CECELIAS POV

Zeke's hand moved across the desk. For a heartbeat I thought he might try to take mine, might try to offer some gesture of comfort. But then he seemed to think better of it and pulled back. The moment passed.

He made the call. A young woman appeared within minutes, introducing herself as Beth, one of the palace staff. She gave me curious glances but was professional enough not to ask questions.

"Show Miss Mayers to the blue suite in the guest wing," Zeke instructed. "Make sure she has everything she needs."

"Yes, Alpha." Beth gestured for me to follow her.

I turned to leave but paused at the door. "Zeke."

He looked up from the papers he'd already started reviewing. Always working. Always focused on duty.

"Thank you," I said. "For helping. I know this is complicated."

"He's my son," Zeke said simply."Nothing is more important "It's more than we had before," I said.

We stood in the doorway, neither quite willing to invite the other in or walk away. The silence stretched between us, heavy with three years of absence and all the words we'd never said.

"Margaret said the test results will be ready soon," Zeke said finally.

"I know."

"I never doubted you," he added. "About Golden being mine. I just need-"than that."

I believed him. Maybe that was foolish. Maybe I should have learned my lesson about trusting this man. But when it came to Golden, I had no choice.

Beth led me through hallways that were painfully familiar yet somehow different. New paintings on the walls. Different furniture. Small changes that spoke of time passing, of life continuing without me. Pack members we passed did double takes, their shock evident on their faces. The dead Luna walking through their home like a ghost made flesh.

The blue suite was lovely, all soft colors and comfortable furniture.Nothing like the grand Luna's chambers with their heavy drapes and formal decor.This felt more like a nice hotel room than a home.

"Is there anything you need right away?" Beth asked. "Food? Fresh clothes? The Alpha mentioned you came directly from Seacreek."

"I'm fine for now," I said. My bag from Fatima's house sat by the door where someone must have brought it. Everything I owned in the world fit in one small duffel. "Thank you."

Beth nodded and left, closing the door softly behind her.

I stood alone in the blue suite, surrounded by unfamiliar luxury, and let myself feel the weight of what I'd just done. I'd walked back into the palace where I'd been betrayed, where I'd suffered, where I'd lost everything. I'd put myself at the mercy of the man who'd rejected me and the sister who'd tried to kill me For Golden. All for Golden.

I pulled out my phone and called Fatima. She answered on the first ring.

"Did he believe you?" she asked immediately.

"Yes. He's sending trackers to Seacreek right now. He'll help find Golden."

"Thank the goddess." I heard the relief in her voice. "Are you safe there?"

"As safe as I can be. Zeke's putting me in the guest quarters. He wants me to stay during the search."

"And your sister?"

"She knows I'm alive now. She's not happy about it."

Fatima made a worried sound. "Watch your back, Cecelia. That woman is dangerous."

"I know." I sat on the edge of the bed, exhaustion hitting me suddenly. "But I can handle her. I'm not the same person I was three years ago."

"No," Fatima agreed. "You're stronger now. Just don't forget that strength."

We talked for a few more minutes before I let her go. She needed to care for her own children, and I needed to prepare for whatever came next.

I unpacked my small bag, hanging up the few clothes I'd brought. One of Golden's shirts had somehow made it into my things. I held it to my face, breathing in his scent. Baby shampoo and sunshine and something uniquely Golden.

"I'm going to find you," I whispered to the empty room. "I promise,

baby. Mama's going to bring you home."

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I opened it to find a middle aged woman with kind eyes and a healer's bag.

"Miss Mayers?

I'm Healer Margaret. The Alpha asked me to examine you this evening."

Right. The paternity test. Proof that Golden was Zeke's son.

"Come in," I said, stepping aside.

Margaret set up her equipment efficiently. She drew blood, took

measurements, asked questions about my pregnancy and Golden's birth. Her manner was professional but not unkind.

"This must be difficult for you," she said as she labeled the blood vials. "Coming back after so long."

"You have no idea."

"Actually," Margaret said carefully, "I was the healer who examined you after your mating ceremony. I remember you. You were so nervous that day."

