Chapter 13: Past Demons
Jamal’s laughter rang through the air like a little howl of joy, his tiny feet slapping against the pavement as he sprinted toward Beta Xavien.
“Uncle Xavien!” he squealed, his face lighting up like the moon on a cloudless night.
Xavien crouched down just in time, catching my son in one strong arm like it was the easiest thing in the world. “There’s my little Superman!” he chuckled, ruffling Jamal’s curls, his whole face softening. My heart clenched. Xavien had that rare gift-the kind that made children feel safe just by existing near them.
“How was the party, champ?”
Jamal grinned wide, checks flushed with excitement. “It was so fun! I swam, and I ate sooo much candy!” His eyes dimmed a little as he added in a whisper, “But… I made Mommy cry.”
I saw the way Xavien’s expression changed. He looked up at me then, concern etched across his brow, and I quickly stepped forward.
“Nothing happened, Xavien,” I said. I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Everything’s fine.”
Jamal caught my look. Bless him-he nodded like a good little wolf and scampered off to rejoin Daniel, already giggling again like nothing had happened. But Xavien wasn’t fooled.
He stepped closer, voice low and firm. “Fiona. What’s going on? Who the hell is that?” His eyes flicked toward Dorian, who was still lurking in the background like a ghost that refused to fade.”
My eyes stayed locked on the spot where Jamal’s laughter echoed. I swallowed hard. “That,” I said finally, voice cool and dry, “is Dorian Richards. Jamal’s biological father.”
Xavien stiffened beside me.
I could feel the shift in him-the way his aura pulsed, how the power beneath his skin stirred. His beast didn’t like this. And neither did mine.
He turned slowly, eyes narrowing as he took in Dorian. And just like that, the air around us went sharp. Hot. Dangerous.
Dorian looked like he didn’t know whether to speak or run. He was standing awkwardly, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Xavien stepped forward, Alpha energy rolling off him in thick waves. “So… you’re Dorian,” he said, with a smirk that could cut bone. “The deadbeat who walked out on his family. Thought you’d look taller. But here you are looking like you’re 57.
I didn’t stop him.
“And I’m willing to bet your dck’s as short as your memory,” Xavien added, voice dripping venom.
Dorian’s jaw clenched. He stepped forward, straightening his shoulders like he actually thought that made him intimidating. “I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he spat. “I don’t know why my son is calling you Uncle Xavien, and I sure as hell don’t know why my Luna is calling you babe-
“Your Luna?” Xavien barked a bitter laugh, covering his mouth like he couldn’t believe what he just heard. “The nerve of this ahole.”
Then he moved.
It happened so fast I barely had time to blink.
Xavien’s fist connected with Dorian’s face with a sound that was all crunch and violence. Blood sprayed, and Dorian stumbled back, hand flying to his nose, eyes wide and disbelieving.
“That’s for hurting the love of my life,” Xavien growled, standing over him. “For leaving her when she needed you most.”
Dorian staggered, breath ragged, blood soaking his shirt. But instead of staying down like he should have, he lunged, swinging wild and sloppy.
Xavien dodged it easily and grabbed him by the collar.
“You’re pathetic,” he hissed, before ramming his fist into Dorian’s gut.
Dorian folded like paper, collapsing to his knees, gasping, retching, groaning.
I watched Alpha Navien tower over Dorian’s crumpled form, chest heaving, rage practically rolling off him in waves. His voice was low but sharp enough to cut flesh.
“And that,” Navien snarled, his foot pinning Dorian to the ground like the worthless coward he was, “is for abandoning Jamal. For being the useless piece of shit you are.”
Dorian wheezed beneath him, chest rattling with every breath, blood smeared across his face. He looked pathetic. Not just beaten–diminished.
My wolf stirred in satisfaction. For years I’d imagined this exact moment-someone making him feel even a sliver of what he’d put me through. The pain. The silence. The humiliation. He’d left me in the middle of my pregnancy, our pup not even fully shifted yet in my womb, and now he had the audacity to show up and act like he deserved something?
No.
He tried to push up, fumbling for his pride, but Navien’s boot held him down.
“You don’t get to show up here and pretend you care,” Xavien seethed, every word coated in fury. “You forfeited that right the second you turned your back on your son.”
Dorian’s eyes flicked up toward him-wide, red-rimmed, but he couldn’t form words. Just a broken groan. And gods, it was music to my ears.
Navien shoved him back one last time. Dorian hit the dirt with a grunt.
I stepped forward and gently placed my hand on Xavien’s arm. My fingers curled around his forearm. “That’s enough,” I whispered. I didn’t say it for Dorian’s sake. Hell no. I said it for Xavien’s. I could feel how close he was to snapping completely, to shifting and tearing Dorian apart. And if he shifted. I might join him.
Xavien’s breaths were ragged. His body thrummed with Alpha power, his wolf barely restrained. But when he looked at me, just one look, he softened. My presence pulled him back from the edge. He nodded, chest rising and falling, eyes still locked on Dorian like he wanted to finish it.
Behind him, Dorian rolled to his side, coughing. I didn’t miss the way he looked toward Jamal in the distance, giggling and playing like none of this ever happened. Like the man who’d walked out on him didn’t just get beaten to a pulp ten feet away.
Dorian got to his feet, slowl. He wiped the blood from his nose and muttered, “Take care of him for now. But I’ll be back. I swear it. He’s my son. I have every right to him as you.
Those words. That tone. Like he had any claim left.
He turned and limped away.
Xavien watched him go, eyes sharp, jaw clenched. “Good riddance,” he muttered, tightening his arm around my waist. “He doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near you or Jamal.”
And that’s when it hit me.
The tears started slow, but then they came fast. Crushing. I collapsed against Xavien, hands fisting his shirt like I was drowning and he was the only thing holding me up.
“I can’t do this,” I sobbed, every breath like a dagger in my lungs. “I thought he was gone. Why is he back? Why now?” I gasped for air. “Is he stalking me? I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose Jamal… not to him.”
My body shook so hard it hurt. My voice was a mess of panic and heartbreak. “I fought so hard to keep Jamal safe… to keep him away from everything Dorian ever touched. And now he’s back. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to stop this.”
Xavien held me tighter, his hand stroking my back, his chest warm beneath my cheek. I could feel his wolf thrumming beneath his skin, ready to rip Dorian to shreds all over again.
“I’m here,” he whispered, voice thick with emotion. “I’m not going anywhere. Just breathe, Fiona. I’ve got you. I swear it.”
But I couldn’t stop.
The dam had broken, and everything I’d buried for Jamal’s sake came pouring out. The fear. The anger. The heartbreak. It all came crashing out in ugly sobs as I clung to Xavien like my life depended on it.
*He can’t take my baby,” I wailed, my voice splintering under the weight of it. “He doesn’t get to walk in and out of our lives like this! I won’t let him take Jamal! I can’t- I can’t lose him!”
Navien cupped my face then, his hands big and rough but gentle, forcing me to look at him through my tears. “Look at me,” he said, low and deadly calm. “He will not take Jamal. Not while I breathe. If that bastard even thinks about making a move, I’ll tear him apart. Bone by bone. I’ll make him regret ever coming back into your life.”
I sobbed harder, and suddenly Chloe was there, wrapping both arms around me, pressing her cheek to mine.
“Fiona,” she murmured, voice shaking, “you’re safe. We’re here. You’re not alone. He’s not taking anything from you. Not now. Not ever. You’ve fought too hard. And now, we fight with you.”
