The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride-Chapter 38: Who’s Your Father?

(LOCKE)

Panic is filling me. If I don’t get her to a healer, she’s not going to make it.

When she resists, I can’t help but snarl. "You have a child to think of! This is not the time to be stubborn! Shift back, you damned woman!"

The mention of her child has her closing her eyes, and with a shimmer of light, she shifts out of her wolf form. She promptly passes out, her tolerance for pain much lower in her human form. There’s a strange vibration coming from her pocket, and I reach for the source of it. I recognize the device for what it is: a cell phone. The name on the screen is Maya, and there are plenty of missed calls from her. Maya? Is she a healer?

I accept the call and press the phone to my ear. "Are you a healer?" I demand.

It’s a woman on the other end, and she splutters, "What? Who is this?"

"You’re wasting my time," I bark. I decide I’ll have to take Corrine to my hotel, but it’s on the other side of the city.

The woman on the phone interrupts my thoughts, saying quickly, "Wait. Is something wrong with Corrine?!"

"Yes."

"I am a"—she hesitates on the word—"a healer. Bring her to the house. What happened to her?"

"She has a fatal injury to her stomach! And I don’t know where the house is," I growl.

"Just track my phone. Use the GPS."

"The what?" This whole conversation is confusing me. "What’s the GPS?"

She hisses. "Okay, just stay there. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you."

She’s coming to us? She must be a wolf.

"And keep the phone on you, doofus!" she snaps.

The line goes dead, and I stare at the device in my hand. Doofus? Is that supposed to be an insult? Did this healer just insult the King of the North?

Choosing to ignore the slight, I consider the situation before me. I’m not going to leave Corrine here in the middle of the forest. Picking her up carefully so as not to aggravate her injury, I head out of the trees and move closer to the side of the street. It’ll be easier for the healer to find us here.

Corrine is bleeding heavily. I take off my shirt and press it against the wound. If I were in the North, I would howl and one of my healers would be able to locate me. But I have a feeling if I howl here, the city noise will drown it out. Maybe I should get one of these cell phones. They are confusing contraptions but useful for communication. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

A bright red car pulls up on the other side of the road ten minutes later, and a woman hops out. She stares at her phone and begins running in my direction. Then, she suddenly comes to a halt and looks around.

"You are Maya?" I growl from the shadows. She nearly jumps out of her skin and squints into the darkness until she finally sees me.

"What are you doing skulking there? Bring her to the car!"

She opens the back door, and when I lay Corrine across the seat, she examines her. This woman doesn’t smell like a shifter. She’s a human. But her name was in Corrine’s phone, so she must be someone my mate trusts.

"We need to go to a healer," I say harshly.

"I am a veterinarian," she says. "That’s as good as a healer."

"Is that what the wolves call healers in the human realm?" I’ll have to learn more about this world that Corrine lives in.

Maya hops into the seat in the front and then stares at me through the opening. "Well, are you getting in or not?"

When I move to follow her into the car, she looks angry. "Unless you’re going to sit on my lap, get in the passenger seat."

"The what?"

"Over there, you idiot!"

She leans away from me and opens the door on the other side of the car. I don’t like her insults, but Corrine doesn’t have the time for us to argue. I quickly run around the car and get in. It’s an uncomfortable fit for my long legs.

As Maya starts the car, she demands, "What happened? She was just out on a routine surveillance. How did things go this wrong?"

"She was attacked," I say shortly. "We don’t have time to waste. Why are you taking her to another location when you can just heal her here?"

Maya gives me a sharp look. "All my equipment is in my bag, which is at her house. I’m going to have to stitch her up."

"Stitch her?" I frown. "Just heal her."

"It’s not that simple. I’ve left a message for her healer. Since he’s not available, she’s going to have to make do with me."

"You’re a human. What can you possibly do to help her?" Suddenly, I realize I may have made a mistake. I should have taken her to Healer Pat at the hotel.

"I deal with injuries like this regularly!" Maya says fiercely. "Believe me, I’m more than capable of helping Corrine. And who even are you? Why were you with her?"

"That’s none of your business. If you can’t get in touch with her healer, then I need to contact mine."

The woman hands me her phone. "Call him." I stare at the contraption. "How?"

"What do you mean how?" She glares at me. "Dial his number and give him a call!"

"I—" I’m beginning to feel a little humbled now. "I don’t know his number."

She stares at me for a brief second. "You—" She’s about to say something nasty. I can see it on her face. But her expression flickers for a second. "Who are you?"

"Is that important?"

She brings the car to a screeching halt. "You’re not from here, are you?" Fear floods her face now. "No. How did I not see it before? You look just like him."

My jaw tightens, something tingling in my brain. "Like whom?" She refuses to answer. "Get out of my car."

I narrow my eyes. "I’m not leaving Corrine alone with you. I don’t trust you with her."

"And I’m not taking you to her home," she retorts harshly. "You’re Locke, aren’t you?"

So, this human is aware of who I am. Corrine must have told her about me. "If you know who I am, then you know how easily I can kill you," I snarl at her. "Start driving. I’m not going to have Corrine die because of your carelessness!"

"I’m not bringing you to her house." Maya grips the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white.

I’m not about to waste any more time. Unsheathing my claws, I press the tips of them against her neck. "Drive."

I can hear her heart start to race, her fear giving an acrid edge to her scent. "No!"

