- 12 hours ago
Wolfborn Legacy
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:14My name is Paige. Six years ago, I lost my parents. Six years later, my whole world had
00:00:21become my son, Jackson. And today, that world was being crushed all over again.
00:00:29I'm sorry, Paige. Jackson hurt another child. The school can't keep him any longer.
00:00:35He's only six. It was an accident.
00:00:38No parent wanted their child around him anymore.
00:00:40Nobody cared about the truth. They wanted a normal child. And my son had never fit inside
00:00:46their idea of normal.
00:00:50Mommy, did I mess up again?
00:00:52He asked it so carefully, like he was already used to the whole world blaming him.
00:00:56No, baby. This wasn't your fault. But the second I got home, reality hit me again.
00:01:04He got kicked out of school? What a shock.
00:01:11Greg, can you not-
00:01:12I told you. He's turning out just like his real father.
00:01:16Greg, my husband. He had gone cold on me a long time ago, and he'd never had any real
00:01:21patience for Jackson. He slammed the door and walked out, like none of the uglyness in
00:01:27this house belonged to him. But I found out very quickly, that this still wasn't the worst
00:01:32part of my day. Because that night, I found the phone he'd left behind in the bathroom.
00:01:38The screen lit up. A woman had texted him.
00:01:41I love you.
00:01:42I thought maybe I could still hold myself together. Life was already bad enough. I didn't have
00:01:47time to fall apart over a man, too. But the second I read those messages, I stopped wanting
00:01:52to endure anything. I miss you. Have you told her yet? Thanks for today.
00:01:57While I was drowning trying to protect my son, my husband was out there loving someone else.
00:02:11The next morning, I know what you've been doing, Greg.
00:02:15Oh? And what exactly do you know?
00:02:18You cheated on me.
00:02:21She meant nothing. You've just never really been a wife to me.
00:02:25He didn't even bother making an excuse. Like he wasn't the one betraying me. Like somehow
00:02:30I'd failed him.
00:02:31What do you mean?
00:02:33You've always been hung up on Ryder. You never got over him.
00:02:40Ryder. The man I loved the hardest and lost the hardest.
00:02:47You're right. I was never going to become what you wanted. And neither was my son.
00:02:55I want a divorce.
00:02:58The second the words left my mouth, something in me actually loosened. I went upstairs and
00:03:04started packing. He didn't stop me. He didn't even say sorry.
00:03:11Mommy, where are we going?
00:03:14Somewhere nobody knows us.
00:03:16Is Greg not coming?
00:03:18No. From now on, it was just us.
00:03:23When I said that, I was terrified. But what scared me more was what staying would do to Jackson.
00:03:28Then I called the only one who truly cared about me.
00:03:32Paige, stop hesitating. Start over.
00:03:34Poppy, my younger sister. The only person in the world who still caught me when I fell.
00:03:39But before I left for good, there was one last thing I needed to do.
00:03:42I needed to visit someone who had disappeared from my life years ago.
00:03:48Before I left town, I went to two places.
00:03:53The first was my parents' grave.
00:03:58The second was Ryder's house.
00:04:06Mommy, who used to live here?
00:04:08Your dad. Ryder. The boy I fell in love with at 18.
00:04:13The same boy who vanished after one night with me.
00:04:15I should have hated him completely by then.
00:04:18But standing there, I realized some wounds didn't disappear just because I named them hate.
00:04:25Do you think he's still in there?
00:04:31No, baby.
00:04:32I bought a black rose.
00:04:34Because it meant an ending.
00:04:36What does a black flower mean?
00:04:39Strength. Hope.
00:04:41And goodbye.
00:04:42I placed the flower on the doorstep.
00:04:46Like I was finally putting a full stop to that dead love story.
00:04:50Come on, Jax.
00:04:51A few hours later, we finally reached our new home.
00:04:55A small town called Cinderwood.
00:04:57The house wasn't big, but it felt warm.
00:05:00Behind it stretched a whole line of woods.
00:05:03Mommy, I like it here.
00:05:05Me too.
00:05:06I really thought this might be a new beginning.
00:05:09The past, the old house, Ryder, I told myself I had left all of it behind me.
00:05:14Until that night, when I stood by the window and saw something move in the tree.
00:05:20It was big, fast, definitely not human.
00:05:24Then a wolf's howl tore through the night.
00:05:26I didn't know yet that what lurked in the woods wasn't just an animal.
00:05:31Our first full day in Cinderwood should have been about unpacking and settling in.
