HIS to CLAIM ALPHA ZEKE

POV

Golden had been stable for twenty four hours while the doctor said Cecelia could maintain contact with him for short periods now. Her touch wouldn't suppress the wolf emergence like mine did but it would keep Golden calm and comfortable while I handled pack business that couldn't wait

any longer

.

"Are you sure about this?" Cecelia asked while looking nervous about being left alone with Golden even

though the doctor and nurses were right outside.

"You'll be fine," I assured her while leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Just keep your hand on his chest like I've been doing. If anything changes the monitors will alert the medical staff immediately."

"How long will you be gone?" she asked while her hand replaced mine on Golden's small chest.

"A few hours at most," I said while hating to leave them but knowing this couldn't be put off. "I need to handle Layla's interrogation

personally."

Cecelia's expression hardened while anger flashed in her eyes at Layla's name. "Make her suffer," she said quietly.

"I will," I promised while meaning every word.

I left the hospital room while my wolf was already pushing forward wanting blood. Layla had threatened my son, manipulated my life, destroyed my marriage, all because of some twisted obsession. She would pay for every bit of damage she'd caused.

The pack detention center was underground below the main pack house while it was designed to hold even the strongest wolves. Guards snapped to attention when I entered while they could probably feel the rage rolling off me in waves.

"Where is she?" I asked the head guard.

"Cell three," he replied while handing me the keys. "She's been asking to see you."

Of course she had while Layla probably thought she could talk her

way out of this like she'd talked her way into my trust for years. But I was done listening to her lies.

I walked down the hallway while my footsteps echoed off the concrete walls. Cell three was at the end while I could see Layla sitting on the bench inside looking defiant despite being locked up.

She stood when she saw me while smoothing down her clothes like she was preparing for a social visit instead of an interrogation. "Zeke, finally," she said while her voice held relief. "I knew you'd come once you heard my side of things."

I unlocked the cell but didn't step inside while I didn't trust myself to be in an enclosed space with her right now. "Start talking," I said while my voice came out cold and hard. "And don't bother lying because we have evidence of everything."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Layla said while

trying to look confused. "Whatever Brock told you, he's lying to save himself."

"Brock has receipts of payments you made to him," I said while watching her face carefully. "Bank transfers, text messages, all of it

proving you paid him to kidnap Golden."

Her expression flickered while the false confusion slipped for just a second. "That's not what happened."

"Then tell me what did happen," I demanded while my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Because from where I'm standing, you orchestrated the kidnapping of my three year old son."

"I never wanted him hurt," Layla said while her voice rose defensively. "I just wanted access

to his magic."

The casual admission made my blood run cold while she'd just confessed without even realizing it. "You wanted access to his magic," I repeated slowly. "So you hired people to kidnap a child."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Layla said while she was starting to panic now. "Brock said the extraction would be painless, that Golden wouldn't even remember it."

"The extraction almost killed him," I said while my wolf snarled wanting to tear her apart. "His body is

fighting premature wolf emergence because of what you did."

Layla's face went pale while she sat back down on the bench. "I didn't know that would happen."

"You didn't care what would happen," I corrected while stepping into the cell now because I needed her to see my face when I said this. "You cared about getting power you thought you could use to make me want you."

"I did it for us," Layla insisted while tears started falling. "If I had that kind of magic you would finally see

me as an equal. You would finally love me the way you loved her."

"I never loved you," I said flatly while the words were harsh but true. "I cared about you as a friend but I never loved you romantically. And you kidnapping my son just proved I was right to keep that distance."

"You loved me once," Layla argued while she was crying harder now. "Before Cecelia came along we were perfect together."

"We were never together," I said while my patience was running out. "That was all in your head Layla. I

never gave you any indication I wanted more than friendship."

"You slept with me," she shot back while anger replaced her tears.

"Once, when we were both drunk after Cecelia supposedly died," I said while that night was fuzzy in my memory but I remembered enough. "That didn't mean anything

beyond two people seeking comfort in the wrong way."

"It meant something to me," Layla said while her voice dropped to something bitter. "But then you pushed me away like I was nothing."

"Because you were using my grief to try and manipulate me into a relationship I didn't want," I said while finally understanding what had happened. "You thought if you got pregnant it would trap me."

Layla's face told me I was right while she looked away unable to

meet my eyes. "I thought if we had a child together you'd stay with me.

"Except Cameron isn't my child," I said while pulling out the DNA test results Marcus had rushed through this morning. "Robert is his biological father."

Layla's mouth opened and closed while she searched for something to say. "How did you find out?"

"Does it matter?" I asked while tossing the papers at her feet. "You lied about him being mine for three years. You let me raise a child who wasn't mine while my actual son

was being hidden away because you destroyed my marriage to his mother."

"I didn't destroy your marriage," Layla said while trying to redirect blame. "You destroyed it yourself by rejecting Cecelia.

