---- Chapter 36 Damien POV: The night it happened, a storm rolled in from the sea. The wind howled, and rain lashed against the villa. Inside, another storm was breaking. Elara was in labor. | was confined to the kitchens, but | could feel it through the phantom thread of our bond. Her waves of pain were muted echoes in my own body. My wolf was frantic, clawing at the inside of my skin, desperate to go to her, to comfort her, to be by her side. | paced the kitchen floor all night, a caged animal, unable to eat or rest. | listened to the muffled sounds from upstairs, the hurried footsteps of the midwives, the low, encouraging tones of Luna Seraphina, who had arrived with Alpha Alaric just as the labor began. Hours stretched into an eternity of helpless agony. Then, just as the dawn began to break, painting the sky in shades of grey and pink, | felt it. A sudden, brilliant burst of pure, unadulterated joy flooded the bond. It was so powerful it brought me to my knees. ---- And then | heard it. A cry. A strong, healthy, furious little cry that cut through the sound of the storm. My son. Tears streamed down my face, hot and unstoppable. | choked ona sob, pressing my fist to my mouth to stifle the sound. He was here. He was real. He was alive. | wanted to storm the stairs, to burst into the room, to see him, to see her. But | heard Alpha Alaric's deep voice, and | froze. | was a ghost. | had to remain a ghost. Later that day, the joy was too much to contain. | had to share it. | had to tell someone. | snuck up to the hallway outside her room, my heart pounding. The door was ajar. For a single, breathtaking moment, | saw him. A tiny bundle in Elara's arms, with a shock of impossible, silver-white hair. A true White Wolf. My hand trembled as | raised the small memory crystal the steward had given me. It was a forbidden magic, capturing a single image. | aimed it through the crack in the door, and with a faint shimmer, | captured the image of my son. My only friend in the world was my former Beta, Mark. | had to show him. In a fit of pure, unthinking elation, | let my caution slip. The joy was a tidal wave, drowning all sense. | opened a Mind-Link to him, a raw, unguarded channel, and sent the ---- image-a silent scream of joy into the ether. "Look! My son!" | meant to sever the link immediately, but my hands were shaking too badly. And in that split second of carelessness, like a shark smelling blood in the water, another presence latched onto the open channel. A cold, familiar presence that made my blood freeze. A voice, dripping with venomous sweetness, echoed in my mind. "Well, well. Congratulations, Damien. A bouncing baby boy." It was Lyra.