Alpha Nathan Pov.

"But about Mila," I continued, wanting to tell her the whole story, "I loved her from the very first day I saw her. She was all alone in the forest, scared and crying and completely helpless. She couldn't have been more than five years old. Actually, it was the exact same place where I found you at the lake house, except there was no lake house seventeen years ago when we found her."

I raised my head to see her completely shocked that I was telling her the truth so immediately and completely. It was as if she hadn't expected this level of honesty and vulnerability from me.

"The person who adopted both of us found Mila first," I continued while standing up to face her and kissing her neck gently and warmly. "Then a few years later, they found me in a similar situation. We both had nowhere else to go, no family, no pack. We were both broken and lost, and they gave us a home, a family, a chance at a real life."

I kissed along her jawline softly. "Another thing you don't know about me yet... we really need to get that shower now, and then we should go visit my parents." The words slipped from my tongue as if my parents were still alive and waiting for us.

She obeyed immediately and stole a quick kiss from my lips on her way to the bathroom, making my heart skip a beat. Then she stopped by the shower room door, looking back at me. "I'm going to need a towel and some clean clothes. I don't have anything here - everything is back at the lake house, remember?"

I nodded understandingly, already planning our day. "Okay, you can wear the same clothes for now, and I'll ask Mila to lend you some of her things. She won't mind at all - she's incredibly generous and kind-hearted. And later today, we can go shopping and buy you a whole new wardrobe. I want to spoil you rotten."

So I opened the bedroom door after putting on my clothes, planning to go ask Mila for some outfits that would fit Isabella. But I was completely shocked when I saw little James lying on the floor right by our door, his face red with anger and tears streaming down his chubby cheeks.

"Give me back my Isabella!" he yelled at me with all the fury a two-year-old could muster, his little fists clenched in determination.

I blinked in shock and gently lifted him up to my shoulders, feeling terrible that he'd been out here all night. "James, buddy, did you really stay here all night long? Did you sleep on this hard, cold floor?"

He nodded miserably, his lower lip trembling. "I wanted to make sure nobody took Isabella away from me. I wanted to protect her!"

Then he started crying even harder and calling for Isabella desperately. "Isabella, come! Isabella, come here right now! I missed you so much! I thought you were gone forever!"

Isabella ran toward us after quickly putting on a soft robe, and she immediately scooped James into her arms, hugging him tightly. He leaped from my arms straight into hers without hesitation. She patted his back soothingly, her motherly instincts kicking in naturally. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here. I would never leave you. Don't cry anymore, sweetheart."

"Isabella!" he sobbed into her shoulder. "I was so scared! I thought the big bad wolf took you away!"

"Kids!" I mumbled under my breath, but I was smiling warmly at the scene before me.

She shrugged her shoulders at me apologetically, and I smiled back, my heart melting at how naturally she cared for James.

I decided to tease James a little, hoping to lighten the mood. "Hey now, she's my baby, not yours, little man. I found her first!"

James immediately stuck his tongue out at me defiantly, his tears stopping as quickly as they'd started. "No! Isabella is MY baby! Mine, mine, mine! You can't have her!"

I chuckled at his adorable reaction, completely charmed by his fierce protectiveness. He looked so attached to Isabella, and to be honest, young children and babies usually only get attached to angels and pure-hearted people. It said a lot about Isabella's character that he'd bonded with her so quickly and completely.

"James," Isabella said gently, "Nathan and I can both take care of you, okay? You don't have to choose. We're all family now."

James considered this seriously, his little brow furrowed in concentration. "Promise? Promise you won't go away?"

"I promise," Isabella said softly, kissing his forehead.

Isabella looked at me with confusion, her expression completely serious. "Nathan, are you absolutely sure that James is only two years old? He talks like he's much, much older. His vocabulary and the way he expresses himself - it's like talking to a six or seven-year-old."

I laughed immediately because she was absolutely right. He spoke with the complexity and emotional intelligence of a much older child, not a toddler. But yes, he was different from other children, and we had no idea why or how that was possible. I nodded. "Yes, he's exactly two and a half years old. I know it seems impossible, but that's his real age. He's always been... special."

She said "wow" softly, clearly amazed. "That's incredible. He's like a little genius or something."

Just then, we heard loud, panicked screams coming from the second floor. I immediately looked up, craning my neck to see Mila standing at the top of the stairs with her mate Ethan next to her, both looking frantic.

"Where's James?!" Mila called down desperately, her voice filled with panic. "I can't find him anywhere! I've looked in every room, under every bed, in every closet! James, where are you?!"

If only Mila knew that James hadn't slept at all and had remained by our door for all those hours, she might actually kill me for being so irresponsible with her precious little boy.