00:05:35Mommy, are people here really not gonna hate me?
00:05:37He asked it quietly, but I knew it wasn't a casual question.
00:05:41It was a child who had been rejected too many times trying to find out whether he was still allowed
00:05:45to be loved.
00:05:46No one's going to hate you.
00:05:48This place is going to be different.
00:05:51That was what I told him.
00:05:52It was also what I was desperate to believe.
00:06:04Do you like the house?
00:06:06I do.
00:06:07It's just the woods behind it.
00:06:10They feel strange.
00:06:12Those woods run deep.
00:06:14Don't go near them at night.
00:06:16We won't.
00:06:19After the call, I went out back to bring in the drying rack.
00:06:23In the damp soil, I saw several deep marks.
00:06:27They didn't look human.
00:06:29Mommy, what are you looking at?
00:06:32Nothing.
00:06:33Inside.
00:06:34I didn't want to scare him.
00:06:36But in that moment, I knew last night's howl hadn't been my imagination.
00:06:41Because that night, whatever was in the woods came back.
00:06:48Cinderwood was even quieter at night than it was during the day.
00:06:52So quiet.
00:06:54It felt like every sound was waiting for something.
00:07:02Mommy, can I leave the nightlight on?
00:07:07Of course.
00:07:09After I got Jackson to sleep, I went back to the window.
00:07:15The shape was there again.
00:07:17Closer than it had been the night before.
00:07:20What are you?
00:07:22It stopped at the edge of the trees and went completely still.
00:07:27Like it was making sure we were still there.
00:07:32In that moment, I wasn't just scared.
00:07:36I felt marked by something.
00:07:42Mommy?
00:07:43It's okay, baby.
00:07:45Just the wind.
00:07:48That was what I said.
00:07:50But I knew whatever was out there was not the wind.
00:07:53The next day, I finally saw another face of whatever had been watching us.
00:08:04The next day, I took Jackson to the park, hoping he'd forget the howl.
00:08:11He hung from the monkey bars, straining for the third bar.
00:08:15I'm gonna make it to the third bar this time.
00:08:18Slow down, baby.
00:08:19Don't rush.
00:08:28I was about to pull him into my arms when a deep voice came from behind me.
00:08:38Calm it, pup.
00:08:40Jackson actually went still.
00:08:42Not frightened into silence.
00:08:44More like settled by something that somehow felt familiar to him.
00:08:48I turned and saw a face that froze my blood.
00:08:59But the man looked at me like he had never seen me before.
00:09:04He had Ryder's exact face.
00:09:07But he said he wasn't Ryder.
00:09:10Sorry.
00:09:11You've got the wrong guy.
00:09:13I'm Callan.
00:09:14Callan Harris.
00:09:15Callan, a stranger.
00:09:17But Jackson reacted like he'd found someone he already knew.
00:09:23Will you come play again?
00:09:26Sure.
00:09:28As long as you stop declaring war on the monkey bus.
00:09:32Jackson laughed and threw his arms around Callan.
00:09:36Jax!
00:09:37We do not hug strangers!
00:09:39It's okay.
00:09:41I don't mind.
00:09:42I minded.
00:09:43Especially with that face.
00:09:46Stranger still, the way Callan looked at Jackson wasn't the way adults usually looked at children.
00:09:52It looked like surprise.
00:09:53Like recognition.
00:09:55Like a kind of familiarity I didn't understand.
00:09:59You two new in town?
00:10:02Yesterday.
00:10:05Then you're going to need friends.
00:10:08I didn't know why.
00:10:10But that didn't feel like a casual line.
00:10:19I went home and couldn't get Callan's face out of my head.
00:10:23Meanwhile, Callan had already gone back to the pack.
00:10:34A human woman moved into town.
00:10:36Her son isn't normal.
00:10:39He is one of us.
00:10:47Callan, Ryder's long-lost twin brother.
00:10:56And clearly, he understood something about Jackson a lot faster than I did.
00:11:04Who's the father?
00:11:08Don't know.
00:11:10The kid said his father was missing.
00:11:19Ryder's expression changed instantly.
00:11:24I'll kill the bastard who abandoned a shifter pup.
00:11:27He said it through clenched teeth.
00:11:35He had no idea he was talking about himself.
00:11:40And on my side, I was still wondering whether I should let Callan near my son again.
00:11:46The next day, Callan actually showed up at my door with a ball.
00:11:53Sorry to visit without informing you.
00:11:55I thought Jax might want to play more.
00:11:58You actually came.
