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Chapter 2 - The Hunt Continues

Thaddeus's POV

Four hours earlier...

The map tore under my clawed fingers.

"Commander, that's the third map this week," Lieutenant Graves said nervously.

I didn't care. My wolf was going crazy inside me, clawing at my chest like it was trying to break free. She was close. After four years of looking, tracking, bribing informants, and following dead ends—Rowan was finally close.

"Tell me again," I growled. "Every detail."

Graves moved his weight. "The informant said there's a healer in Ashenvale village. Mid-twenties. Dark red hair. Powerful healing skills that seem to be getting stronger. She keeps to herself. Lives alone except—" He paused.

"Except what?" My voice came out dangerous.

"Except for a small child. A girl around four years old."

My heart stopped beating. Four years old. The same age my child would be if Rowan had been telling the truth that night. If she really had been pregnant when she ran.

"What does the child look like?" I asked quietly.

Graves swallowed hard. "Dark hair. Grey eyes. The source said she looked like she could be Nightborne blood."

The tent spun around me. A kid. I had a daughter, and Rowan had hidden her from me for four years.

Rage and grief crashed through me in equal amounts. My wolf howled inside my mind, demanding I shift and run to Ashenvale right now. Demanding I take what was mine.

"How far to Ashenvale?" My voice shook.

"Half a day's hard march. We could reach it by dawn if—"

The tent flap burst open. Cold air rushed in along with the one person I didn't want to see.

Lyanna Stormweaver, my blood-bound wife, stood in the door. Her silver eyes were ice-cold. "So it's true. You're chasing that useless healer again."

"Get out, Lyanna." I turned back to my plans.

She laughed, but there was no fun in it. "Four years, Thaddeus. For four years, you've pulled half the Covenant's forces across the Borderlands looking for a woman who clearly doesn't want to be found. You're hooked. The other leaders are starting to talk."

" I said get out. "

"No." Lyanna walked closer. "I'm your wife. Your blood-bound partner. And I'm telling you to stop this madness. That doctor is nothing. She's beneath you. Beneath us."

I spun around so fast Lyanna stumbled backward. "Don't. Talk about her."

"Or what?" Lyanna's hand moved to the knife at her belt. "You'll hurt me? Break our blood-bond? You can't. We're tied together forever, remember? That was the deal."

The blood-bond. The thing that kept me chained to this cold, cruel woman when every cell in my body screamed for someone else. When I'd agreed to it four years ago, I thought I was doing the right thing. Saving thousands of lives. Making the smart choice.

I didn't know it would feel like dying slowly.

"Why are you even here?" I asked tiredly. "You're supposed to be at the War Council."

Lyanna smiled, and something about it made my skin crawl. "I have my own business in the Borderlands. I wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything... stupid."

Before I could answer, another soldier burst into the room. "Commander! The scouts found something."

I pushed past Lyanna. "What?" "A trail. Fresh. Leading straight to Ashenvale. And sir—" The soldier's face went pale. "The scent signature fits the description you gave us. It's her."

My wolf growled. Without thinking, I started taking off my uniform. My bones cracked as the shift began.

"Thaddeus, wait!" Graves grabbed my arm. "If you go now in wolf form, you'll terrify everyone in that town. Let us approach properly at dawn with the full unit—"

I shook him off. Four years. I'd waited four years to find her. I wasn't waiting another second.

"Move out now," I ordered. "Anyone who can't keep up gets left behind."

My wolf burst free. I landed on four paws, already running toward Ashenvale. Toward Rowan. Toward my kid.

Behind me, I heard my troops scrambling to follow. Heard Lyanna screaming something that got cut off by the wind.

I didn't care. Nothing mattered except reaching them.

The trees blurred around me as I ran. My paws ate up the distance. One hour. Two. The night grew darker, but my wolf senses led me perfectly. I could smell pine and herbs and something else—something sweet and familiar that made my chest hurt.

Rowan's smell.

Then another smell hit me, and I nearly stumbled. Small. Young. Mixed with Rowan's but having my bloodline signature.

My baby.

The wolf inside me went completely wild. Mine. Mine. MINE.

I ran faster, leaving my men far behind. The forest opened up into a space. Small houses scattered around. Ashenvale town.

I slowed down, trying to control the wolf. Trying to think like a man instead of a beast. Barging in as a dog would scare Rowan. Would scare my daughter. I needed to shift back. Needed to approach carefully.

But then the wind changed, and I caught a third scent that made my blood run cold.

Dante.

My blood-brother. The man who'd left eight years ago after our Eclipse Ritual. The man I'd thought was dead.

He was here. With Rowan. With my kid.

Jealousy and rage burned through me. Had Dante been with her this whole time? Had he been raising my daughter while I searched desperately?

I followed their scents to a small cabin at the edge of the town. Warm light glowed through the windows. I could hear whispers inside—Rowan's voice, the one that had haunted my dreams for four years.

And a child's voice. High and sweet. "The sad warrior is coming, Mama."

My heart shattered. She was calling someone else Mama. My daughter existed, and she didn't even know I was her father.

I should shift back. Should knock on the door like a polite person. But my wolf was too far gone, too desperate. I needed to see her. Needed to see my baby with my own eyes.

I circled the cabin quietly. There—a window to what looked like a bedroom. The blinds were open. Inside, I saw a small bed with a little girl sleeping quietly.

Dark curls spread across the pillow. Delicate features that reminded me of Rowan. And even in sleep, I could see it—she had my bone structure. My nose. My DNA written all over her face.

My baby.

Something inside me broke completely. Four years. I'd missed four years of her life. First steps. First words. Birthdays. Everything.

Rage and grief overwhelmed any sense I had left. Before I could stop myself, I used my claws to quietly unlatch the window. It swung open quietly.

The little girl moved but didn't wake. I changed back to human form and carefully climbed through the window. Up close, she was even more beautiful. Perfect.

I knelt beside her bed, just looking. My hands shook. I wanted to touch her. Wanted to hold her and never let go.

But I'd scare her if she woke up to a strange man in her room.

I reached out slowly and brushed a curl away from her face. So soft. So small. So mine.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. But I'm here now. And I swear I'll never lose you again."

Her eyes opened.

Grey eyes, exactly like mine, stared up at me. For a heartbeat, we just looked at each other. Then her small mouth opened to scream.

I worried. Without thinking, I grabbed her and covered her mouth softly. "Please don't yell. Please. I'm not going to hurt you."

She bit my hand.

I yanked it back with a curse. The little girl scrambled away from me, her eyes sparkling with golden light I'd never seen before.

"MAMA!" she screamed. "MAMA, HELP!"

Footsteps pounded toward the room. The door burst open and Rowan stood there, her face white with fear.

Our eyes met across the room. Four years of separation. Four years of pain and looking and rage.

"Hello, Rowan," I said.

Then Dante appeared behind her, shadows whirling around him, his power active and dangerous.

The three of us stared at each other. My daughter cowered against the wall. Rowan looked ready to fight me. And Dante—my blood-brother who I'd thought was gone forever—stood protectively beside the woman I'd never stopped loving.

"Get away from my daughter," Rowan said quietly. Deadly.

"Our daughter," I corrected. My wolf was fighting for control again. "And I'm not going anywhere. Not this time."

Outside, I heard my men finally catching up. War horns blasted. And beneath it all, another sound—horses coming from a different direction. Too many horses.

Dante's face went white. "No. She couldn't have followed you."

"Who?" I asked.

But I already knew. I could smell her perfume on the wind. Could feel

the blood-bond pulling tight.

Lyanna had followed me. And she'd brought an army.

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