"Mommy, when is Mr. Presgrave coming to eat with us again? I miss him so much!" Jared refused to sleep, his small body still sitting upright in bed, eyes glowing with stubborn longing.
I sat beside him, watching the way his expression softened every time he spoke Elliot's name. That kind of attachment worried me more than I wanted to admit. In a world ruled by pack instincts and unstable bonds, affection was never something I could treat lightly. Especially not for someone like Elliot, whose presence carried Alpha-level dominance that lingered long after he left.
"Jared," I said gently, brushing his hair back, "you can miss him… but try to miss him quietly in your heart, alright?"
He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked at me with those clear, unfiltered eyes that always made me feel like he could see through every hesitation in me. "Mommy, do you miss him?" he asked.
The question struck too honestly for me to evade. So I nodded once. "Yes… I miss him too."