00:12:01I said I would.
00:12:02The second Jackson saw him, his whole face lit up.
00:12:05Callan!
00:12:06He ran too fast, nearly fell, and Callan caught him.
00:12:13Easy there, buddy.
00:12:16I stood in the doorway and watched them kick the ball around in the yard.
00:12:20The whole thing felt so wrong it made my chest ache.
00:12:22If Ryder had never disappeared, my son should have been smiling like this all along.
00:12:27And somehow the man standing there wasn't Ryder, but someone wearing his face.
00:12:33I suddenly decided that night I was going to ask Callan about his family.
00:12:37That night, I still let Callan stay for dinner.
00:12:40Callan likes lasagna too.
00:12:46Because this stuff is already perfect.
00:12:48He was too natural.
00:12:49So natural it felt like he was supposed to be sitting at my table.
00:12:52That feeling unnerved me.
00:12:54It had been too long since I'd seen a man step so easily into my and Jashen's lives.
00:12:58Does your family live around here too?
00:13:02Not really.
00:13:03I grew up in foster care.
00:13:06Then do you have family now?
00:13:08Yeah.
00:13:09I recently found out I had a twin brother.
00:13:16The plate in my hand nearly slipped.
00:13:20A twin?
00:13:22Yeah.
00:13:23He lives just outside this town.
00:13:25In that moment, I could almost hear my heart split open.
00:13:28Because I finally knew Ryder wasn't just alive.
00:13:30He was here.
00:13:32That night, I didn't sleep at all.
00:13:34Anger, hurt, and bitterness kept crashing over me.
00:13:38Ryder wasn't dead.
00:13:39He was alive.
00:13:40And I had raised our son alone.
00:13:43I had thought the worst thing was that we were separated by life and death.
00:13:47But now I realized something even cooler.
00:13:50He'd been alive in this world all along, while my son and I had lived six years without him.
00:13:57Mommy, why are you still awake?
00:14:01I'm thinking...
00:14:02I'm thinking...
00:14:02Is it because of Callan?
00:14:08Maybe.
00:14:10Jackson rolled over and fell back asleep, but I stared at the ceiling with one name in my head.
00:14:19Ryder.
00:14:20The next morning, I finally called the number Callan had given me.
00:14:25Well, didn't expect you would call me so soon.
00:14:27I want to see you.
00:14:29Now.
00:14:30Because this time, I was going to ask where Ryder had been all these years.
00:14:38I was on my way to meet Callan.
00:14:40But on the other side, Callan had already started suspecting who Jackson really was.
00:14:45Six years old.
00:14:46Blue eyes.
00:14:50Missing father.
00:14:52Don't tell me that sounds familiar.
00:14:54The man standing in front of him was Ryder.
00:14:59What exactly are you saying?
00:15:01I'm saying the kid might be yours.
00:15:04Ryder looked like he'd been struck by lightning.
00:15:11No.
00:15:13The woman's name is Paige.
00:15:15The second he heard Paige's name, everything in Ryder's face changed.
00:15:19He started remembering that night, six years earlier.
00:15:22Clearly, that night hadn't been something he could forget, either.
00:15:27And I had no idea the man on the other end was already falling apart.
00:15:40Six years earlier, Ryder disappeared the morning after we slept together.
00:15:44Only then did I learn that night had been a disaster for him, too.
00:15:48On the night of Ryder's 18th birthday, he shifted for the first time.
00:15:56I thought I was dying.
00:15:58The dying skin and teeth have all started rebuilding themselves.
00:16:13I can't go go back to her.
00:16:15What if I hurt her?
00:16:17So he ran.
00:16:19Not because he didn't want to stay, but because he was afraid.
00:16:25Later, Ron brought him into the pack.
00:16:28The abandonment I had hated for years turned out on his side to have been another kind of survival.
00:16:34Paige...
00:16:35was pregnant then?
00:16:36In that moment, the pain on his face felt more real than anything I had imagined.
00:16:45And at that exact moment, I had already spotted a familiar back in town.
00:16:50The second I saw that back across the street, I knew it was him.
00:16:55Ryder!
00:16:55The moment he turned around, my heart almost stopped.
00:17:00Ryder still had the same face.
00:17:01Just leaner, darker, more haunted.
00:17:05And then, the next second, he dropped to his knees.
00:17:10Breathe, Ry. Just breathe.
00:17:14Paige.
00:17:17You're... alive.
00:17:21I'm sorry. You have no idea.
00:17:24I had hated him for six years.
