Lana's Pov

I woke up slowly. For a few seconds, I actually thought I was back in my own bed. I expected to hear the birds outside my window and smell the coffee Jasper always made in the morning. I reached out my hand, expecting to feel the soft sheets of my home.

Then, I felt the rough texture of the blanket. I smelled that old, heavy scent of the pack house. My eyes snapped open. I rubbed my eyes hard, hoping it was just a bad dream, but the white walls of the lab suite didn't go away.

I wasn't home. I was in a cage.

Damn you, Asher, I thought. I hate you so much. I cursed him in my head, calling him every name I could think of. He was a thief. He had stolen my peace just because he felt like he owned the world.

I sat up and realized the side door was open. I heard voices. Happy voices.

I got out of bed and walked to the doorway. My heart sank. There was a small table set up in the playroom. My three boys were sitting there, eating a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fruit. And sitting right there with them, looking way too comfortable, was Asher.

I stood there and gulped. My throat felt dry, just how long does he plan to insert himself in places he is not even needed.

Asher looked up. He didn't have his suit jacket on, and his sleeves were rolled up. He looked like a normal dad, which made my stomach turn into knots.

But for a reason watching him like this made me feel some kind way, I want to blame it on my wolf.

"Good morning, Lana," he said. His voice was calm, almost kind.

The boys turned around. "Mummy! Look! The Alpha brought us real honey for the pancakes!" Jacob shouted, his face sticky with syrup.

"Good morning, babies," I said. I tried to make my voice sound normal for them.

Asher pulled out the empty chair next to him. "Sit down. You need to eat if you're going to work all day."

I looked at the chair, I didn't want to sit near him. I wanted to grab my kids and run until my legs gave out. But then I looked at my boys, they were smiling, they weren't scared. They were enjoying the food and the attention. If I made a scene, I would ruin their calm.

I nodded slowly and sat down.

The silence was thick. The only sounds were the boys clinking their forks against the plates. Asher kept watching me. I kept my eyes on my plate, moving a piece of egg around with my fork.

"Is the food okay?" Asher asked.

"It's fine," I said.

"We don't get bacon like this at home," Mathew said, looking at Asher. "Mom makes us eat a lot of green stuff because she's a doctor and uncle Jasper supports mum because everyone doesn't want mum on their bad side." Mathew said laughing.

Asher smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Is that so? Well, while you're here, you can eat whatever you want. I want you to feel like this is your home."

"But it's not our home," Lucas said. He was looking at Asher with a suspicious look. "We have a house with Uncle Jasper. When are we going back?"

I saw Asher's jaw tighten at the mention of Jasper's name. He put his fork down and leaned in a little.

"Well, Lucas," Asher started. "Sometimes, plans change. This place... it belongs to me. And since you are here with your mother, that makes you very special guests. In fact, you are more than guests, uncle Jasper is always welcome here, I'm not holding anyone from visiting."

I felt a cold chill. I looked at Asher, trying to tell him to stop with my eyes.

"What does that mean?" Jacob asked.

Asher looked at the boys, and then he looked at me. He had a strange look on his face. It was like he wanted to scream the truth right there.

"It means," Asher said, his voice getting a bit louder, "that we have a lot in common. More than you know. Did you know that I knew your mother when she was just a little girl? We grew up in this very house together."

"Really?" Mathew asked. "Were you guys friends?"

"We were very close," Asher said. He reached out and touched a glass of juice. "So close that if things had gone differently, I would have been the one-"

"Asher," I said. My voice was sharp.

He didn't stop. He was looking at Jacob, who looked exactly like him. "Uncle Jasper shouldn't have been part of the story, eventually you will understand. I look at you three, and I see so much of myself. It's almost like looking in a mirror. Don't you think it's funny how much we look alike?"

The boys stopped eating. They looked from Asher to me, then back to Asher. The air in the room felt like it was about to snap.

"I think," Asher whispered, "it's time you boys knew who I really am. I'm not just an Alpha. I'm-"

I stood up so fast my chair hit the floor with a loud bang.

"We need to talk," I said. I wasn't asking. I was commanding. "Now. In the other room."

Asher looked at me, he was thinking of fighting me for a moment. "Now." I said my voice firm.

Asher let out a laughter that didn't reach eyes. "I guess I will talk to you boys later, finish your meal and go play, your mother and I will be back."

Asher stood up and walked to the room. I looked at my boys.

