Chapter 2

The room went quiet.

Silas looked at me, his eyes blank with confusion and something like disbelief.

He was thin, almost frail, but his back was perfectly straight. I met his gaze and didn't know what to feel.

I'd never been the type to fight for anything. Alaric and I had a thing back in school, but he found his Luna and moved on.

Catherine never let me forget it.

Five or six years in this pack and I was basically invisible.

Last time around, I'd insisted on getting my real son back, and he'd poisoned me for it.

This time, I wasn't hoping for anything. I just wanted a kid nobody else wanted either, so the two of us could keep each other company and get through the days.

Alaric paused for a moment, then gave a faint smile. "Alright."

He said, "Silas is a quiet one and you're steady. Good match. Take care of him."

I could tell he didn't think much of it. He just figured I'd picked the easiest option and that was that.

I thanked him and walked over to Silas, reaching for his hand.

When my fingers touched his, he flinched but didn't pull away.

And just like that, Silas became my son and came home with me.

That night, I ran a warm bath for Silas.

When his clothes came off and I saw his back, my hands went still and I couldn't move.

It was covered in wounds.

Whip marks layered over each other, huge patches of bruising and burn scars where the skin had puckered and fused together.

My voice shook when I asked, "Who did this to you?"

Silas was quiet for a long time before he said, "I fell."

I bit my lip and didn't push.

I wrung out the cloth again and wiped his back as gently as I could, working around every wound.

When I was done, I got him clean clothes and helped him into them.

Then I put my hand on his head.

"Silas, this is your home now, and I'm your mom."