00:17:26And still, seeing him like that made me go weak.
00:17:31That was the cruel thing about love.
00:17:33But then I heard one strange word slip from his lips.
00:17:40Mate.
00:17:44I didn't understand that word.
00:17:46But I understood the look of someone losing control.
00:17:51Do you need an ambulance?
00:17:52No, he's just not feeling well.
00:17:54I didn't believe that for a second.
00:17:56And Ryder didn't look unwell in any normal sense of the word.
00:18:01We need to get him out of here.
00:18:05What the hell is happening to him?
00:18:07Paige, come with us first. I'll explain.
00:18:13What is this? Is he high?
00:18:17Not the way you mean.
00:18:19That answer finally set me off.
00:18:21Really?
00:18:23Seven years ago, he slept with me and left me alone in that tent.
00:18:30After that, my life fell apart.
00:18:33I raised my son alone.
00:18:37So stay away from me and my son.
00:18:39I said it and walked away.
00:18:41But Ryder looked at me like I had sentenced him myself.
00:18:45I thought saying the cruelest thing possible would end it.
00:18:48I was very quickly proven wrong.
00:18:50The next day, I took Jackson into town.
00:18:52And Ryder was there again, standing right in front of me.
00:19:05Paige, I didn't leave you on purpose.
00:19:07Enough.
00:19:08I don't want excuses.
00:19:10Then Jackson peeked out from behind me.
00:19:13Mommy, who is that?
00:19:15Ryder went completely still.
00:19:17It was the first time he had seen his son from that close.
00:19:20It was also the first time he truly had to face what he had lost.
00:19:27Why do you keep looking at me?
00:19:33Because...
00:19:35You look like someone I know.
00:19:37And then the thing I feared most finally happened.
00:19:40Do you know my dad?
00:19:42In that second, the air seemed to freeze.
00:19:45I...
00:19:46He couldn't get a full sentence out.
00:19:48Jax, come here.
00:19:52But mommy...
00:19:53But mommy...
00:19:56Now.
00:19:58I pulled Jackson behind me.
00:20:01Don't you go near him.
00:20:04Paige, I'd never hurt him.
00:20:07You already did.
00:20:10You hurt both of us.
00:20:12I took Jackson and walked away.
00:20:14But when I glanced back, Ryder was still standing there.
00:20:17He watched us walk away like a father who had lost everything.
00:20:20But I couldn't afford to soften.
00:20:22Because if I did, the one who could get hurt again wouldn't just be me.
00:20:26But Callan didn't give up.
00:20:28He decided to try another way in.
00:20:36Callan was smarter than Ryder.
00:20:38He knew pushing too hard would only make me take Jackson and run.
00:20:43Don't push her.
00:20:45Then what am I supposed to do?
00:20:48Make her trust us.
00:20:52Protect Jax first.
00:20:55Meanwhile, Jackson started having the same dream over and over.
00:21:07Jackson.
00:21:08Mommy, I dreamed about the woods again.
00:21:12What kind of woods?
00:21:14Wolves.
00:21:15Lots of wolves.
00:21:17But I'm not scared.
00:21:21I told him to go back to sleep.
00:21:24But my heart kept sinking lower.
00:21:28Because I was starting to feel that whatever was wrong with Jackson was not the kind of problem the school
00:21:33thought it was.
00:21:36Because I was starting to feel there was some strange connection between Jackson and this town.
00:21:51The next day, I took Jackson to the school.
00:21:55Regina, the head teacher there, welcomed us instead of interrogating us.
00:22:01Please, call me Regina.
00:22:04You're not worried about my son's history?
00:22:10I care more about the kind of person he can become.
00:22:14Jackson made friends with a few children almost immediately.
00:22:19That's fast.
00:22:22He'll like it here.
00:22:23I watched those children and something felt off.
00:22:26They were too quiet.
00:22:28Too alert.
00:22:30Too much like they were scenting one another.
00:22:33But for the first time, Jackson wasn't being pushed out.
00:22:42And that made me feel relieved.
00:22:45And even more uneasy.
00:22:47And that same night, I saw that giant shape in the woods again.
00:22:57I was starting to get scared.
00:23:00Not of wolves.
00:23:02Of the possibility that my son was one of them.
00:23:06On the other side, Callan, Ryder, Remy, and Parker were having a meeting.
00:23:11Remy, the sharpest one.
00:23:13Parker, the calmest.
00:23:16Jax is getting close to his first real loss of control.
00:23:22If Paige stays in the dark, this gets worse.
