Chapter 19
Samantha’s POV
I immediately connected my charger as I settled on a chair in my hotel room after I was transferred here. Annie’s name glowed on the screen, followed by a string of messages that I was not able to access earlier since my phone immediately died.
The first one brought a smile to my lips: “The twins wanted to stay up late, but don’t worry, I tucked them in on time. Devon tried to convince me otherwise, though!”
Scrolling through the others, I could almost hear Annie’s cheerful voice narrating their antics: ‘Diana refusing to eat her carrots, Devon pretending to be a superhero, both of them begging for bedtime stories about wolves.’
But it was her last message that made my heart clench: “They’ve been asking for you all day, Samantha. Devon said he missed your hugs, and Diana said she did not like how long you are gone.”
I stared at the words, blinking hard. For a moment, the chaotic events from the day melted away, leaving only the ache in my chest, to see my twins again. They were my family now, my reason to fight, to survive, to keep moving forward, and this was the first time I had been away from them for too long.
I brushed away a tear threatening to fall and took a deep breath, trying to push aside the lingering thoughts of Dominic and
focus on my twins. My phone buzzed again — this time, a video call from Annie.
The screen lit up with her smiling face. “Hey, Samantha! I thought you would want to say goodnight to the kiddos. Let me grab
them.”
Relief washed over me. “Thanks, Annie. You are a lifesaver.”
She stepped away, calling for the twins in the background. But then, something shifted. Her voice grew louder, sharper, more… urgent. “Devon? Diana? Where are you?”
I straightened in my chair as the relief evaporated in the air and was replaced with worry. “Annie? What’s wrong?” I asked.
Annie’s face appeared again and I could clearly see the worry etched into her features. “They are not here. They were in their room a few minutes ago… wait, what’s this?”
The screen tilted as Annie bent down, picking something up. Her face went pale as she read whatever it was.
“Annie, talk to me!” My voice came out harsher than I intended as panic bubbled in my chest.
“It’s…a note. From the twins.” Annie’s voice shook. “They said… they said they are going to find you.”
My heart dropped “What?!” 1 exclaimed
“1-1 swear I did not hear them leave! I was just in the other room-oh my God, Samantha, I’m so sorry!”
My grip tightened on the phone as I hurriedly looked for my clothes “Call the cops. Right now. I will figure something out on my end.”
Annie nodded frantically, already dialing Fended the call and quickly removed my bathrobe to put on my clothes. My hands shook as I scrolled through my contacts I needed help I could not do this alone. And it was not that hard to know who to call it not the only person who had always been on my side no matter the case
Killian.
He picked up on the first ring. “Sam? What’s wrong?”
“I need you,” I blurted out, pacing the small room. “The twins, they are gone. They left a note saying they are coming to find
me.”
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Chapter 19
“What?!” he exclaimed, surprised, and at the same time, I could hear him alarmed. “Where are you right now?”
“I am still in my room at the hotel. Please, Killian, I need you here.”
“I’m on my way.”
Killian arrived within minutes, mirroring the same worried expression that I had on my face.
“What happened?” he demanded.
+15 BONUS
I told him about Annie’s call and that the twins were not in the house. “They are gone, Killian. I don’t know how far they could have gotten or where they might be.”
His hand went on my shoulder, comfortingly firm as he reassured me, “Don’t worry, we will find them. I promise you that.”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “There is one more thing…” I trailed, my eyes going to the view outside the glass walls of my room as I made a decision.
His eyes met mine, and I hesitated before speaking. “Killian… Dominic is here at the Summit and I can’t… He can’t know about
the twins.”
Killian froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “Why? Has the twins’ father attended the Summit?”
“Just… he can’t know about them. I do not want him to find out about them.”
Killian nodded slowly despite her questioning gaze. “Alright. We will keep it that way. Regardless of the father, I would help you find the twins.”
I nodded. I have always been grateful for everything with Killian, he had never failed to be there for me and the twins, treating them as if his own. His loyalty was overwhelming, but it only made the situation more complicated. “Thank you, Killian.”
“Sam,” he held my gaze with pure sincerity in his eyes as he spoke, “I want you to know that I do not care who their father is,” he uttered firmly. “But if you will let me, I am more than willing to be their dad. They deserve someone who is there for them.”
