Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Killian Volkov
11
Sitting in my office late into the night, the moonlight casting a cold, silver glow through the window. My mind raced, trying to figure out how to uncover the truth without raising suspicion. I couldn’t ask the kids for a DNA test outright–Adeline would never allow it. And I couldn’t confront her again, not after the way we’d left things. She was planning to marry Sebastian, and the last thing I needed was for her to think I was trying to interfere.
But there were other ways. More subtle ways.
Aviy mind went to Adeline’s children. They went to school, didn’t they? There would be records of doctors‘ visits. Surely, there would be a way to get a DNA sample without anyone knowing. I could send someone to collect it discreetly. I can’t send my beta there; people will recognize him. Maybe one of my trusted pack members, someone who wouldn’t question my motives.
Yes, that would work.
I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before a familiar voice answered.
“Killian?” It was Thomas, one of my most trusted pack members. He had served my family for years and knew how to handle delicate matters.
“Thomas, I need you to do something for me. And I need you to be discreet.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Of course, Alpha. What do you need?” He asked.
I hesitated for a moment, my hand tightening around the phone. Once I gave this order, there would be no turning back. But I had to know. I had to.
“I need you to find a way to collect DNA samples from two children. Tristan and Bridget. They attend the same school in Crescent City. Make sure no one knows, especially Adeline. This stays between us.”
There
was a brief pause on the other end of the line, but Thomas didn’t question me. He knew better than to ask “Consider it done.”
I hung up, my chest tightening with both anticipation and dread. I had set the wheels in motion. Soon, I would have the truth.
And then what? What would I do if they really were mine? Would I take them away from Adeline? The thought of separating those kids from their mother felt wrong, but I couldn’t let them be raised thinking Sebastian was their father. If they were mine, they had a right to know.
And I had a right to be in their lives.
But the deeper I delved into the idea of those children being mine, the more conflicted I became. Because if they were mine, that meant Adeline had kept them from me. After the night at the meeting hall, I never saw her face, and maybe she didn’t either; that means she doesn’t know who Tristan and Bridget’s father are. Why didn’t she try to find out who it was? Why had she hidden them? Had she been afraid? Had she thought their father would hurt them?
The anger I had been harboring for so long flickered and wavered. I wanted to hate her for everything she had done for killing my sister and all. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn’t really know the full story. I had been so consumed by my rage and my grief that I had never stopped to question the truth.
Maybe I had been too blind to see what was really happening. Maybe there was more to Adeline’s side of things than I had allowed myself to believe.
No. I couldn’t think like that. I couldn’t let her off the hook so easily. She had ruined everything. She had been the reason
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Chapter 74
my world had fallen apart.
And yet…
V
A voice inside me whispered doubts and questions that I didn’t want to face. What if I had been wrong about her? What if, after all this time, I had been fighting the wrong battle?
I shook my head, trying to clear the confusion from my mind. I couldn’t get lost in my emotions now. I needed to stay focused to figure out the truth. Once I had the DNA results, everything would become clear.
But for now, all I could do was wait.
The next three days dragged by, each one more agonizing than the last. I avoided Laurel as much as I could, knowing that she could sense my distraction. She was growing more and more irritable with each passing day, and I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t being the man I should be for her. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I wasn’t being the Alpha I was supposed to be.
But how could I focus on anything else when my entire world was hanging in the balance? I had tried to distract myself with work and with pack matters, but it was impossible. Every thought led back to Adeline, to her children, to the possibility that I had unknowingly fathered them.
I was in my office, staring at the laptop screen with my mind elsewhere. My desk was filled with files and pending work; I couldn’t bring myself to complete the work and grew anxious with passing minutes. I need the truth soon. I needed to know as soon as possible.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I quickly grabbed it, and the screen lit up.
It was a message from Thomas. My fingers automatically opened the message, and it read.
The samples have been collected. I’ll send them to the lab immediately. We should have results within 48 hours.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
It was done.
Now, all I had to do was wait.
As I sat there, staring at my phone, I realized that no matter what those results said, everything was about to change. If Tristan and Bridget were mine, I would fight for them. I would make sure they knew who their real father was, and I won’t let Adeline take them away from me. And I will never let Sebastian be their father figure. And if they weren’t mine…
I didn’t even want to think about that possibility.
Because deep down, I knew that if they weren’t mine, the hollow ache in my chest wouldn’t go away. And that scared me more than anything.
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