The morning sun filtered through the canopy as our pack prepared for the monthly run through the eastern territory. Ryan bounced excitedly beside me, his small hand gripping mine as we watched the other wolves stretch and shift into their wolf forms.
"Stay close to me today, sweetheart," I murmured, kneeling to adjust his jacket. At five, he was still too young to shift, but pack runs were important for bonding and teaching him our ways.
Sierra approached with that practiced smile of hers, her auburn hair catching the light. "Don't worry, Luna. I'll keep an eye on the little one." She ruffled Ryan's hair, and something cold twisted in my stomach at the gesture.
"That's not necessary," I said firmly. "Ryan stays with me."
"Oh, come on, Makenna." Collin's voice carried that edge of authority as he joined us, already partially shifted. "Sierra's excellent with children. Let her help."
Before I could protest, Sierra had taken Ryan's other hand. "We'll have so much fun exploring, won't we, Ryan?"
My wolf stirred uneasily, but Collin's Alpha presence pressed against me through our bond, a silent command to comply. The pack was watching, waiting. I forced a smile and released Ryan's hand, though every instinct screamed against it.
The run began smoothly enough. Our wolves moved as one through the familiar paths, but as we entered the disputed borderlands where rogues had been spotted, Sierra suddenly veered off with Ryan toward a dense thicket.
"Sierra!" I called through the mind-link, my wolf form pivoting to follow. "That area isn't safe!"
"Just showing him the old oak tree," came her casual reply. "Relax, Luna."
But when I reached the thicket minutes later, Sierra emerged alone, brushing leaves from her clothes with theatrical annoyance.
"Where's Ryan?" Panic clawed at my throat as I shifted back to human form.
Sierra shrugged, her expression maddeningly calm. "He was right behind me. Maybe he wandered off to explore?"
"You lost him?" The words came out as a snarl. "In rogue territory?"
"Ryan!" I screamed, crashing through the underbrush. Thorns tore at my skin, but I barely felt them. "Ryan, where are you?"
The pack scattered to search, their worried howls echoing through the forest. But it was my maternal bond, not the mind-link, that finally led me to him—a faint whimper from deep within a tangle of fallen logs and thick brambles.
I found him curled in a ball, his small body shaking violently. His breathing came in short, panicked gasps, his lips tinged blue.
"Mommy," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I couldn't... couldn't breathe. She left me. She said to stay put and she'd come back, but she didn't come back."
My heart shattered as I gathered him into my arms, feeling how his tiny frame trembled against me. "I'm here, baby. I'm here now."
By the time I emerged with Ryan, the entire pack had gathered. Sierra stood beside Collin, her face a mask of concerned innocence.
"Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest. "I was so worried when I realized he hadn't followed me out."
"You abandoned him," I said, my voice deadly quiet as I held Ryan protectively. "You left a five-year-old child alone in dangerous territory."
Sierra's eyes widened with hurt surprise. "That's not fair, Makenna. I thought he was right behind me. Children should learn to keep up, shouldn't they? Maybe if you didn't coddle him so much—"
"Coddle him?" My wolf surged forward, and several pack members stepped back at the fury in my voice. "He nearly suffocated from fear! He could have died!"
"Now you're being hysterical," Sierra said, her tone shifting to condescending sweetness. "Accidents happen. Ryan needs to toughen up if he's going to be a strong wolf someday."
The pack murmured uneasily, but I barely heard them. My focus was entirely on Collin, waiting for him to defend our son, to acknowledge the severity of what had happened.
Instead, he stepped forward with that familiar Alpha authority. "Enough, Makenna. You're embarrassing Sierra in front of the entire pack. She made a mistake—it happens."
"A mistake?" I stared at him in disbelief. "Collin, our son—"
"Is fine," he cut me off sharply. "Sierra's still adjusting to pack life after her training. Show some understanding."
The betrayal hit me like a physical blow. Ryan whimpered in my arms, and I realized my hands were shaking with rage and hurt.
"Understanding?" I whispered. "For someone who nearly killed our child?"
Collin's jaw tightened. "You're overreacting. Sierra would never intentionally harm Ryan."
But as I looked into Sierra's eyes, I saw something that made my blood run cold—a flicker of satisfaction, quickly hidden behind her mask of innocent concern. She had done this deliberately.
And Collin was protecting her.