I walked over to them, giving each of them a peck on the cheek. "Be good alright." They nod their head in unison.

The Blood in Their Veins.

Lana's Pov

The door to the lab shut behind us, cutting off the happy sounds of the boys eating. I turned on Asher immediately. My hands were shaking, and my chest felt tight.

"What is wrong with you?" I whispered. I wanted to scream, but I didn't want the kids to hear. "You were going to tell them. Right there at the breakfast table, are you thinking what will happen to them?"

Asher didn't look sorry. He leaned against a table and looked at me. His blue eyes were dark and full of a stubborn fire. "They have a right to know, Lana. Every second I spend acting like a stranger is a lie. I am tired of lying."

"You are a stranger to them!" I said. I stepped closer, poking a finger at his chest. "To them, you are just the man who brought them pancakes. They don't know about the pack, they don't know about werewolves. And they definitely don't know that their father is the man who kicked their mother out into the dirt."

Asher's face hardened. He grabbed my wrist, not to hurt me, but to make me listen. His grip was warm and firm. "Do you think I don't see it? I look at them and I see the future of this pack. Do you even understand the blood that flows in them, Lana? They aren't just random kids. They are the sons of an Alpha. They have a power in them that they don't even understand yet."

"They are my sons," I snapped, pulling my arm back. "I raised them. I protected them. Their blood doesn't give you the right to own them."

"They belong here," Asher said. His voice was low and heavy. "This is their home. This is their legacy, they need to be trained, they need to know who they are. You can't keep them in a human city pretending to be something they aren't."

I laughed, and it felt bitter in my throat. "They were perfectly happy in that city. They were safe. They had a father figure who actually loved them and didn't care about 'legacy' or 'power.' Once I find this cure, Asher, I am leaving. And I am taking them with me."

Asher stepped into my space. He was so tall that I had to tilt my head back to look at him. "You aren't going anywhere. I've already told you that. I missed eight years. I am not missing another day."

"You can't keep us here forever," I said.

"Watch me," he replied.

I couldn't look at him anymore. The air in the room felt too small. I turned away and walked toward the door leading back to the hallway. "I have work to do. If you want your people to live, stay away from my kids and stay away from me."

I didn't wait for him to answer. I walked out and headed straight for the main lab. My head was spinning. I was so pissed off that I could barely see straight.

I got to my desk and threw my notebook down. I hated him. I hated how he thought he could just move us around like pieces on a board. But more than that, I was scared. I was scared that he was right about the boys' power. I was scared that if they stayed here too long, they wouldn't want to leave.

I sat down and put my head in my hands. "What am I going to do?" I whispered to the empty room.

I missed Jasper so much it felt like a physical ache in my heart. Jasper would know what to say. He would have a plan. He was my rock, the one who had stayed when everyone else left. I needed to hear his voice. I needed to know he was looking for us.

"I need a phone," I muttered.

I started looking through the drawers of the lab. I checked the cabinets and the cupboards. Everything was strictly medical. No phones, no tablets, nothing that could connect to the outside world. Asher had been very careful, this pisses me off more than anything. He had built a wall around me, and I was starting to feel the weight of it.

I sat back in my chair and stared at a test tube. I had to stay focused, I had to find the cure. That was my only ticket out of here. If I saved the pack, maybe I could negotiate. Maybe I could find a way to flip the script on Asher.

I started running another set of tests on the blood samples. My mind kept drifting back to the breakfast table. The way Lucas looked at Asher, the way Jacob laughed. It was all wrong.

A few hours passed. I was looking through a microscope when the door burst open.

I jumped, nearly knocking over a tray. A guard was standing there, out of breath. His face was pale, and he looked terrified.

"Doctor!" he gasped. "You need to come. Now."

I stood up, my heart starting to race. "What happened?"

"Another one has gone down," the guard said. He was leaning against the doorframe, trying to catch his breath. "It's bad. Very bad. The fever is higher than the others."

I grabbed my medical bag and started throwing things into it. "Who is it? Is it one of the elders?"

The guard hesitated. He looked at the floor, his hands shaking.

"Answer me!" I shouted. I walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Who is it? Is it a child?"

The guard looked up at me. His eyes were full of a deep, dark sadness. He swallowed hard, but he didn't speak.

"Who is it?" I screamed, the fear finally breaking through my skin.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words seemed stuck in his throat.

"Tell me right now!"