My claws bear down against her skin, breaking it slightly. When she realizes I mean business, she starts the car.

I don’t remove my hand throughout the ten-minute drive. By the time she pulls up in front of a house, her face is white as a sheet.

When she doesn’t move, I snarl, "Unless the healer has arrived, let’s go!"

She seems so hesitant to save Corrine, and that makes me want to kill this insignificant human. But she flinches and gets out of the car. I follow suit, proceeding to carry Corrine up the steps of the small house.

This is where my mate has been living all these years? In this tiny little hut? How could she possibly be comfortable?

When the door doesn’t open, I kick it. My foot splinters the wood. Even the door is weak, I think in disgust.

"What are you doing?!" Maya cries out in alarm. "I have a key! You brute!"

She shoves past me and inserts a key into the lock. I refuse to feel bad and enter the tiny house with long strides. "Where do I put her?"

"Down the hall, first door to the right."

I follow her instructions, bumping into the furniture as I walk through the front room. For a man of my size, this place is highly inconvenient. I am used to large spaces where I can move about with ease. This tiny house is cramped and uncomfortable.

"Stop breaking stuff!" Maya says, her voice distressed. "All these things are important to Corrine!"

Hearing her say that, I try to step more carefully. The first door on the right leads to a bedroom. It’s much smaller than the one I used to share with my mate. In fact, the bathroom alone back at the castle is twice this size. But as I lay Corrine down on the bed, I realize this whole house smells like her.

Maya follows me, carrying a black bag now. After putting on gloves, she touches the hem of Corrine’s shirt before glaring at me. "Would you leave the room so I can undress her?"

"Go ahead." I cross my arms over my chest. "It’s nothing I haven’t seen before."

"Get out." She stands up, facing me. "I’m not letting you take away her dignity."

I look at my mate, and my jaw tightens. "Fine."

As I walk out of the room, Maya says out of the blue, "Just stay out there in the hallway. Don’t go opening any other doors."

I shut the door to the bedroom and park myself outside it. Where else would I even go in this cramped space?

However, curiosity gets the better of me, and I look around. There are small things littered everywhere.

I recall how reluctant Corrine was to decorate her room in the castle, or even our room during the time she was with me. But here, she’s made this place her own.

I don’t know what this strange ache is in my chest as I rub it. What does this tiny hut have that the castle didn’t?

I hear soft footfalls from down the hall and then the sound of a toilet flushing. A door opens, and a young boy walks out, rubbing his eyes. "Mom? Why are you making so much noise?"

That must be Finn, the young wolf pup. In his human form, he looks to be around seven to eight years old. When he lowers his hand from his face, I get a jolt. Those eyes!

It can’t be. Amber eyes?

Erik said this child was his. But Erik’s eyes are green, and Corrine’s are brown. This child’s eyes are amber. Like mine. And he has dark curls, the same color as mine.

"Boy, come here."

The child focuses on me and freezes, terror written all over his face. He takes a step back. "M–Mom?"

I see the fear and panic in his expression, and I know that he’s about to make a run for it. Before he can, I grab him by the front of his shirt and lift him in the air till we are nose to nose. "Who’s your father?"

Tears well up in his eyes. "I don’t like you!"

"I asked you a question!"

"I want my mom!" he whimpers.

I give him a little shake. "Men don’t cry like this!" Exasperation fills me. "When I was your age, I was out in the battlefield, not whining for my mother. Are you a suckling fool?"

He sniffles. "W–What? What’s that?"

"You, apparently," I say gruffly. "A boy your age should be protecting his mother, not calling out for her to protect him."

He wipes his eyes. "I can protect my mom."

"You don’t look like it," I comment. "Scraggly little thing like you." "I’m not scraggly!" he protests, and this time I see the fire in his eyes.

"Let me go!"

"Why?" I raise one brow. "So you can go crying to your mother?"

"I am not a crybaby!" He sniffles again before kicking his arms and legs, forcing me to release him. To his credit, he doesn’t make a break for it.

"Who’s your father, boy?"

"My name is not ’boy.’ It’s Finn." He’s trying very hard not to tremble in front of me. "And I don’t have a father."

"What do you mean, you don’t have a father?" I stare at him. "What about Erik?"

"King Erik?" Finn blinks. "He’s mom’s friend. I don’t think he’s my dad."

"Dad?" I try to figure out what that is. "You mean father?"

He gives me a strange look. "Yeah. I asked Mom about my dad, and she said she forgot."

"She forgot?" I stare at him. "And you bought that? Are you stupid?" Finn bristles. "You’re stupid! And your face is stupid!"

I glare down at the boy. "Show some respect!"

"You called me stupid first!" He sticks out his tongue at me, his previous fear forgotten.

"I’m not the one behaving like a child."

"I am a child!" he retorts.

He’s got a smart mouth. "How old are you?"

This has him holding out his fingers, and he counts. "Seven."

I crouch down next to him so that we are at eye level. "Boy, do you want to see something interesting?"

Finn gives me a suspicious look. "Interesting?"

I reach inside my vest and pull out a thin dagger. His eyes widen, and I hold it out to him. "Let me show you a trick. Children like tricks, don’t they?"

From the look in his eyes, he clearly knows better, but curiosity seems to be fighting for dominance. When he nods his head slowly, I feel a smug sense of satisfaction.

Got you!