** Ryder’s POV **

    I leave the bedroom and take a deep breath, stering a smile on my face before going down the stairs. When I walk into the living room, Jaxon is already yawning, his little eyes heavy with sleep, and I can’t help but smile for real this time. He’s perfect.

    He is everything I could ever dream of, sweet and polite, full of energy, and he absolutely adores his mum, just like me. Paige and I made an amazing little boy who makes my heart want to burst with pride.

    I can’t wait to watch him grow and be there every step of the way from here on out. I can’t wait to meet his wolf and watch him be the great alpha he is destined to be.

    When I look at him, I just get the sense that everything is going to be okay. I just need to deal with the threats looming over us first.

    My boy doesn’t deserve any of this. The courts, Greg, the threat of hunters, it’s too much for anyone, let alone him. I wish I could protect Paige from it the way I can Jaxon. At least at his age, we can shield him from learning about it all.

    I shake my head. I’ve spent enough precious time I could have spent with him stressing over this. Tonight, I do what I can control, which is getting him to bed and making sure he feels

    safe.

    “Come on, little man,” I say softly, scooping him up. He wriggles a little, half–asleep and resistant, but his trust in me is instinctive. He senses that I’m more than just his dad, I’m his pack. “Time to go upstairs.”

    “Do I have to?” he grumbles, burying his face into my chest.

    “Yes, buddy,” I reply gently. “Sleep helps you grow big and strong, and big strong wolves fight

    better.”

    “I’m going to be big and strong like you,” he giggles.

    I can’t help but grin down at him. “Yeah, that’s right. Sleep now, and tomorrow we take on the

    world together.”

    I carry him into his bedroom and flick on themp before I sit him on the bed and root around in the drawers for a matching set of pyjamas. His eyes are half closed as I help him change

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    before tucking him under the nkets. His small hands cling to mine.

    “Dad…” he whispers.

    “Yes, Jax.”

    “Why are you upset?” he asks, his voice sleepy.

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    My chest tightens. “I’m not. I’m just tired like you,” I smile, brushing his hair back from his

    forehead.

    He nods, but the worry is still there. He’s so observant, another good alpha quality.

    “Close your eyes and dream of all the adventures we are going to have,” I say softly.

    He does, and just like that, he falls into an easy sleep. I stay for a moment longer, listening to

    the gentle rhythm of his breathing, watching the rise and fall of his small chest, before I

    quietly get up and leave him to his dreams.

    Downstairs, Callen is already straightening the cushions and cleaning the living room. He

    turns when I enter.

    “Jax is down, sleeping like a little angel.”

    Callen nods, giving me a sideways nce. “How’s she holding up?”

    I hesitate, thinking of Paige. I know she’s in her bath, letting Parker and Remy calm her after

    the shock of Greg’s letters. Even through the bond, I can feel her tension. Fear, anger, and worry all mingling together. She’s strong, but… this isn’t something she can face alone, and

    she doesn’t have to.

    “She’s okay,” I finally say. “She’s starting to rx. She feels safe in the bath with Parker and

    Remy.”

    Callen nods. “We’ve got her, Rye. We just have to make sure she never forgets that, not even for a second. We’ve still got eyes on Greg too, if he moves, we’ll know it.”

    The anger is still simmering hotly beneath my skin. Greg… that bastard. Trying to im

    Jaxon, as if he has any right. As if a piece of paper signed by some human court could take

    him from me. I’ve only just found him, and now that piece of s**t is trying to take him from ollime. /li/ol

    I run a hand through my hair, trying to stay calm. Thinking of Greg, I can imagine the smug expression on his face, the confidence that anyone would side with him just because he got

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    a solicitor to send a bit of paper. He doesn’t know what it means to be a father in the real sense. He doesn’t know loyalty, or strength, or protection of a pack. It’s more than family, we are one. If you kick one, we all limp. If you threaten one, we all rise.

    Thew in the human world doesn’t care about wolves, though. It doesn’t care about packs.

    A signed document, a court date, and suddenly Greg thinks he has a im on one of ours.

    Over my dead body!

    Callen, sensing my mood change and where my thoughts are going, steps closer, resting a hand on my shoulder. “We are going to take him down, Rye. The team is watching every move

    he makes. Any attempt to reach Jax, and we’ll know before he even takes a step in our

    direction.”

    I nod, clenching my fists. “Good. I just… I can’t stand the thought of him near Jax, not for one

    second. The courts need to squash this nonsense, and fast.”

    “He won’t. Not if we do this right. DNA test first, then we file to add you to the birth

    certificate. It’s legal, concrete proof. Then Greg has nothing. No judge worth their salt is

    going to argue with science. Then, once we have the human authorities off our backs, we deal with this our way.”

    I exhale, running a hand over my face. “I just… I hate that we even have to go through this.

    That we’re dragged into a system that doesn’t understand what’s real because of the hunters

    again. That it forces us to defend what’s ours in ways that don’t make sense to the people

    outside our world. They pushed us into the human world when we were babies, made us live

    in a society that we didn’t belong in, and now they want to do it again to my son.”

    Callen tilts his head, eyes dark and serious. “It’s different this time, we had no one and no

    idea what we were. We know how to navigate that world now, and we’ll y their game if we

    have to. But we y it on our terms, and we have Paige’s back every step of the way.”

    I focus on everything good around me… the pack, the bond and the family we’ve built around

    Paige and Jax. They are the only reason I haven’t gonepletely feral with worry yet, why

    haven’t given in to my instincts to shift and go hunt Greg down right now.

    I nce toward the bathroom door. Parker and Remy are still with her. I can feel her mood

    shifting subtly through the bond as they keep watch, guiding her towards a calm headspace. I need to get control of my own headspace before I infect her fragile calm with my rage. My chest tightens as I feel the weight of the extra responsibility pressing down on me.

    I move to the window and peer out, concentrating on my breathing. The moonlight filters

    Chapter 75

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    through the trees, casting a silver glow over the grass. I feel the subtle hum of energy

    through the bond, Paige’s anxiety softening under Parker’s voice, Remy’s presence and my efforts to calm down. It should be enough to let her breathe.

    Callen joins me at the window. “Greg won’t try anything while he has the authorities involved,

    plus we’ve got surveince, tracking, the works. This at least gives us some breathing space

    and time to rally our allies.”

    I let the tension ease from my shoulders slightly. He’s right. “He doesn’t even know what he’s dealing with. He has no idea how far we’ll go. What we’ll do.”

    Callen smirks. “Oh, I think he has a clue after his hunter buddies never returned, but he

    doesn’t know the half of it.”

    I smile. “Good. Let him think he has a chance. I’ll enjoy watching him crumble when he

    realises he doesn’t.”

    Callen ps me on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit.”

    My anger slowly begins to fade, reced with determination. This isn’t just about me. It’s

    about Jaxon. His life. His happiness. And I’ll fight with every ounce of myself to make sure

    he never feels unsafe, never feels threatened by someone who doesn’t understand him or the

    world he belongs to. Greg can file all the papers he wants, he can hire all the solicitors in the

    world, but he has no im here.

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