My Alpha Mate Stole Our Son from Me

The nets were heavy with the morning's catch when I first caught his scent.

Burnt cedar and rain.

My hands froze on the rope, salt water dripping between my fingers. Two years. Two years since I'd smelled that particular combination, and my body remembered before my mind could catch up. The rope slipped through my grip as panic clawed up my throat.

"Mya." Devon's voice cut through the fog. His hand found the small of my back, warm and steady, anchoring me to the present. To this life. To safety.

I forced myself to breathe. In through my nose, out through my mouth. The Azure Tide village bustled around us—pack members hauling crates, children laughing near the water's edge, the familiar rhythm of home. But my eyes were locked on the sleek black yacht gliding toward our dock, its hull gleaming like a predator's tooth.

The Dark Moon crest stood out stark against the black paint.

"I've got you," Devon murmured, positioning himself slightly in front of me. Not enough to be obvious, but enough that I could feel the solid wall of his presence. "Your scent's changed, remember? He won't know."

Vanilla and sea salt now. Not the timid, barely-there scent of the wolfless Omega I'd been. My shift had changed everything—my scent, my strength, my future. I touched my neck where Devon's mate mark sat, a silver crescent that caught the light.

Please, Moon Goddess. Let that be enough.

The yacht docked with practiced precision. Pack members gathered for the treaty greeting, curious but cautious. The Azure Tide didn't get many visitors from the elite city packs, and everyone knew the Dark Moon Pack's reputation.

Kenneth stepped off first.

Time didn't stop. It shattered.

He looked exactly the same—tall, commanding, dressed in a charcoal suit that probably cost more than our entire fishing fleet. His dark hair was perfectly styled, his jaw sharp enough to cut. The kind of handsome that made humans stop and stare, that made wolves instinctively lower their eyes.

I'd loved him once. Thought the Moon Goddess had blessed me.

What a fool I'd been.

Sara appeared at his side, her arm threaded through his like she owned him. Maybe she did. Her blonde hair cascaded in perfect waves, her designer dress hugging curves that screamed money and status. She surveyed our village with barely concealed disdain, her nose wrinkling slightly.

Devon stepped forward, extending his hand. "Alpha Kenneth. Welcome to Azure Tide territory."

Kenneth's nostrils flared.

Everything inside me went cold.

His head snapped toward me, eyes widening. For a heartbeat, he just stared, his hand frozen halfway to Devon's. Then his pupils bled to black, his wolf rising so fast I could see the shift in his posture.

"Mya?" The word came out strangled, disbelieving.

He moved toward me, ignoring Devon completely. His hand reached out like he had the right to touch me, like two years and a murder attempt meant nothing.

Devon's growl stopped him cold.

The sound rolled through the dock, low and dangerous. Devon shifted to fully block Kenneth's path, and I felt his Alpha aura flare—not as overwhelming as Kenneth's, maybe, but backed by something Kenneth had never understood. Love. Loyalty. The kind of strength that didn't need to prove itself.

"You don't touch her," Devon said quietly.

Kenneth's eyes finally focused on him, really seeing him for the first time. They dropped to my neck, to the mate mark there, and something ugly twisted across his face.

"Come here, Mya." His voice changed, dropping into that Alpha tone that used to make my knees buckle. Command wrapped in sound, the kind of power that forced submission from lesser wolves.

I felt the pull of it, that old instinct to obey.

But something else rose up inside me—something that tasted like moonlight and ancient power. My eyes flashed, I knew they did, because I saw Kenneth's expression shift from command to shock.

Gold. My eyes flashed gold.

I didn't move. Didn't bow. Didn't submit.

Devon's growl intensified, his body coiled and ready. Around us, I felt the Azure Tide warriors shifting closer, responding to their Alpha's protective stance.

Kenneth stared at me like I was a ghost. Like I'd crawled out of the ocean he'd thrown me into and become something he couldn't control.

"You marked her." His voice was flat, dangerous. He looked at Devon with pure hatred. "You marked my—"

"She's mine," Devon cut him off. "My mate. My Luna. And you're a guest on my territory, so I suggest you remember that."

Sara's fingers dug into Kenneth's arm, her perfectly painted nails like claws. "Kenneth, darling, what's going on?"

But Kenneth wasn't listening to her. He was staring at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping.

Then he smiled.

It was the cruelest thing I'd ever seen.

"You look good for a dead woman," he said, his voice carrying across the suddenly silent dock. His eyes glittered with malice and something else—something possessive and insane. "Does our son, Leo, know his mother is a whore?"

The world tilted.

Leo.

My baby. My son.

Alive.