I had been. Terrified, actually. A stranger in a new pack, mated to a man I barely knew, surrounded by people who whispered about the adopted daughter who'd somehow stolen the golden son's attention.

"A lot has changed since then," I said.

"Indeed." Margaret finished packing up her supplies. "The results will take a few hours to process. I'll have them sent directly to the Alpha."

"Thank you."

She paused at the door. "For what it's worth, I hope you find your son quickly. No child should be separated from their mother."

After she left, I showered and changed into clean clothes. The hot water felt like heaven against my skin but I couldn't fully relax. Somewhere out there, Golden was alone and scared. Every minute I spent here doing nothing felt like a betrayal.

The sun had set by the time another knock came. I opened the door expecting Beth or maybe another palace staff member. Instead, I found myself face to face with zeke.

"The trackers just reported in from Seacreek," he said without preamble. "I thought you'd want to hear the update."

"Yes. What did they find?"

"Not much, unfortunately. They confirmed what you already knew. Golden's scent trail leads from the preschool to the edge of the territory, then disappears. Whoever took him

used scent blocking herbs."

My heart sank. "So we have nothing."

"We have something," Zeke corrected. "One of the teachers remembered seeing a dark colored vehicle parked near the preschool that afternoon. She didn't think anything of it at the time because parents are always coming and going. But she said it seemed out of place because she didn't recognize it."

"What kind of vehicle?"

"She couldn't say for sure. Dark, possibly black or navy blue. Larger than a sedan, smaller than a full SUV." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "It's not much but it's a start." "It's more than we had before," I said.

We stood in the doorway, neither quite willing to invite the other in or walk away. The silence stretched between us, heavy with three years of absence and all the words we'd never said.

"Margaret said the test results will be ready soon," Zeke said finally.

"I know."

"I never doubted you," he added. "About Golden being mine. I just need-""Documentation," I finished. "You said. It's fine, Zeke. I understand."

He nodded but didn't move to leave. "Are you settling in alright? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine.

"Cecelia-"

A door slammed somewhere down the hall, followed by raised voices. Layla's voice, shrill and angry, and another voice trying to calm her down.

"I should go," Zeke said. "I need to deal with that.""Of course."

He started to walk away, then turned back. "I meant what I said earlier. About protecting you. If Layla tries anything, if anyone makes you feel unsafe here, you tell me immediately. Understood?"

"Understood."

He left then, his footsteps echoing down the hallway toward where Layla's voice had come from. I closed my door and leaned against it, my heart pounding.

This was going to be harder than I thought. Being here, seeing Zeke,pretending I didn't feel anything when he was close. The mate bond we'd rejected three years ago still hummed between us, fainter than before but present. Like a scar that

ached in cold weather.

I moved to the window and looked out over the palace grounds. Somewhere beyond these walls, my son was waiting for me to find him.

That was what mattered. Not the past, not old feelings, not the complicated mess of Zeke and Layla and everything that had happened.

Just Golden. Just bringing my baby home.

A soft sound made me turn. Someone had slid an envelope under my door while I'd been at the window. I picked it up with shaking hands.

Inside was a single photograph. Golden, sitting in what looked like a concrete room, his little face streaked with

tears. He was holding today's newspaper. Proof of life.

On the back, written in block letters: STOP LOOKING OR THE NEXT PHOTO WON'T BE SO PLEASANT.

I must have made a sound because suddenly Beth was at my door, knocking urgently. "Miss Mayers? Are you alright?"

I opened the door, the photo clutched in my hand. "Get Zeke. Now."

She saw my face and ran. Zeke arrived within minutes, Layla forgotten. He took one look at the photo and his expression went deadly cold.

"When did this arrive?" he demanded.

"Just now. Someone slid it under my door."

He examined the envelope carefully. "No postage. Hand delivered." His eyes met mine. "Someone in this palace took this photo and brought it here. Someone inside my pack is working with whoever took Golden."

The implications crashed over me.We weren't just looking for outside kidnappers. The enemy was already inside the gates.

And they knew exactly where to find me.