00:23:27Then we tell her.
00:23:28You think a human's going to believe any of this?
00:23:31So it wasn't just me who was afraid.
00:23:34They knew something was happening to Jackson, too.
00:23:37And they clearly understood its meaning better than I did.
00:23:42And as I stood at my window, I saw that giant shape move through the woods again.
00:23:50What the hell is that?
00:23:57Because next, I finally decided to ask Ryder one question.
00:24:02What exactly were they?
00:24:05In the end, I still went to Ryder.
00:24:09Not because I believed him.
00:24:10But because what was happening to Jackson
00:24:13had already pushed me past the point where pretending was possible.
00:24:20What exactly are you?
00:24:24I can't explain all of it at once.
00:24:29Then tell me the part that matters most.
00:24:32Ryder looked at me like he was weighing everything.
00:24:36Whether to keep lying to me or drag me fully into another world.
00:24:42Callan, Remy, Parker, and I weren't normal.
00:24:48That's not the answer I expected.
00:24:52Neither was Jax.
00:24:57In that moment, everything inside me went cold.
00:25:01I could accept being dragged into something strange.
00:25:05But I couldn't accept anyone defining my son like that.
00:25:10Are you seriously humiliating my son like that?
00:25:14I'm not.
00:25:15I didn't believe him.
00:25:18Stay away from us.
00:25:23But that night...
00:25:25Jackson cracked the wooden cabinet with one punch.
00:25:33I kept telling myself Ryder was lying.
00:25:37Until Jackson lost control right in front of me.
00:25:44He just got frustrated because a toy jammed.
00:25:48But the next second, the cabinet door split clean down the middle.
00:25:55Jax, don't move.
00:25:56Stand right there.
00:26:02Mommy, is something wrong with me?
00:26:04That question nearly tore my heart open.
00:26:08Jackson was never most afraid of pain.
00:26:13What he feared most was being different from everyone else.
00:26:19This wasn't your fault.
00:26:23But even as I said it, my hands were shaking.
00:26:29Mommy?
00:26:31Are you scared of me?
00:26:35I'm scared of anyone hurting you.
00:26:37And for the first time, I thought back to what Ryder had said.
00:26:42Neither was Jax.
00:26:50The next day, I didn't go to Ryder.
00:27:00I went to the one man who looked least likely to lie to me.
00:27:04Parker.
00:27:08If there was one man in that path who could make me stay calm,
00:27:12it was Parker.
00:27:14Tell me the truth.
00:27:16Do you want all of it?
00:27:18Or the part you need most right now?
00:27:23What's happening to my son?
00:27:25Without a pack to guide him,
00:27:28he'll become more dangerous.
00:27:30What exactly do you mean by pack?
00:27:33We're werewolves.
00:27:34It was the most absurd answer possible.
00:27:37But Parker said it as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.
00:27:40You're insane.
00:27:41I wish we were.
00:27:43But everything happening to Jax is already telling you the truth.
00:27:46I opened my mouth and realized
00:27:48I didn't have a real argument left.
00:27:50Because the scariest thing was
00:27:52never not understanding.
00:27:53It was the fact that I had already started
00:27:55connecting all the strange pieces myself.
00:27:57Because I remembered the first thing Callan had said to Jaxon.
00:28:01Comet pup.
00:28:04I thought werewolves belonged in fairy tales and horror movies.
00:28:07But now every strange thing was locking into place on its own.
00:28:12Jaxon's strength.
00:28:13Jaxon's dreams.
00:28:15And the way he bonded with Callan and Regina instantly.
00:28:19So that day, you weren't just calming him down by chance.
00:28:24You knew what he was the first time you met him?
00:28:29We could scent it.
00:28:31That sentence sent a chill across my skin.
00:28:35Ryder knew too?
00:28:39More painfully than anyone.
00:28:41Later, Ryder came to find me.
00:28:46It wasn't that I didn't want to come back.
00:28:49I was afraid I'd bring danger to you.
00:28:51I looked at him.
00:28:52And for the first time, I didn't argue.
00:28:55Because this time, I wasn't just angry anymore.
00:28:58I was starting to fear that the danger he talked about was real.
00:29:01But then I asked the cruelest question of all.
00:29:12Then why did you never come looking for us?
00:29:16If the werewolf part was the truth, this question was the wound.
00:29:21If you were alive, why didn't you ever come back for me?
00:29:32Because I didn't know.
00:29:34Didn't know what?
00:29:39I didn't know you were pregnant.
