Chapter 19 - Arianna #2
“So, he's not Noah's father, then?” Tyler's frown deepens. “I heard you murmuring his name in your sleep, and I thought he was.”
“I must have been murmuring his name when he was chasing me in the nightmare. Tyler, there's something I need—”
“Wait,” Tyler cuts me off with a hand in front of my face, and when he draws it down, his eyes are full of horror. “If James isn't Noah's father, then who is?”
Gulping again, I take a step forward, but Tyler moves away. “Tyler…I can explain…”
“Just answer the fucking question, Arianna!” he snaps, eyes dark as he glares at me. “Were you with another alpha?!”
“No,” I hang my head sullenly. “I was never with another man…”
The sound of Tyler's sharp intake of breath sends a cold shiver down my spine, forcing me to look up and find his wild, deadly glare piercing my being.
“How old is he? How old is Noah?” Tyler asks, nostrils flaring with the heat of his fury.
I hear Delilah walking away to give us privacy, and I can't drag my eyes from Tyler to see her leave. My heart pounds in my chest, and I realize that I shouldn't have kept this a secret for so long.
Now, I'm staring at a man who's putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and turning livid as he does.
“He'll be four in June,” I admit, and Tyler pauses to put the last piece in place.
He left for black ops in March, four years ago. I was pregnant for exactly three months, carrying a werewolf pup with rapid growth spurts.
Realization flashes in his eyes, and the darkness of his anger seems to spread around his aura, menacingly, frightening me.
“Noah is my son?! Is that what you're saying?!”
Seeing no point in dragging this out any longer, as if it's supposed to be a pleasant revelation, I nod. “Yes. Noah is your son.”
Tyler's jaw clenches as he glares at me, as if spearing daggers into me. “You lied to me?!” he spits venomously. “This whole time, you've been lying to me! You left Portland with my child?! How dare you, Arianna?! How fucking dare you?!”
My body shudders and flinches with every word he throws at me as if I'm being struck.
What was I expecting, anyway?
That we'd cuddle after I told him I'd been lying to him all this time? That he'd kiss my lips with reassurance, and we'd return home and be a happy family?
The only reason I'm telling him is so that he knows it's his son who's in danger, who James wants. This is only for Noah, but right now, I can't see the goodness coming out with the truth.
“I lied to protect myself!” I retorted. “I lied to protect myself and my son!”
“Oh, so now you're telling me the truth because it suits your needs?!” he throws back with a scoff, pointing in the direction of his house.
“It's suddenly convenient for me to know that he's my son because someone's after him, huh?
Not because it mattered that he's my flesh and blood, and you kept me away from him for four years?” he slams his chest, his voice cracking with anger.
“What did you expect me to do, huh?!” I bite back coldly, forgetting all the warm feelings I had. “You rejected me, Tyler! Did you really think I was gonna wait around for you to come back after four years, and only want me because I had your child?!”
Tyler's furious glare is frightening when he steps forward. “So, you ran off and kept him away from me to punish me?! That's cruel, Arianna. It's—”
“Not true!” I cut in, almost screaming as a sob lodges in my throat. I'm fighting to keep the tears back, to show him that I'm strong, even if I'm breaking inside by revealing the truth I've spent so long hiding. It was the only way to survive, the only way I kept myself from breaking.
But it's happening again, like it did four years ago.
“It's not true! I ran away because I was heartbroken, okay? I wouldn’t have survived in Portland while you were gone and having your son.
I left to stay sane. And no, I didn't have another man in my life, and thank Goddess for that, because the one time I did try to move on from you, I couldn't go through with it.
Turns out, he's a mutated rogue wolf who only wanted to get close to me to get to Noah!” I laugh sardonically.
“But you want the truth, Tyler? Apart from the mate bond, which you and I both know is real, I loved you.
You broke my heart, and I did what was right for me by leaving.
You couldn't choose me, so I chose myself!”
Tyler stares at me, his face paling as his jaw drops. Blurting out everything I've been holding back for so long feels like a weight off my shoulders, but I no longer feel grounded enough to stop the tears from falling.
“Still, you had no right to keep it a secret from me,” he grunts as if what I said means nothing.
“You came back, and you had every opportunity to tell me he's my son, and you didn't. For that, I can't forgive you.” He shakes his head.
“I can't forgive you, Arianna. I—” He spins around, giving his back to me, his chest heaving with rapid breaths. “I can't even look at you right now.”
Without another word, Tyler shifts into wolf form, and my chest tightens with his grief and anger, feeling his emotions as if they're my own. He disappears into the woods without glancing back, and I'm left to sink to my knees as the weight of regret comes crashing into me.
A pair of gentle hands settles on my shoulders, reminding me that coming back wasn't in vain if I've discovered who I truly am, and I can protect Noah here.
That's all that matters now, even if I've broken the alpha's trust.
He won't allow his child to be in any kind of danger, and that's all I've been working toward—to protect Noah.