CECELIAS POV

The photograph sat on Zeke's desk between us like a live grenade. Golden's tear-streaked face stared up at me, and each time I looked at it, something twisted violently in my chest. My baby. Someone had my baby in a concrete room and was making him cry.

"We're reviewing security footage from every entrance," Zeke said, his voice clipped and professional. He'd switched into full Alpha mode the moment he saw the photo,

barking orders through his phone, summoning guards and trackers."Whoever delivered this will be identified within the hour."

I couldn't take my eyes off Golden's face. "He looks so scared."

"We'll find him, Cecelia."

"You keep saying that." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "But we're no closer than we were yesterday. Someone walked right up to my door in your palace and left a threat, and you didn't even know they were here."

Zeke's jaw tightened but he didn't argue. He couldn't. The breach was inexcusable and we both knew it.

A knock interrupted us. Healer Margaret entered without waiting for permission, her expression grave. She carried a folder thick with papers.

"Alpha, I have the results from Miss Mayers' examination."

"And?" Zeke's tone left no room for delay.

Margaret opened the folder, though I suspected she'd already memorized every detail. "The blood work confirms that Miss Mayers

gave birth approximately three years and four months ago.The genetic markers match those we have on file from her previous medical records when she was Luna here."

"So Golden is definitely mine," Zeke said.

"Biologically, yes. The child would share fifty percent of his genetic material with you based on Miss Mayers' DNA." Margaret hesitated. "There's something else, Alpha. During the examination, I found evidence of significant trauma to Miss Mayers' body. Old injuries that never healed correctly."

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.I didn't want to talk about this, didn't want Zeke to know how broken I'd been after the fall.

"What kind of injuries?" Zeke asked, his eyes moving to me.

"Fractured ribs that set improperly. Damage to her left lung that suggests she aspirated a significant amount of water. Scarring consistent with near drowning." Margaret's voice gentled. "Miss Mayers, these injuries should have been treated immediately after they occurred.The fact that they weren't has caused permanent damage."

"I was unconscious for three months," I said flatly. "By the time I woke up, everything had already healed wrong."

Zeke stood abruptly, turning to face the window. His shoulders were rigid. "Can anything be done now?"

"Some of the damage can be corrected with surgery," Margaret said. "The ribs can be rebroken and reset. Physical therapy might improve her lung capacity. But she'll always have limitations she didn't have before."

"I'm fine," I insisted. "I've managed for three years. I can keep managing."

"You shouldn't have to just manage," Margaret said firmly. "These injuries cause you pain, don't they? Difficulty breathing when you exert yourself?"

I didn't answer. The truth was yes, my ribs ached when the weather changed and sometimes I couldn't take a full breath without feeling like something was pressing against my chest. But I'd learned to live with it. You learned to live with a lot of things when you had no other choice

"We'll schedule the surgery after we find Golden," Zeke said, still facing the window. "For now, Margaret, I need you to document everything. Every injury, every medical issue. I want a complete record."

"Of course, Alpha." Margaret closed her folder. "Miss Mayers, if you experience any acute pain or difficulty breathing, you're to notify me immediately. Is that understood?""Yes."

After Margaret left, the silence in the office felt suffocating. Zeke remained at the window, his back to me. I could see his reflection in the glass, his expression harder than stone.

"You nearly died," he said finally.

"But I didn't."

"You could have." He turned to face me. "You were pregnant and alone with injuries that should have killed you. You spent three months in a coma with no one but a stranger to care for you.""Fatima isn't a stranger anymore.She saved my life."

"She shouldn't have had to." Zeke moved closer, and I saw something raw in his eyes that I couldn't name. "You should have been here. Safe. With proper medical care and pack protection."

"I was here," I reminded him. "That's how I ended up with those injuries in the first place."

The words hit their mark. Zeke flinched like I'd struck him. Good. He needed to remember that his palace hadn't been safe for me. His pack hadn't protected me. His sister in law had pushed me off a cliff and he'd been too busy with Layla to notice anything was wrong.

"I know," he said quietly. "I know this is my fault."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." He sat back down at his desk, suddenly looking exhausted. "If I'd been paying attention, if I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own guilt and grief over choosing you instead of Layla, I would have seen the danger. I would have protected

you."