"James is here with me!" I shouted back immediately, making sure my voice carried up to her clearly. "He's completely safe! He's been with Isabella and me!"

She sighed in visible relief, her whole body sagging as the tension left her. "Thank God! I was about to call out a search party!"

Before Mila could announce that she was leaving with Ethan, I already knew about their plans. Ethan had called me very early this morning and apologized profusely for his behavior, promising that he would never hurt Mila again. He'd been crying on the phone, begging for forgiveness and swearing that he'd changed. I believed him because men and werewolves are the same - we all go through weak moments when it comes to alcohol and making stupid, regrettable decisions. That wasn't an excuse for his behavior, though. But if I hadn't made similar mistakes in my past, I wouldn't be here with Isabella, and I wouldn't have realized that she was my real mate.

"We're going away for a few days," Mila called down. "Ethan wants to take me somewhere special to make up for... everything. Is that okay? Can you watch James?"

"Of course," I replied. "Take all the time you need."

We said our goodbyes to Mila and Ethan, with lots of hugs and promises to be careful. Isabella looked genuinely sad to see Mila go - they had become close friends in the short time they'd known each other. But I could tell that Isabella was actually terrified about being alone with my fake Luna. I noticed her eyes kept switching nervously between my Luna and my Beta Ethan, and it reminded me of when Isabella had tried to warn me about Ethan, saying he had approached her inappropriately or made her uncomfortable somehow. I hadn't given her a chance to explain fully back then, and I was starting to regret that.

I was still not completely sure whether Ethan knew about my deceptive Luna's true nature or not. I had no solid evidence yet, but something felt off about the whole situation. There were too many coincidences, too many strange looks and whispered conversations.

After borrowing some clothes from Mila's extensive closet and saying "see you later" to her and Ethan, I didn't want to pressure Isabella by staying in our room for too long. I helped her take a quick but thorough shower, enjoying every moment of washing her beautiful body and having her wash mine in return. The intimacy of it, the trust and vulnerability, made my heart swell with love.

Then I linked my arm with hers as we prepared to leave the pack house and go meet my parents. James insisted on coming with us, clinging to Isabella's hand like a lifeline.

My fake Luna intercepted us at the front door with her nasty, venom-filled questions. "Where exactly are you going, Nathan? And why are you taking that disgusting slut with you? And why is that brat coming along too?"

I turned my body around in the blink of an eye and slapped her face with all my strength, making my so-called Luna fall hard to the ground with a loud thud. "Don't you EVER dare to call her a slut again! And don't you dare call James a brat! Now get up, go to the kitchen, and cook something decent for dinner. We'll be back late tonight, and I expect a proper meal waiting for us."

Isabella blinked in surprise but didn't ask me anything about what had just happened. She didn't look particularly happy about the violence either, but she chose not to comment on my aggressive reaction. James, however, clapped his little hands together.

"Good job, Nathan!" James said cheerfully. "She's mean to Isabella!"

"James," Isabella said gently, "we don't celebrate when people get hurt, even when they're not nice to us."

"Okay, Isabella," James said solemnly. "Sorry."

I opened the passenger door of my car for Isabella. "Get in, sweetheart."

"In the driver's seat?" she asked, widening her eyes in confusion.

I sat down in the driver's seat and gently pulled her onto my lap, securing James in the back seat with his car seat. Then I started the engine while pressing my jaw against Isabella's neck, breathing in her intoxicating scent. "Yes, right here exactly where you belong. I want you to be close to me forever. I never want you more than an arm's length away from me."

"Is this safe?" she asked, though she snuggled closer to me.

"I'm a very good driver," I assured her. "And this way, I can protect you if anything happens."

The drive didn't take very long - just a few minutes by car through winding forest roads that most pack members didn't even know existed. I helped Isabella get out carefully, making sure she didn't trip on the uneven ground, and then I got James out of his car seat. I walked beside them, holding Isabella's hand tightly while James skipped ahead, completely fascinated by the natural beauty around us.

Isabella seemed confused and amazed, looking around at the incredible scenery in wonder. "Nathan, this place is absolutely breathtaking. It's like something out of a fairy tale."

"Yes, it's got a cave and sea and hills and flowers and small colorful trees everywhere," I said quickly, noticing her expression of awe. "It's like a hidden paradise that very few people know about. It's been in our family for generations. Come with me now."

I pulled her gently toward the entrance of the cave, with James running ahead excitedly. The cave entrance was decorated with beautiful crystals and smooth stones, making it look almost magical in the dappled sunlight.

Isabella dropped her jaw in complete thunderstruck amazement when we entered the cave. "Oh my God! Nathan, you said your parents were dead! You said we were going to visit their graves!"