But I knew I could trust my father now. I was certain he wouldn’t turn my Mate or son over to the Elders. It was the right time to tell him about Summer and Grayson.

Once the words came pouring out of my mouth, I couldn’t stop.

“Summer is here, Dad. She’s staying in this house. She isn’t sick. She never was. Grayson is here, too,” I said when I finished telling him the truth about Summer and our son.

My father’s eyes were shining with happiness.

“I have a grandson?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly. “Your mother is going to be so happy.”

“He’s the best kid in the world, Dad. I can’t wait for you and mom to meet him.”

“I’m proud of you, Son.”

We grinned at each other. This moment was one of the few times since I’d begun shifting that it seemed like he was seeing me as his son first and his Alpha inheritor second. I hoped there were many more instances like this to come.

My phone buzzed on my desk, interrupting our moment.

White-hot fear pulsed through me when I saw who was calling.

It was one of the security guards—Simon—who was in charge of protecting the compound.

Please let Summer be all right. Please let her be back in the safety of my home. Please don’t let this be about the love of my life.

Simon began speaking as soon as I answered the phone.

“Sir, the compound has had a security breach.”

My stomach dropped.

“How do you know?” I demanded and shot up from my seat, striding to the door.

“When Finn and Rachel failed to give their hourly report, I went to check on them,” Simon explained as I tore down the stairs. I could hear my father calling my name behind me. “They’re dead. Their throats had been ripped out.”

No!

Finn had a wife and a daughter. Rachel was so young, a star pupil from a training camp located in the Prygate Kingdom.

But I couldn’t let the weight of grief crush me. I needed to find Summer and make sure that she was alright. I needed to secure my compound. Axel had to be behind this. Instead of attacking WaterLock, he had attacked the compound.

I could have the army assembled here in an hour. I had transportation for hundreds on standby.

Axel might have an army of Rogues behind him, but I had an army, too.

“Did our cameras catch who killed them?” I asked my guard.

“No, they were lured to a blind spot by a loud noise, and that’s all our cameras caught,” Simon answered.

“Sweep the entire compound for intruders. We are on lockdown,” I said.

“Yes, sir,” Simon said and hung up.

I raced into the kitchen, my eyes wildly searching for Summer.

She wasn’t here.

In the back of my mind, I registered Grayson on one of the barstools with a worried expression on his face and Summer's mom wiping down the kitchen counter. But it was hard to focus on anything except for the fact that there were two dead guards and Summer wasn’t here.

I made eye contact with Summer’s mom.