“Killian…”
He shook his head. “I mean it, Sam,”
“Killian, I… I don’t know yet. For now, we should focus on finding them.”
Killian nodded in understanding, squeezing my shoulder, “You are right. Let’s start with alerting the staff if ever the twins found their way here.”
We scoured the hotel, questioning staff members and checking every hallway and corner and my panic grew with every passing minute. The twins were smart, but they were still just kids. Anything could happen Killian had also alerted his men to investigate, following the twins’ trail from the house, to where they could have been if they had not reached the hotel
Killian stayed close to me, reassuring me as he received updates and kept tabs on his men’s progress in tracing their twins’ route. “We will find them, Sam. They are strong, and smart, just like their mom. They will be fine.”
His words were meant to comfort me, but they only reminded me how much I had failed them. I should have been there. I should not have left them alone for too long
The front desk called our attention again after asking their other associates if they had seen two kids that entered the hotel, and the receptionist confirmed that two children matching their description had been seen earlier in the lobby, but they had gone quickly afterward. My heart leaped and sank at the same time.
I closed my eyes, trying to feel their presence if they were around. “They are here,” I whispered, I felt it, the pull of their presence, but it was faint, too weak to reach them.
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Chapter 16
+15 BONUS
“But I can’t reach them, Killian We need to find them before comething happene,” reald. I was seared that there might be rogues around the hostel just like last time, short my with one mire thing feared, seas for them to be found out by
Dominic
Killian nodded, his hand resting lightly on my back as he agreed, “Then let’s go find them quick”
Chapter 20
+15 BONUS
Chapter 20
Dominic’s POV
“They are gone,” Mr. Bennett said with frustration clearly visible on his face as he stood in front of me.
“What the hell do you mean, gone?” I asked making both him and Ethan turn to me. They had been talking about two kids they had picked up on the road and brought here to the hotel for the Summit
“We found them near the western border,” Ethan interjected with a defensive tone. “Two kids, twins. They looked scared and hungry, so we brought them back here to figure out who they belonged to.
“And?” I prompted, already feeling my patience thinning.
“They slipped away,” Mr. Bennett admitted, his jaw tightening. “Smart little ones, too. Gave us the slip before we could get any
answers
I folded my arms, my irritation simmering just below the surface because they had brought their kids which means they were our responsibility, and these were my men, members of my pack. I would not want any rumors about our pack members picking kids from the road and having them disappear. That would surely taint my name and my pack’s reputation. Worst, we are in a conference with other packs. What if they heard about this incident?
“You’re telling me two kids managed to outwit two grown men? People would talk if they found out about how reckless we are, or worse, they might spin a story that we made two kids disappear. Imagine how this incident would affect the pack.”
“Then we just have to find them,” Mr. Bennett replied nonchalantly.
Then Ethan interjected, frowning and his eyes were looking at nothing in the distance as if thinking too deeply, reminiscing of something he had yet let out.
“They are not ordinary kids,” Ethan muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “You should have seen their eyes, Dominic. They
looked…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“Looked like what?” I snapped.
“Familiar,” he said finally, meeting my gaze. “You will understand if you see them.”
My chest tightened at his words, though I did not fully understand why. “Then go find them,” I ordered,
Ethan nodded quickly, but I did not give them a chance to leave when I caught a faint scent in the air, so similar to Samantha’s, but more subtle I turned toward the opened door and my wolf stirred restlessly just the thought of her.
“‘ handie this,” uttered to them as I left.
3 da not take long to find them. As I rounded a corner, I found the two small figures, 4 boy and a girl, standing close together and whingering
“Well, who are you two little guys?” I tried, gaining their attentive
The boy turned, and for a moment, hu wan the rye lashed wote wend then recognition hit me like a punch to the gut, they looked like they were hamantha’s eyes, staring back to a child’s lace
The girl fruse a few steps away, her wide eyes darting oven her eyes, her chin was lifted with tiduras that as a pang and innocent, those eyes similar to her twin
and bet twin brother. Despite the hesitance and wartness in ghwy chest the reminded me of Samantha, fierce, yet…. pure
The girl spoke with her small voice tugh paced us “Who are you?” she asked curiously but gaarded, clearly wary of my presence.