"You can't rewrite the past, Zeke."

"No. But I can make sure nothing like that happens again." His phone buzzed and he glanced at it. "The trackers are ready to give their report from Seacreek. They're waiting in the conference room."

I stood immediately. "Let's go."

The conference room was filled with wolves I didn't recognize, all wearing the Brooke Pack insignia. They stood when Zeke entered, their eyes sliding to me with barely concealed curiosity. The dead Luna,

back from the grave. I wondered how long it would take before the novelty wore off.

Ryder, the head tracker, stepped forward. "Alpha. Miss Mayers." He nodded to each of us in turn. "We've completed our search of Seacreek territory."

"What did you find?" I asked before Zeke could.

Ryder pulled out a tablet, pulling up a map covered in colored markers. "The boy's scent trail starts here at the preschool. It leads through the main street, past the market, and into the residential area." His finger traced the path. "Then it stops here, at the edge of the forest border."

"Stops?" Zeke leaned forward. "You mean it fades?"

"No, Alpha. It stops completely. As if he vanished into thin air." Ryder swiped to another screen showing chemical analysis. "We found traces of wolfsbane and mountain ash at the location where the scent ends. Someone used scent blocking herbs to mask the trail."

My stomach dropped. Whoever took Golden knew what they were doing. This wasn't some opportunistic kidnapping. It was planned, executed with precision.

CECELIAS POV

"Vehicle tracks?" Zeke asked.

"None that we could find. The ground there is mostly rock and dirt, hard to leave impressions." Ryder looked apologetic. "But we did interview witnesses. Three separate pack members reported seeing a dark vehicle, possibly an SUV, parked near the preschool that afternoon."

"Same vehicle the teacher mentioned," I said."Yes. We're pulling traffic footage from the main roads leading out of Seacreek, but it's going to take time. Most of their cameras are outdated."

Zeke nodded slowly, processing the information. "What about the preschool staff? Any of them behave suspiciously?"

"We questioned all of them. Everyone's alibis check out." Ryder hesitated. "But there is something odd. One of the teachers mentioned that a woman had been asking questions about Golden a few weeks ago."

My head snapped up. "What kind of questions?"

"General things. Who his mother was, where they lived, if the father was in the picture." Ryder consulted his notes. "The teacher thought it was strange but not alarming. She assumed it was just another pack member being nosy."

"Description of the woman?" Zeke's voice had gone cold.

"Mid thirties, dark hair, average height. The teacher said she seemed professional, well dressed. She claimed to be doing

a survey for the pack school system."

I exchanged a glance with Zeke.Seacreek didn't have a pack

school system.

It was too small. Everyone knew everyone.

"The teacher realize it was suspicious afterward?" I asked.

"Not until we started asking questions." Ryder looked grim. "By then it was too late."

Zeke dismissed the trackers with orders to continue investigating. When we were alone again, he pulled out his phone and made another call.

I'm sending you a description.

I want facial recognition run against every wolf in our database and neighboring packs." He paused, listening. "Yes, I know it's a long shot. Do it anyway."

He ended the call and looked at me. "We should get you back to your quarters. It's late."

I glanced at the window, surprised to see it was fully dark outside. Hours had passed in meetings and reports and I hadn't even noticed. Time felt strange when your child was missing, both too fast and unbearably slow.

Zeke walked with me through the quiet hallways. Most of the palace had gone to sleep. Our footsteps echoed against marble floors.

"Thank you," I said softly. "For taking this seriously. For using your resources."

"He's my son, Cecelia. Of course I'm taking it seriously."

We reached my door. I fumbled for the key but Zeke's hand on my arm stopped me.

"Wait." He stepped in front of me, checking the door frame, the lock, the space under the door. "Let me make sure it's safe first."

The caution should have reassured me. Instead, it made my skin crawl. I'd spent three years in Seacreek feeling safe, feeling like I could breathe. Now I was back to checking over my shoulder, afraid of threats in the dark.

Zeke opened the door and checked inside before nodding. "Clear."

