This was the first time I saw my dad so furious.

He picked me up and pulled Luna Joanna out of the Majestic Entertainment Club, his Alpha aura flaring despite his Omega status. "Luna, I agreed to let you have custody of Carolina, not because I’m afraid of you, but because I know you can provide them with a better environment. But if this is how you’re raising them, I’ll fight for custody with everything I’ve got!"

My mom remained composed, her Luna aura steady and unyielding. "They’ll eventually take over for me one day. It’s not necessarily a bad thing for them to get comfortable in these settings early on."

"You!" My dad’s nostrils flared, his hands trembling with anger. The weight of his fall from Alpha to Omega seemed to press down on him, but he stood tall, defiance burning in his eyes.

"Still want to fight for custody?" Luna Joanna sneered, her voice cold and sharp. "If I weren’t around today, who knows whose den you’d end up in again? Yusuf, with how reckless you are, how can you be a father?"

My dad’s face flushed red, then paled, and he let out a bitter laugh. "What does it matter if you’re here? How are you different from those wolves in the booth? Five years ago, wasn’t I drugged and pushed into your den? You’re right; I am foolish. If I weren’t, how would I have let you get pregnant with Carolina? If I weren’t, how would I have spent five years making formula and changing diapers?"

The night was cool and calm, the scent of pine and earth carried on the wind as it rustled the street-side leaves, the only sound breaking the heavy silence.

Sylas, the Delta warrior who’d been watching over me, rushed over, his broad shoulders heaving with exertion. "Carolina, where did you go? I couldn’t find you anywhere! I was terrified!"

His amber eyes were wide with worry, his face and hair soaked with sweat. Even his dark shirt clung to his muscular frame, damp from his frantic search.

I shook my head, feeling a bit guilty, and reached out with my small hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Sylas, I’m sorry."

"Luna, Sylas, let’s go home," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper.

At that moment, I saw my dad’s face grow even paler, almost as if all the color had drained from it. His shoulders slumped, and the defiance in his eyes flickered, replaced by something that looked like defeat.

I didn’t call out to him, because I had just understood something from his words. Perhaps I wasn’t brought into this world with his hope.

Without me, maybe he would still be the Alpha, the "big shot," not standing there tonight, facing all this scrutiny.

Maybe if Luna Joanna is willing to let him go and give back his freedom, I should do the same.

Over the weekend, the Luna and my father went to the pack registry office. Faye mentioned that after a thirty-day cooling-off period, they could finalize the mate bond dissolution.

Afterward, surprisingly, the Luna agreed to let my father come visit me, a rare compromise.

But I refused.

I shut myself in my room, watching him through the curtains. It must have been quite cold outside; his lips looked pale from the chill, yet he stood there for a long time, his once-proud Alpha aura now dulled, replaced by the quiet resignation of an Omega.

The next time I saw him was on TV and on the giant LED screens scattered throughout the pack’s territory.

Instead of trying to reclaim his lost status, Father took a different path and joined a pack reality TV show. It was completely unexpected how it took off, and he earned the nickname "Charming Clutz."

I overheard the Omegas chatting about it—apparently, it was the most popular parenting reality show among the packs at the moment, perfect for someone like Father with his background as a fallen Alpha.

At dinner, as usual, the Luna was busy with her duties as the pack’s leader and didn’t come home. Faye switched on the TV, tuning it to the parenting show for me. "Even if they’ve dissolved their mate bond, he’s still your father. How long has it been since you’ve seen him? If you miss him, just watch," she said.

"I don’t miss him!" I leaped off my chair, ran over to turn off the TV, and stormed back to my room.

Then, hiding under the covers, I opened my iPad to watch.

Hahaha! Father is so clumsy, tripping for no reason!

It’s so obvious he’d be spotted hiding in such an open place!

How do you manage to set the kitchen on fire while just trying to light a campfire?

I stifled my laughter under the covers until it was hard to breathe, but soon, laughter turned to tears. The way Father fed that little boy, holding him with such tenderness, and he even made him spiced honey cake.

Thinking of it all, sadness overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t hold back my tears.

The next morning, I woke up in the warm embrace of someone. As I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see—it was the Luna!

Beside me, the iPad was still on, paused on the latest episode of the parenting show. I distinctly remembered watching less than half of last night’s episode before drifting off to sleep in sorrow. How did it continue to play so much further ahead?

Could the Luna have been watching too?

Maybe, just like me, she secretly misses Father.