"Because you manipulated the situation," I said while Marcus had shown me evidence of that too. "You paid the guards who were supposed to protect Cecelia to make it look like she died."

Layla went very still while I could see her calculating what I knew

versus what she could still deny. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"We have their confessions," I said while my voice dropped into Alpha command. "They told us everything. How you paid them to stage Cecelia's death, how you helped them create the fake evidence, all of it."

"Fine," Layla said while her defiance crumbled completely. "Yes, I arranged for Cecelia to disappear. She was in the way and I needed her gone so you would finally see me."

"You destroyed three years of my life," I said while my wolf was howling for her blood. "Three years I could have spent with my mate and my son but instead I was mourning a woman who wasn't even dead because you couldn't accept that I didn't want you."

"I loved you," Layla screamed while standing up to face me. "I loved you for years while watching you pine after someone who didn't even want you back. Then you got forced into marriage with her and suddenly you were in love? That wasn't fair."

"Life isn't fair," I said coldly. "But

that didn't give you the right to play god with other people's lives."

"I was trying to fix things," Layla insisted while she actually believed her own twisted logic. "If I had Golden's magic I could have made everything right."

"Nothing about this is right," I said while turning toward the cell door because I couldn't look at her anymore. "You're delusional if you think kidnapping a child would ever end well for you."

"Wait," Layla called while I heard her move toward me. "What about

Cameron? What happens to him?"

I stopped while turning back to face her. "Cameron will be placed with his actual father Robert once we confirm paternity through DNA testing."

"No," Layla said while panic filled her voice. "You can't give him to Robert, Cameron barely knows him."

"Whose fault is that?" I asked while no sympathy in my tone. "You kept Robert away from his own son while lying to me about Cameron being mine. You made this bed so

now you get to lie in it."

"Please Zeke," Layla begged while reaching through the bars toward me. "I know I messed up but Cameron is innocent in this. Don't punish him for my mistakes."

"I'm not punishing him," I said while stepping back so she couldn't touch me. "I'm making sure he grows up with his real father instead of the man his mother tricked into raising him."

The truth of that statement hit me while I'd spent three years bonding with Cameron thinking he was my

punish him for my mistakes."

"I'm not punishing him," I said while stepping back so she couldn't touch me. "I'm making sure he grows up with his real father instead of the man his mother tricked into raising him."

The truth of that statement hit me while I'd spent three years bonding with Cameron thinking he was my son. I'd read him bedtime stories, taught him to throw a ball, been there for his nightmares. And none of it had been real because Cameron wasn't mine.

But the strange thing was I didn't feel as devastated as I should. My immediate reaction had been relief that my actual son Golden was safe rather than grief over losing Cameron. Maybe I'd known on some level that something was off while the bond between Cameron and me never felt as strong as it should have.

"Did Robert know about the kidnapping?" I asked while needing to know if Cameron's real father was involved.

"No," Layla said while shaking her head quickly. "Robert had nothing

to do with Golden. He only came around to see Cameron because I finally told him the truth about paternity."

So the Robert mystery was separate from the kidnapping while Layla had kept those two manipulations compartmentalized. The realization that she'd been juggling multiple lies made me feel sick while I couldn't believe I'd ever trusted this woman.

Marcus appeared at the end of the hallway while carrying a folder of documents. "Alpha, I have the financial records you requested."

I left Layla's cell while locking it behind me. She called after me but I ignored her while walking to meet Marcus halfway down the corridor.

"What did you find?" I asked while taking the folder from him.

"Bank transfers from Layla's account to Brock, Theseus, and Fatima," Marcus said while pointing to highlighted sections. "The dates match up with when the kidnapping was being

planned. She also rented the warehouse where we found Golden using a fake company name but the payment traced back to her personal account."

"So we have her on conspiracy, kidnapping, child endangerment, and treason against the Alpha's family," I said while reviewing the evidence.

"Plus the fake death situation from three years ago," Marcus added. "The guards she paid have signed statements admitting their involvement in exchange for reduced sentences."

"Good," I said while closing the folder. "Call an emergency council meeting for tomorrow morning. I want Layla formally charged and sentenced as soon as possible."

"Already scheduled," Marcus confirmed. "The council members have been briefed on the evidence so this should be straightforward."

I nodded while heading for the exit. "I need to get back to the hospital. Cecelia's alone with Golden."

"How is he doing?" Marcus asked while falling into step beside me.

"Better," I said while feeling the bond between Golden and me humming in the background. "The doctor thinks he'll make a full recovery but it's going to take time."

"That's good to hear," Marcus said.

"The pack has been asking about him, wondering when they'll get to meet the Alpha's son."

"Soon," I promised while thinking about introducing Golden to the pack properly. "Once he's strong enough to handle that kind of attention."