Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Luca’s POV
Leila didn’t say a word to me the entire car ride back to the Bronx.
I was surprised she didn’t protest when I offered to give her a ride, since we were both heading to her place.
She just nodded and got in. Then she went quiet, her eyes fixed on the window like the passing buildings had something more interesting to offer.
When I pulled into her driveway, I half expected her to unbuckle and bolt out before I could even put the car in park. But she didn’t.
We sat there in silence for about ten seconds before she turned to me.
I had a thousand questions swirling in my mind. About her pregnancy. The birth. What he’d been like as a baby. His first steps. His first words. All the things I’d missed. She’d raised him for five years on her own. I could only imagine how tough that would have been. I wanted to hear all of it.
But I realized I might be pushing my luck already. Leila still didn’t seem particularly pleased that I knew. Even though I’d caught the unmistakable flicker of relief in her eyes—like maybe it was a burden she didn’t have to carry alone anymore. Like maybe it hurt her to keep him a secret, too.
After her outburst last night about how she felt five years ago, I’d felt nothing but guilt and regret threatening to swallow me whole.
Because deep down, I knew the truth.
Leila would never really cheat on me. She would never steal. And maybe, back then, a part of me knew that. But I’d been overwhelmed. Blindsided by what was in front of me. The money was traced to her account. There was that photo of that bastard in bed with her.
It all looked too…real. Too hard to ignore.
And as a rational man, I had acted on what I saw.
“You should let me do the talking,” she continued. “I wouldn’t want to overwhelm him.”
“Do you think he’ll be overwhelmed by the truth?”
There was a beat before Leila responded. “I think he’ll be very happy. He’s wanted nothing more than to meet his father.”
I smiled. “Thank you for giving me a chance here, Leila.”
She looked at me for a brief second, and without responding, she climbed out of the car and headed into the house.
I heard Ollie’s laugh the moment I stepped in—bright, infectious, and bubbling from somewhere upstairs.
My chest tightened with emotion. Leila had raised a smart, happy child.
All on her own. It was no small feat, and I admired her even more for that.
I loved her even more for that. At the same time, I felt immense regret and guilt toward Leila.
And more than ever, I felt a strong desire to protect her and my child.
“You can sit,” she gestured to the sofa. “I’ll go get Ollie. Val is babysitting him.”
I grimaced.
“What?” Leila gave me a questioning look.
I walked over to the sofa. “Nothing. Go get Ollie.”
I hated the polite, distant tone in her voice. Like I was just another person walking into her house. A stranger.
“Mommy!” From upstairs, I heard Ollie’s excited voice a notch higher now. I guessed the reunion had already happened after her two-day absence.
A few moments later, I lifted my head as Leila came down the stairs, Ollie in her arms.
The second his eyes landed on me, his face split into a grin. Something warm and fierce flooded my chest—pride, protectiveness, wonder. My son. I felt the unmistakable tug of a bond threading itself between us, and deep inside, my wolf stirred, as if recognizing something primal.
Leila brought him to the double sofa and sat down with him.
“It’s good to see you again, kiddo,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. “How’s that LEGO project coming along?”
He gave a little shrug. “I was hoping you would come again and help me finish it.”
I turned to Leila, catching her watching me. The moment our eyes met, she looked away and cleared her throat.
“Ollie,” Leila said gently, reaching for his hand. “There’s something really important we want to tell you, okay?”
His eyes widened. “Am I in trouble?”
A small chuckle escaped me. “No, bud. Not even close.”
She glanced at me, her fingers tightening slightly around his, then turned back to him. “You’ve asked me before why your dad wasn’t around. Do you remember what I told you?”
He nodded. “You said he couldn’t be here. That he was far away.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “That was true then. But it’s not anymore. Because he’s here now.” She looked up at me, then back at Ollie. “This is Luca Vaughn. Your Dad.”
Silence.
Ollie blinked, like his brain needed a second to catch up. “He’s my dad?”
Leila nodded slowly. “Yes. He’s your biological father.”
Ollie’s mouth parted slightly, his gaze snapping to Luca. For a heartbeat, he just stared—wide-eyed, as if memorizing his face, like he was seeing him properly for the first time. Then he turned to me. “But…I thought you said he wasn’t coming back.”
Leila’s voice was quiet. “I was wrong.”
His gaze bounced between the two of us again, wide and disbelieving.
Then slowly, he stepped forward, like he needed to see for himself.
He stopped in front of me, brows furrowed in concentration, then reached up with both hands and touched my face—small fingers brushing my jaw, my cheek, like he was trying to feel if I was real.
“Is this why your hair is black and Mom’s is yellow?” he asked innocently.
Leila gave a soft laugh beside him. “It’s blonde, baby. Not yellow.”
“Blonde,” he murmured to himself like he was filing the correction away. And when he looked back at me again, his face broke into a wide grin. “You’re really my dad? Like, really, really?”
I nodded, my voice thick with emotion. “Yeah, kid. Really, really.”
And then he did something I didn’t expect—he wrapped his arms around me.
My heart clenched so hard I thought it might split open.
This boy—my son—was accepting me without hesitation.
It undid something in me I didn’t even know was wound tight.
My wolf leaped inside of me, filling me with a pride so fierce it almost stole my breath.
He was ours—our blood, our scent, our boy.
My wolf wanted to wrap himself around him, to guard him from the world, to make sure nothing—nothing—could ever hurt him.
