Page 63 of Wolf's Redemption

The TV in the living room was on with an extremely loud volume echoing throughout the place. The house smelled of freshly buttered popcorn.

"They haven't noticed we've arrived. They must be really focused," she commented in relief. "Let's surprise them."

We passed the foyer and then walked down a small corridor that connected the kitchen to the living room and, finally, the bedrooms.

The boy with short hair the same color as mine was with his back to us, sitting next to a young red hair woman holding a bowl full of popcorn. They were both immersed in watching a superhero movie and had not yet noticed our presence.

Cathy tiptoed over and covered Elliot's eyes with her hands, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Guess who it is," she told him facetiously.

The red-haired lady with freckles and blue eyes paused the movie and smiled with a distracted look.

"Mommy!" cried Elliot turning to her and hugging her tightly. "I missed you so much."

"Hello, Mrs. North," the lady greeted her. "Elliot has been asking me all day about you. I'm glad you're home," she finished with a kind smile.

"I can imagine Nani," Cathy replied. "How did my little angel behave?"

The nanny had noticed my presence but was immediately focused on her conversation with Cathy. On the other hand, Elliot was still hugging his mother and hadn't seen me.

"Elliot behaved very well, as usual. Today his teacher told me he got A+ on a surprise reading test. She spoke very highly of him."

I smiled helplessly by reason, and I felt at home, surrounded by everything I really needed. Somehow, I knew this was the right place.

"Thank you for taking care of my little boy," Cathy carried Elliot, leaving him facing me.

Elliot furrowed his brow and looked at me curiously and hid behind his mother, and whispered something in her ear.

Cathy smiled and gave him a kiss, and set him down. "Go introduce yourself," she asked him.

Elliot walked to me with his eyes fixed on me, clutching his little arms behind his back and giving little stretches with his knees. "I'm Elliot North, and I'm five years old, almost six," he told me in a tender voice.

"Well, Hi, Elliot. I'm Eric Night. It's nice to finally meet you," I said, approaching him slowly as Cathy encouraged me making a sign with her hands. "And I... I'm your father."

Elliot's eyes widened like saucers, and he looked at his mom. Cathy nodded at him, and the redhead next to my destined mate had the same shocked expression as the boy.

"So, you're my dad?" he asked again.

I nodded, and he ran into my arms. I welcomed him, putting my arms around him. Once I held him, he squeezed me very tightly with his little arms. "I'm happy to meet you. I thought you would never come," he sobbed and clung to me tighter.

"I'll go take Nani to the door," Cathy said, looking at us with a look laden with tenderness. "Say goodbye to Nani, baby."

I approached the woman without letting go of my son. "Bye-bye, Nani, I had a lot of fun," he told her. "Come back to play with me, please!"

"Goodbye, little one." She ruffled his hair and smiled at him, "It was a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Thank you for taking care of my son," I said and bowed my head a little.

Cathy left the living room with the nanny and left me with Elliot, who, as soon as I put him on the floor, ran clutching my hand over to a corner where he kept his toys and started pulling them out one by one.

"This is a Power Ranger. It's one of my favorites." Elliot handed me a blue ranger action figure as he pulled out more toys. "I always wanted a dad to play with," he said with excitement.

I looked at him so excited and happy, but at the same time, my heart was beating slow from the guilt I carried for missing so many years of his life and so many special moments.

"Do you want to play something?" I asked him.

"Yes!" he said, running over to the TV plugging in his console, and sat down in the middle of the couch with two controllers in his hands. "My mom is really bad at video games; I always beat her," Elliot says proudly.

Cathy was walking into the living room. She heard him and couldn't contain her laughter. I sat on my son's right, and Cathy sat on the other side.