I entered and he followed, which surprised me. He stood in the middle of my temporary quarters looking out of place among the soft blues and gentle colors. Everything

about Zeke was hard angles and sharp edges. He didn't fit in spaces designed for comfort.

"Tell me about Seacreek," he said suddenly. "What was your life like there?"

The question caught me off guard. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I don't know anything about the last three years of your life." He moved to the window, that same restless energy I remembered. "You vanished. I thought you were dead. And then you show up with a child I never

knew existed. I need to understand what happened. Where you've been."

I sat on the edge of the bed, exhaustion pulling at my bones. "What do you want me to say? That it was hard? That I struggled? It was. I did."

"How did you survive?" The question came out rough. "Three months in a coma, then waking up pregnant and alone in a strange pack. How did you manage?"

"Fatima helped me." I picked at a loose thread on the bedspread.

"She took me in when she found me on the beach. She nursed me back to health. When I woke up with no memory, she didn't push. She just let me heal at my own pace."

"And when your memory came back?"

"I remembered everything. The rejection. Layla. The cliff." I forced myself to meet his eyes. "I remembered that you chose her over me. That you never loved me. That our entire marriage was based on duty and political necessity."

Zeke's jaw worked. "Cecelia-"

"I'm not saying this to hurt you. I'm just explaining why I didn't come back. Why would I? You'd made it clear I was expendable. Layla had tried to kill me. There was nothing for me here."

"There was me," he said quietly.

I laughed but there was no humor in it. "You rejected me, Zeke. You stood in your office and told me you wanted to be free to marry my sister. Why would I come crawling back to that?"

"Because I made a mistake." He moved closer, his voice urgent. "Everything that happened, everything I said to you that day, it was the worst mistake of my life."

"Don't." I stood up, needing distance. "Don't do this now. Not when Golden is missing. Not when I'm too tired and scared to think straight."

"Then when?" His frustration leaked through. "When are we going to talk about what happened between us?"

"Maybe never," I shot back. "Maybe some things are better left in the past where they belong."

"Is that what you want? To pretend the last three years erased everything?"

"The last three years changed everything." My voice cracked despite my best efforts. "I'm not the girl you married, Zeke. That Cecelia died on those cliffs. The woman standing here now, she doesn't need you anymore. She doesn't need anyone."

Something flickered across his face. Pain, maybe. Or regret. "You needed me enough to come back."

"I needed your resources. Your trackers and your connections and your money. That's not the same as needing you."

The words were cruel and I knew it. I wanted them to be cruel. I wanted him to hurt the way I'd hurt when he told me he loved Layla, when he said our bond meant nothing, when he made me feel worthless and small.

But Zeke didn't flinch. He just watched me with those unreadable eyes. "Tell me about Golden," he said, changing tactics. "What's he like?"

The question defused my anger instantly. Talking about Golden always did that, softened the sharp edges inside me. "He's perfect. Smart and funny and so full of energy. He never stops moving, never stops asking questions."

"Does he look like me?"

"You've seen the photo. You know he does." I pulled out my phone, showing him more pictures. Golden at the beach, covered in sand. Golden helping Fatima with her nets. Golden's first day of preschool, his little backpack almost as big as he was. "Everyone in Seacreek always commented on his eyes. They'd never seen that color before.

Zeke studied each photo intently, his expression hungry. "I missed all of this.

"Yes."

"I missed his birth. His first word. His first steps." His voice went rough. "I missed three years of my son's life because I was too stupid and blind to see what I had when I had it."

I wanted to agree, to pile on more guilt, but something in his voice stopped me. He sounded destroyed. Absolutely wrecked by what he'd lost.

"You can't get that time back," I said softly. "None of us can. All we can do is move forward."

"Is there a chance?" He looked at me directly. "When this is over, when we find Golden and bring him home safe, is there any chance for us? For our family?"

The question hung in the air between us. I wanted to say no immediately, to shut down any hope before it could take root. But the words wouldn't come. Because part

of me, the part that still remembered what it felt like to be held by him, to fall asleep next to him, to believe we could be happy together, that part wanted to say yes.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I honestly don't know, Zeke."