Chapter3

Four years went by. By Caleb's fourth birthday, no one could miss the difference between the boys. He was bigger and stronger than other children his age. His cuts closed in hours, and a gold ring showed around his pupils whenever he got worked up. The pack Healer said his Alpha blood was unusually strong.

"He might shift young," the Healer told me. "He could take over your father's pack someday."

Vanessa overheard. Her eyes brightened. She knelt before Caleb and held his hands, already imagining that future was hers.

"I knew it! He's four, and you can already see the Alpha in him."

Then she looked at Scraps, standing behind her. He was pale and skinny, with old bruises fading on his wrists. His eyes had never changed; his claws had never come out. She hadn't seen a sign of his wolf. As far as she was concerned, her plan was working. She withheld food and water, and when he upset her, she locked him up. At times she'd shouted loudly enough for me to hear from the hallway, as if she wanted me to know exactly how she treated the boy she thought was mine. Now her voice went hard again.

"Some pups are born to lead. Some never amount to anything."

Scraps stared at the floor. A tear ran down his cheek. Vanessa missed it. I knelt and wiped it away.

"You aren't useless."

His eyes were red when he looked at me. "Then why can't I do what Caleb does?"

"You don't have to be like Caleb. You deserve kindness no matter what."

Vanessa yanked him back. "He's my child, Mara. I know what's best for him."

Yes, he was hers. If only she knew.

For years I'd tried to intervene. Whenever I reported his injuries, Nathan changed the medical records at the hospital; Vanessa said she was trying to help a weak pup awaken. Once, I found Scraps locked in a dark closet and went to get him out. Vanessa stood in the doorway.

"You have a son of your own. Leave mine alone."

Nathan dragged me back. "Vanessa's his mother, Mara. You can't take him."

Nathan thought Scraps was my son. He saw what she did, yet kept covering for her because he thought she was weakening the heir they'd stolen. I collected what evidence I could. But Nathan covered their tracks so well that I never had enough to bring them down.

Then Vanessa took it too far.

One evening, Caleb and I came back from my father's place and heard a child scream across the hall. I told Caleb to stay inside and ran into Vanessa's apartment. Scraps lay motionless on the kitchen floor beside a broken chair. His temple was bleeding, an arm bent under him, and he barely seemed to breathe. Vanessa stood over him with a wooden training staff in her hand.

"What happened to him?"

"He couldn't even make his claws come out. I was helping his wolf awaken. I hardly hit him."

I scooped him up. His eyes opened a little.

"Mrs. Hayes..."

"I'm here."

"Please don't let her hit me anymore."

I held him close and got to my feet. Vanessa stepped in front of the door.

"Put him down. He's mine."

"He needs a doctor."

"He's my son!"

"Then tell the police why he's bleeding."

I took him outside and called an ambulance and the police. He'd slipped unconscious again by the time we got to the hospital. Nathan arrived and went straight to Vanessa.

"What happened?"

"He fell while we were training," she said.

Nathan saw the police and wheeled on me. "Why call them before talking to us?"

"He's almost dead, and your problem is that I called the police?"

"Don't make it sound worse than it is. Vanessa wouldn't hurt her own child on purpose."

A Healer came out before I could reply. "Multiple fractures, a serious concussion, and internal bleeding. A fall in training doesn't account for this."

Vanessa shook her head. "He's always been frail. Anything can hurt him."

"We checked his wolf bloodline to guide his treatment," the Healer said. "He's an ordinary wolf. It's normal for his wolf to be quiet at four. You can't expect him to show the same traits as Mrs. Hayes's pure-blood son."

"No," Vanessa said. "That can't be right."

"There is nothing wrong with him. He doesn't have pure-blood Alpha lineage."

"But he's Mara's son!" she cried. "I switched the babies myself!"

The corridor fell silent. Nathan turned to her.

"What did you say?"

He knew about the switch. What shocked him was that she'd admitted it in front of the Healers, the police, and everyone in the hall. Vanessa went still. Then she saw me and lost what little color she had left.

"You switched them four years ago," I said, meeting her eyes. "I switched them back that night."

Vanessa spun toward the boy lying unconscious beyond the glass.