The need to protect him was bone deep, as natural as breathing.
“My teacher said to give our dads a hug on Father’s Day last month. I didn’t have one to give then, but now I have one. Promise me you’ll never leave us again, Dad.”
My throat burned, the words scraping out rough. “I’m here now. And I’m not going anywhere. Not ever.”
His head snapped up as though he remembered something urgent, then turned to Leila. “Does that mean I can go to the games day with Dad now, Mom?”
I blinked. “Games day?”
“Yeah! The girls have those dances with their dads, but my school does game day for the boys, remember. I thought I couldn’t go this time ’cause I didn’t have a dad…” His voice dipped a little, but then lit up instantly. “But I do now, right?”
“Yeah, buddy,” I said, brushing a hand through his curls. “You do now.”
Leila turned slightly, like she was wiping her eyes, and I held Ollie closer, like if I let go, he might vanish. Like all of this—him, Leila, this moment—was some dream I’d wake from.
“We’re going,” I promised. “You and me. And we’re gonna win every game they’ve got.”
His whole face lit up. “Yes! I’m gonna tell Daniel. He said only dads come to the game day when mom offered to go instead, but now I have one, too!”
Leila let out a laugh behind him. “Well, there’s no stopping him now.”
“Damn right,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Ollie’s head.
Ollie beamed from ear to ear, practically vibrating with joy, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe.
“Can we continue building the LEGO set, Mommy?” Ollie turned to Leila with pleading eyes. It was refreshing to see how he looked to her for permission with almost everything. It spoke volumes of the respect he had for her—and the kind of boy Leila had raised.
Leila gave him a smile. “Sure, Ollie. As long as Luca is okay with it.”
He turned to me, expectantly.
I was more than okay with it. I’d lost five years with my son. I could never get those years back, but I could make sure he never felt my absence again.
I smiled. “That’s okay, Ollie. I think I’m in the mood for a brain-wracking puzzle.”
He chuckled and took off instantly, dashing toward the stairs.
“What did I tell you about running on the stairs, Ollie?” Leila called after him.
Ollie slowed, slightly, but still hurried up, his excitement impossible to contain.
Once his footsteps faded, Leila stood.
“Since you’ll be staying a while, would you like some coffee?”
“Coffee sounds great,” I answered.
She ignored the way my gaze pierced into her and started toward the kitchen, but my voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Thank you for this, Leila,” I said. “You have no idea how happy I am right now.”
“You were going to force your way into his life either way, Luca,” she said quietly. “I had to make sure I did it the right way…so I wouldn’t overwhelm him.”
Her words sliced straight through my chest. I stood, rounded the corner, and came to stand in front of her.
“Listen to me, Leila,” I started, making sure my voice sounded as firm as possible. “I would never—never—do anything that would hurt Ollie. He’s my son.”
“And you were my Fated Mate.” A pained expression crossed her face.
It felt like someone had driven a knife into my chest and was twisting the hilt with every word she spoke.
“Leila—” I stepped forward, but she raised a hand to stop me, taking a pace backward.
“Look, Luca,” she said, her tone soft but resolute. “Just because you’re Ollie’s father, just because you’re in his life now, doesn’t mean things between us have changed.”
She exhaled slowly. “I admit, this past week felt like a fantasy. And if I’m being honest…
it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time.
The peak was winning the pitch. But now that it’s over, we need to come back to reality.
We need to focus on our lives—especially the fact that your wedding is this weekend. ”
Deeper.
Deeper.
The knife was still twisting.
“What happened between us at the suite…was a mistake.”
“Fuck, Leila. It’s always a mistake with you.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Tell me—does it feel like a mistake?” I closed the space between us. “Does being this close to me feel like a mistake? Does your wolf feel repulsed by my presence?”
“That’s the thing, Luca.” Her voice cracked.
“My wolf might have forgotten what happened five years ago. But I haven’t.
And I doubt I ever could. You hurt me…deeply.
And even though she might have forgiven you, I just…
I don’t know how to. I don’t know how to move forward from this.
How to trust you with my heart again. I can’t be a fool again, Luca.
” She swallowed, her lips trembling. “And I won’t be your mistress. ”
I flinched at the word. Leila was anything but that. I was ready to throw it all away for her—this wedding, Moreau’s million-dollar deal, even my position as Alpha. The council would never name me Alpha if I backed out now, but I didn’t care.
She was worth it. She was worth everything.
She looked up at me, the hurt in her eyes like a punch to the gut.
“I’ll go get started on that coffee now,” she murmured and brushed past me.
I stood there, hating myself for being the reason she was in pain. Hating that I had done this to her. That she had walked through hell five years ago because I couldn’t trust her. Couldn’t believe her.
I’d spent my life expecting people to leave—expecting her to leave eventually.
So, I pushed her away first. Not because I wanted to stop loving her, but because I knew I couldn’t.
Even if she hurt me, even if she betrayed me, I would still love her, and that terrified me.
Better to end it on my terms than watch her walk away and take what little dignity I had left.
But I was wrong.
This pain…this hurt…was worse.
If the gnawing truth clawing at me was right, then someone had fabricated that evidence. The photos, the evidence of the money in her account.
I needed answers. I needed the truth.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the number.
On the second ring, the line cracked through. “Grant,” I said. “I’ve got a job for you.”