I stared at the ceiling of the guest room, my fingers absently stroking Cody's soft hair as he slept beside me. His small hand rested on my stomach, his breathing steady and peaceful. This was my first night in the Alpha King's palace, and sleep refused to come. The room was too grand, too unfamiliar. The silk sheets felt foreign against my skin.
Through the thick walls, I could hear the distant sounds of the palace settling for the night. My wolf senses picked up hushed voices, footsteps on marble floors, the faint hum of life continuing even in these late hours. I wondered if I would ever feel comfortable here, in this place that belonged to him.
Jack Hudson. Alpha King. Father of my son. The male who had turned my world upside down and now insisted I stay under his roof.
Earlier that evening, I had asked the nanny to let Cody stay with me. The middle-aged woman had hesitated, clearly torn between my request and whatever orders Jack had given her. But I had been firm. I needed my son close, needed his presence to ground me in this strange new reality.
The door to the guest room was closed, but not locked. I had checked three times already. Some part of me wanted the barrier, the illusion of privacy and control. Another part knew it was pointless. This was his territory. His palace. His rules.
I heard footsteps in the hallway. Heavy, measured steps that made my wolf stir with recognition. Jack. My body tensed involuntarily.
A soft knock echoed through the room. I held my breath, hoping he would think I was asleep and leave. But the door opened anyway, slowly, carefully. The light from the hallway spilled into the dimness of the guest room.
I kept my eyes closed, feigning sleep. Maybe he would just check on Cody and go. Maybe he would leave us in peace for one night.
But I felt him approach the bed, his presence like a tangible weight in the room. My wolf was acutely aware of him, of his alpha power, of the bond that connected us through our son. He moved closer, and I sensed him reaching for Cody.
My eyes snapped open.
Jack froze, Cody's small body already in his arms. Our gazes locked in the dim light. I could see the sharp angles of his face, the intensity in his dark eyes. He was dressed casually now, no longer in the formal attire he wore during the day. But even in simple clothes, he radiated authority.
"Sorry if I disturbed your sleep," he said quietly.
I sat up, my heart pounding. "Did you really come for Cody, or to spy on me?"
His jaw tightened slightly. For a moment, I thought he might argue, might assert his authority as Alpha King and remind me that this was his palace. Instead, he simply said, "We will talk tomorrow morning. Good night."
He turned and walked out, Cody still sleeping peacefully in his arms. The door closed behind him with a soft click, and I was alone again.
I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. My wolf whined softly in my mind, conflicted. She wanted our son close. She also sensed something in Jack, something that drew her even as I fought against it.
I heard him in the hallway, speaking in low tones to the nanny. Then more footsteps, fading away toward what I assumed was Cody's room. Or perhaps the master bedroom. I did not know the layout of this massive palace yet.
Time passed. I lay back down, pulling the covers up to my chin. The bed felt too large, too empty without Cody. I missed his warmth, his innocent presence that made everything seem less complicated.
Somewhere in the palace, I heard a door close. Then another. The walls were thick, built to give the royal family privacy, but my enhanced hearing caught fragments of sound. Voices, distant and muffled. Richard, the pack doctor who had treated my wound, and his mate Nonna. They had been kind to me, more supportive than I had expected.
I closed my eyes, trying to block out the world. Trying not to think about Jack, about the conversation we would have tomorrow morning, about the future that stretched before us like an uncertain path.
But sleep still would not come.
I thought about the picture I had seen in Richard's room earlier, when Nonna had mentioned it in passing. A photograph of Jack with a female, smiling and carefree. His former chosen mate, I assumed. The one he had been with before everything fell apart, before Cody was conceived, before I became an unwanted complication in his life.
Did he still love her? Did he wish things had been different? Did I even care?
I told myself I did not. I told myself that Jack Hudson meant nothing to me beyond being Cody's father. But my wolf whispered differently, sensing things I refused to acknowledge.
The palace grew quieter as the night deepened. I finally felt my body beginning to relax, exhaustion pulling me toward sleep. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new conversations, new battles to fight. But for now, I could rest.
Just as my eyes were drifting closed, I heard footsteps again. Slow, deliberate footsteps that paused outside my door.
Jack.
I held my breath, waiting. Would he knock again? Would he come inside? What did he want?
The footsteps resumed, moving past my door and continuing down the hallway. I released the breath I had been holding.
But something had changed. I could sense it in the air, in the bond that connected us through Cody, in the very walls of this palace. Whatever conversation we had tomorrow morning, whatever Jack wanted to discuss, it would alter everything.
I pulled the covers tighter around myself and closed my eyes.
Tomorrow, everything would change.