The familiar scent of damp earth and blooming petunias filled the air as Amber tended her garden, a small, peaceful rebellion against the chaos of her life. Five-year-old Elias, a whirlwind of golden hair and bright blue eyes, laughed as he chased a butterfly, his joy a sharp, beautiful contrast to the quiet worry that often settled in her chest.

He was growing so fast, his limbs stretching, his laughter ringing clear. And with every passing day, the resemblance grew more undeniable – not to Brian, the man who called himself his father, but to another, older ghost. A ghost with eyes just as blue, and hair that caught the sunlight in the same impossible gold.

"Mama, look!" Elias chirped, holding up a wilting dandelion. Amber smiled, a practiced mask. She knelt, brushing a stray curl from his forehead, and in that moment, the delicate balance of her world felt as fragile as the flower in his hand. The Cold Lake Pack was safe, Alpha Drake was fair, and Brian, for all his flaws, provided a necessary shield. But a whisper from the past, a name she hadn't dared to speak in years, was about to shatter her carefully constructed peace.