Page 70 of Alpha's Regret: My Luna Has A Son

“I really haven’t got time right now,” Everly says, hanging up on me. I shake my head before dialing her number.

“What, Valen?” she growls into the phone.

“Want to explain how I have a boy with amber eyes and a startling resemblance to me sitting across from me?” I ask her, and she falls silent for a second.

“Valarian?” she whispers, fear in her voice.

“That would be him—we need to talk. One of my men will be waiting for you in front of my hotel.” I nod to Tatum, and he nods back to me before walking out. “See you soon,” I tell her, hanging up before she can say anything. If she wants our son back, she can come to me.

ChapterThirty-Seven

Everly

My hands tremble as we pull up in front of the hotel. Officer Richards drove me to Alpha Valen’s penthouse apartment. The whole ride, I racked my brain trying to figure out how he had Valarian here. Did he spot him at the school and take him? Did Valarian look for him? Or did someone notice the uncanny resemblance between them? I have many questions, but nothing terrifies me more than what happens now that Valen knows he fathered a son.

He’ll have to kill me before I ever let him take my son. My nerves are shot, and my eyes burn from spending all afternoon and night bawling like a baby. My mind instantly went to the thought that he was kidnapped, or one of the forsaken had killed him. The relief I felt when I found out he was alive and ok was as crushing as the thought of losing him. There’s nothing worse than thinking you lost a child; the what-ifs, the sheer panic, and frantic places your mind takes you are a pure nightmare. My mind had been zooming in and out of the worst-case scenarios. Plus, because he was considered a rogue child, it’s not like anyone else really cared that he went missing.

Before having Valarian, it was hard to imagine a life that centered around him. But once he was here, he became my entire world, overshadowing any memory of a life without him.

Once you become a parent, the landscape of fear shifts; it is transformed—weaponized. As a parent, you have someone worth more to you than anything in existence, someone you’d lay your life down for without hesitation, just to ensure they can take another breath.

Without realizing, you take those old fears and wield them like the weapon they became. You’re no longer spooked by childhood nightmares like the boogie man; youbecomethe boogie man hunter—the shield against those very monsters. But instead of old fears, new horrors flood in the dread of everyday people around you—neighbors, strangers in the park. It’s not that you’re unafraid; it’s that your fear has been redefined because now you’re not afraid for yourself. Your fear is for another face, another name—your child’s.

Death? It’s no longer how you die that scares you. Instead, it’s the paralyzing fear of leaving your child alone in a world where no one can love them as deeply as you do.

News headlines about missing children in your area send shivers down your spine. Your mind spirals to the unbearable thought: what if that was my child? Because your child is not just yourresponsibility; they are the axis on which your world turns. They’re your reason to rise each day, the beating heart of your existence. To lose one is to lose your very reason for breathing.

The overwhelming dread I felt during those desperate hours of searching surpassed any fear I’ve ever felt.

So, stepping into the elevator, I finally let myself breathe, knowing Valarian is safe. However, knowing this doesn’t lessen my anxiety because now I’m back to fear one: someone taking my child. Except this time, it will be by his own father.

I move from foot to foot as the elevator travels up to the top floor. The hotel is lovely, though I’m shocked to find that Alpha Valen’s floor is heavily guarded. Exactly who is he expecting to attack him? We had to use a key in the elevator to get to this floor. Officer Richards grabs my arm when I step out. He walks me down the middle of the corridor containing one door and five guards. Each one stares at me curiously.

It must be strange for them to see a rogue girl visiting the Alpha. Oh, the scandal that would result in the media if I was spotted here! Officer Richards knocks on the door before suddenly turning on his heel and walking off.

“Psst,” I hiss at him, and he stops.

“Where are you going?”

“Work. I was told to drop you off, not hold your hand,” he says with a smile. I’m about to retort that he should remain in case this turns into a violent custody disagreement when the door opens and Beta Marcus is suddenly standing in front of me.

“Luna,” he says, and I scrunch up my face.

“Yeah, don’t call me that. Where is my son?”

He steps aside, motioning for me to come in, and I step past him. The place is all open-plan, and I realize the entire floor is just his apartment. Large windows run the whole length from floor to ceiling, looking out over the city. I bet the view is breathtaking at night.

Hesitantly walking around, I notice another security guard sitting on the couch when I spot Valarian on the sofa beside him—the huge security guard has a game controller in his hand. Valarian glances at me before shrieking in delight.

“Mom!” he squeals, placing the controller he had in his hands down and rushing over to me. But before Valarian reaches me, Alpha Valen scoops him up with one arm before depositing him back on the couch. Valen kisses his head before looking at the security guard, who nods to him in some silent message.

“Stay here. I need to speak to your mother,” Valen tells Valarian as I step closer, wanting to see my boy. I try to move toward him. My heart frantically thumps in my chest as I reach the back of the couch, but Valen grips my arm and suddenly starts walking. I stumble as I’m forced backward before shoving him off, earning me a growl from him.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I hiss at him, making sure to keep my voice low so Valarian doesn’t overhear as we stand in Valen’s oversized kitchen. Marcus leans on the counter, and my eyes dart to him when Valen steps closer, caging me in with his huge body and pressing me against the counter.

“You want to explain how the fuck we have a son that I had no idea existed until he turned up on my doorstep?”

“Well, for starters, you don’t have a doorstep, just a door,” I tell, rolling my eyes. If he’s going to talk to me like shit, then this conversation is over before it starts. I push on his chest, but he places his hands on either side of my hips, refusing to move.

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