00:29:45His voice was wrecked when he said it.
00:29:49If I'd known, I would have come back.
00:29:54No question.
00:29:56But you still left.
00:29:59I know.
00:30:01There was no defense, no excuse.
00:30:03Just pain that had arrived six years too late.
00:30:06I should have kept hating him.
00:30:07But somehow, those three words I didn't know hurt more than any excuse would have.
00:30:16I don't know if I can believe you.
00:30:19Then don't.
00:30:26Just let me prove it.
00:30:33And the first person to weaken me wasn't Ryder.
00:30:40It was Jackson.
00:30:42Ever since meeting Ryder, Jackson had started bringing him up all the time.
00:30:46Mommy, is Ryder coming today?
00:30:56Why do you keep asking about him?
00:30:59I don't know.
00:31:01But whenever I see him, my chest feels warm.
00:31:05That line nearly broke me.
00:31:08That line nearly broke me.
00:31:09Jackson didn't understand bloodlines.
00:31:11But sometimes, children instinctively gravitated toward their family members.
00:31:22Maybe because you like him.
00:31:25Then, I like Callan too.
00:31:29Yeah, I noticed that.
00:31:30I tried to smile.
00:31:32But something heavy settled deeper inside me.
00:31:35Because children didn't lie about feelings like that.
00:31:43That night, Ryder finally asked.
00:31:47He wanted one chance to be alone with Jackson.
00:31:57I hesitated for a long time.
00:31:59But in the end, I said yes.
00:32:02One hour.
00:32:04That's enough.
00:32:05Ryder spent the hour building blocks.
00:32:07Kicking a ball, and telling stories with Jackson.
00:32:11You kick better than Callan.
00:32:14Don't tell him that.
00:32:16Shh.
00:32:19Okay.
00:32:20Man's secret.
00:32:21I stood in the doorway watching them.
00:32:23My chest tightening over and over.
00:32:26Jackson hadn't been this happy in a long time.
00:32:30One hour passed far too quickly.
00:32:36I should go.
00:32:41Will you come see me again?
00:32:43Ryder's eyes visibly shone.
00:32:48Anytime you want me to.
00:32:51I realized Jackson started to depend on Ryder.
00:32:54And for the first time, I realized I was starting to soften.
00:33:05After Ryder left, Jackson stayed quiet for a long time.
00:33:16What are you thinking about?
00:33:22I miss him already.
00:33:28That sentence hit me right in the chest.
00:33:33I had been scared this whole time.
00:33:35Scared that putting the idea of a father back into my son's life would become another disaster.
00:33:42But right then, what I saw first was Jackson's disappointment.
00:33:53You've been carrying everything alone for too long.
00:33:57At some point, Callan had appeared behind me.
00:34:01Do you ever make noise when you walk?
00:34:04Depends on my mood.
00:34:08I should have been annoyed.
00:34:11But somehow that line almost, almost made me smile.
00:34:17You don't have to forgive anyone yet.
00:34:20But you also don't have to carry all of it by yourself.
00:34:29The dangerous thing about Callan wasn't that he looked like Ryder.
00:34:33It was that he always showed up at the exact moment I was trying hardest not to break.
00:34:39I looked at him and realized for the first time that Ryder wasn't the only one affecting me.
00:34:45I started really looking at the four men around me.
00:34:49Ryder.
00:34:50Guilty and intense.
00:34:52Callan.
00:34:53Warm and fearless.
00:34:56Parker.
00:34:56Steady.
00:34:58Remy.
00:34:59Sharp as a blade.
00:35:00Are the four of you always this...
00:35:03Weird?
00:35:04Depends on your definition of weird.
00:35:08If you mean not letting go of each other...
00:35:10Then yes.
00:35:12They talk too much.
00:35:14I don't.
00:35:19Yeah, I noticed that already.
00:35:25I had thought only Ryder could drag me back into the past.
00:35:32But now, all four of them were pulling me towards some future I had never expected.
00:35:38That scared me.
00:35:40Because I knew that once I stepped into it, there would be no going back to the life I used
00:35:45to have.
00:35:56And now, I finally had to do the hardest thing yet.
00:36:00Tell Jasson the truth.
00:36:07I sat on the edge of Jasson's bed, and felt like I was delivering a sentence.
00:36:11Jass, there's something I need to tell you.
00:36:15Is it about Ryder?
00:36:18Yes.
00:36:20He sat up immediately.
00:36:21He might be the person you've been waiting for.
