
A ripple of surprise.
"And the Omega?" Vessa asked.
"My mate," Jace said without hesitation.
My breath caught.
They hadn't expected that.
"Interesting," said another councilor. "You publicly rejected this Omega five years ago."
"I was misled," Jace said firmly. "By someone inside this council."
Whispers.
Tension.
"Do you have proof?"
"I'm working on it."
Vessa eyed me. "Quinn Vale, are you here of your own will?"
"I am," I said stiffly.
"And the child? He's... stable?"
I narrowed my eyes. "He's fine."
Another councilor leaned forward. "The boy's aura is unstable. There was a spike of energy in the Alpha wing last night. Explain."
"He's a child," I said coldly. "He had a nightmare."
"Nightmares don't crack stone walls."
Rowan shrank behind me.
"Enough," Jace growled. "You will not interrogate my son."
"He is not your heir," one councilor barked. "Not until the bond is restored."
Jace raised his head. "Then we'll restore it."
My head snapped toward him. "What?"
"In front of the council," he said. "Tonight. We'll re-bond. Let the pack see it. Let them feel it."
"No," I said, backing up. "That's not happening."
"We don't have a choice, Quinn."
"You don't get to decide that for me."
"I'm not," he said, softer now. "I'm asking you. Please. If we don't do this, they'll take him."
The council chamber burst into quiet chaos.
Jace's words hung heavy in the air.
They'll take him.
Because that was the threat.
If our bond wasn't proven, Rowan would be declared unclaimed. And in pack law, unclaimed pups with unstable bloodlines could be removed for "observation."
"I won't let them take him," I whispered.
"Then bond with me again," Jace said. "Even if you hate me. Even if you never forgive me. Just let them see it."
I shook my head.
"I'll think about it," I muttered. "But not tonight."
The council dismissed us with cold eyes and murmured threats.
I watched Rowan sketch on a piece of scrap paper that evening while I sat in the guest room.
He'd drawn three wolves.
One small. One with gold eyes. One with a scar across its chest.
I stared at the drawing.
My hands trembled.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Jace.
I opened it slowly.
He looked exhausted. Bruised from too many meetings. But his eyes were soft.
"I know it's a lot," he said.
"I need time."
"I know."
I started to close the door.
"Quinn."
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Rowan called to me… before I knew who he was. His voice in my dream. Over and over."
My chest tightened.
"What did he say?"
Jace looked me straight in the eyes.
"He said: You're not the one who left me."