Sorry, Alpha. You’re Not His Dad Anymore Chapter 10

Sorry, Alpha. You’re Not His Dad Anymore Chapter 10

The moon-naming ceremony was held beneath the oldest cedar in the North.

Silver lanterns hung from every branch, and hundreds of werewolves surrounded the clearing. Rowan left the front row empty, so Theo wouldn’t feel crowded.

Theo wore a dark gray formal suit with the silver ribbon he had chosen pinned to his chest.

Around his neck hung a moonstone carved by Rowan himself.

It bore neither the crest of the Vale royal family nor any surname meant to claim him.

There was only a tiny comet streaking across the night sky.

It was one of a kind.

Damian stood beyond the last ring of lanterns.

He had come alone, without his Alpha crown, and made no attempt to approach.

The council elder summoned Theo beneath the cedar.

“You stand here in the name of Bennett, with no paternal pack. Do you understand that when you

come of age, you may choose a bloodline, or you may choose none at all?”

Theo nodded.

“My name is Theo Bennett.”

“Who is willing to witness the awakening of your young wolf?”

Rowan stepped forward.

“I am.”

He faced the elder and every pack gathered there.

“Not as the owner of his bloodline, but as the guardian he chose.”

The full moon called to the young wolf inside Theo, and silver light flashed through his eyes.

The crowd bowed their heads, awaiting what might become the first silver wolf born in the North.

But Theo suddenly grew nervous,

He took Rowan’s hand, gripping it exactly as he had once held Damian’s finger.

My heart stopped for a beat.

“Before the ceremony starts…”

Theo looked up, his voice nearly lost in the wind.

“Can I call you Dad just once?”

A strangled breath came from beyond the lanterns.

Damian remembered.

So did I.

Rowan slowly crouched until his eyes were level with Theo’s.

“Only if that’s what you want. Not because I’m the Lycan King, not because I love your mother, and not because anyone told you that you should. You can call me that today and change your mind

tomorrow, or you never have to call me that at all.”

Theo’s chin began to tremble.

“I want to.”

Rowan opened his arms.

Theo threw himself into them.

“Dad!”

The word carried through the entire cedar grove.

Rowan’s body shuddered. For the first time, his silver eyes glistened as he held Theo close.

“I’m here,” he whispered. “Every time you call me from now on, I’ll be here.”

Beyond the lanterns, Damian’s mate ring slipped from his fingers and disappeared into the snow.

No one heard it fall.

At that very moment, the silver light inside Theo erupted completely.

A gray-and-silver wolf pup appeared in Rowan’s arms. Its four paws were comically oversized, and

its ears hadn’t yet learned to stand upright.

The pup kneaded Rowan’s chest twice and gave an excited whine.

“Comet,” Rowan laughed as he supported the pup in his arms. “I see you. I see every part of you.”

Inside me, Lyla grew quiet.

For the first time, the scar left by my old mate mark didn’t hurt.