00:36:25He might be the person you've been waiting for.
00:36:25You mean...
00:36:29I still can't say everything for certain.
00:36:33But I think you deserve to know that he matters to you.
00:36:39Jasson looked at me, and his eyes slowly turned red.
00:36:45Then...
00:36:48Is he going to leave me again?
00:36:50In that moment, I could barely speak.
00:36:53Because that one word again cut too deep.
00:36:55Even Jasson had already learned not to trust the idea of a father too easily.
00:36:59This time, if he tries, I'll kill him.
00:37:06Jasson finally let out a tiny laugh.
00:37:08But next, Ryder had to face more than the word father.
00:37:12He had to learn how to truly get close to his son.
00:37:18Once I'd cracked the truth open, the most nervous person wasn't me.
00:37:22It was Ryder.
00:37:26You look like you're heading into battle.
00:37:31Feels like it.
00:37:32For the first time, he was approaching Jasson in a more honest role.
00:37:39Are you playing with me again today?
00:37:46If you want me to.
00:37:47This time, Ryder didn't rush to explain or claim anything.
00:37:51He just stayed, like he was learning a lesson he had missed for six whole years.
00:38:09Ryder.
00:38:10It wasn't dad.
00:38:11But for Ryder, those two syllables were enough to make his eyes burn.
00:38:15I suddenly understood that some bonds weren't built by a single claim.
00:38:19They were built moment by moment, by showing up.
00:38:23And I started noticing something else.
00:38:29There was something off between Callan and Remy.
00:38:37I used to think Callan and Remy were just close-packed brothers.
00:38:41I didn't think that anymore.
00:38:45Remy always looked like he wanted to bite the world in half.
00:38:49But every time Callan spoke, Remy looked at him first.
00:38:54Are the two of you always this weird?
00:38:59You really like that word lately.
00:39:02Mind your own business.
00:39:05Right.
00:39:06So that's a yes.
00:39:07Remy acted like I annoyed him.
00:39:10But whenever something happened, Remy was always the first one stepping in front of me.
00:39:16I was no longer sure whether he hated me or cared too much.
00:39:21The relationships in this pack were clearly far more complicated than I had first thought.
00:39:26And somehow, the more complicated it got, the harder it became for me to step away.
00:39:39And Jackson was starting to look more and more like he belonged there.
00:39:44Jackson adjusted to school shockingly fast.
00:39:47He was no longer the problem child nobody liked.
00:39:51There, he looked like he'd finally found his own kind.
00:39:59Steady your feet, Jax.
00:40:04Like this?
00:40:06Yeah.
00:40:07Just like that.
00:40:09Callan handled sports for the kids.
00:40:12Every time he watched Jackson,
00:40:15the surprise in his eyes got harder to hide.
00:40:21If he really is Ryder's son,
00:40:24then he's the future of this pack.
00:40:27I didn't fully understand the future they were talking about.
00:40:33But I could hear how heavy it was.
00:40:36This was no longer just my son being a little unusual.
00:40:40The way they looked at him made it clear they saw something in him that could change a great deal.
00:40:48And just when I could finally speak calmly to Ryder,
00:40:52we almost kissed.
00:40:58Some old loves didn't die just because time passes.
00:41:02They just went quiet.
00:41:04Then they woke up again at the worst possible time.
00:41:09You don't look quite as ready to kill me lately.
00:41:12Don't get ahead of yourself.
00:41:16He smiled.
00:41:18Still the same smile that undid me.
00:41:22Paige,
00:41:23I know I don't deserve this.
00:41:26But every day I think about what our life would look like if I hadn't left that night.
00:41:31That line landed too hard.
00:41:34He stepped closer.
00:41:35And I didn't step back.
00:41:37We almost kissed.
00:41:39Then a sharp whistle cut through the moment outside.
00:41:47I knew I should have been grateful for the interruption.
00:41:50But when I stepped away from him,
00:41:52what rose in me wasn't relief.
00:41:55It was disappointment.
00:41:57Something worse had arrived.
00:42:05I couldn't sleep that night,
00:42:06so I got up and went to the window.
00:42:11And I saw something I wasn't supposed to see.
00:42:14Two figures were tangled together in the trees.
00:42:18It was Callan and Remy.
00:42:19Not fighting.
00:42:20Kissing.
00:42:28I just realized the relationships in that path were far more complicated than I thought.
00:42:33I hadn't just walked back into an old love story.
00:42:36I was being pulled,
00:42:36step by step into a world that played by completely different rules.
00:42:41The next day,
00:42:42Callan showed up at my door like nothing had happened.
00:42:47You look like you didn't sleep.
00:42:49Same to you.
00:42:50Because next,
00:42:51I was going to ask him whether the man I had seen the night before was Remy.
00:42:55I wasn't the kind of woman who kept questions to herself.
00:42:59That was you and Remy in the woods last night, wasn't it?
00:43:03Callan went quiet for two seconds.
00:43:09Yeah.
00:43:11Just like that?
00:43:13I wasn't going to lie to you.
00:43:15He stood there in the doorway.
00:43:17Unusually serious.
00:43:19I love him.
00:43:20That line alone was enough to knock the breath out of me.
00:43:23And I love you too.
00:43:29Are you insane?
00:43:31Probably.
00:43:31The calm way he said it left me with nothing to say.
00:43:35Callan never hid.
00:43:36Whoever he loved,
00:43:37whatever he wanted,
00:43:38he put it all right in front of me.
00:43:40And the next thing Parker told me was somehow even more outrageous.
00:43:44I used to think love only worked one way.
00:43:47One person at a time.
00:43:49Parker looked at me like he could see exactly how tangled I was.
00:43:53In our world,
00:43:55relationships don't always look one way.
00:43:58Are you saying
00:44:00I don't necessarily have to choose one?
00:44:03I'm saying you don't need to corner yourself yet.
00:44:06He was always like that.
00:44:07He always hit the deepest nerve.
00:44:11Are all werewolves this annoyingly wise?
00:44:15No.
00:44:16Just me.
00:44:17And somehow,
00:44:18I actually laughed.
00:44:19Parker wasn't fire.
00:44:21He wasn't a blade.
00:44:22He was something slower and steadier than that.
00:44:25Something that never chased you,
00:44:26but still made you lower your guard.
00:44:29But just as I started getting pulled into their world,
00:44:32something outside the pack came for us first.
00:44:35Trouble came faster than any of us had expected.
00:44:39That night,
00:44:40Callan was heading back alone.
00:44:43And he got ambushed on the way.
00:44:48Gotcha.
00:44:49Before he even saw them clearly,
00:44:51he smelled Wolfsbane first.
00:44:57Shit.
00:44:59The second the drug hit,
00:45:01he dropped to his knees.
00:45:08Tell your alpha we know about the boy.
00:45:10The boy.
00:45:11They weren't after Callan.
00:45:13They were after Jackson.
00:45:15And the next second,
00:45:16howls tore through the whole forest.
00:45:23I used to think wolf howls were just background noise in horror movies.
00:45:27Until that night,
00:45:29when they sounded like warhorns.
00:45:36They moved first.
00:45:40Get the enforcers.
00:45:42Move.
00:45:45Ryder,
00:45:46Remy,
00:45:47and Parker were gone in a flash.
00:45:48I sat on the bed holding Jackson.
00:45:50For the first time,
00:45:52I truly understood
00:45:53this wasn't some secret fantasy romance.
00:45:55This was their real war.
00:45:58Mommy,
00:45:59is Callan going to die?
00:46:03No.
00:46:04But the truth was,
00:46:06I wasn't sure at all.
00:46:09Near dawn,
00:46:11they finally brought Callan back.
00:46:13He was alive,
00:46:14but the hunters had left behind one word.
00:46:18Air.
00:46:22And every pair of eyes in the room
00:46:24landed on Jackson.
00:46:27From that day on,
00:46:29Jassen and I were no longer safe.
00:46:35So I moved with him into the pack cabin.
00:46:39Wow!
00:46:42Are we living here now?
00:46:45For now, yes.
00:46:48Awesome!
00:46:50To Jackson,
00:46:51it felt like he had suddenly gained a new home.
00:46:55But for me,
00:46:57it meant there was no going back to ordinary life.
00:47:03Welcome to the wolf, Ned.
00:47:10Don't scare her.
00:47:13Now you're worried about scaring me?
00:47:15I complained,
00:47:15but my heartbeat kept getting harder to ignore.
00:47:18Because once I moved in,
00:47:19I realized I was losing control of how I felt about them.
00:47:22Worse than that,
00:47:23part of me felt relieved.
00:47:24Like I didn't have to carry every secret
00:47:26and every danger by myself anymore.
00:47:29And the first one who completely undid me
00:47:37was a man learning how to become a father.
00:47:42After moving into the pack,
00:47:44I finally got to see how Ryder learned to be a father.
00:47:48Ryder,
00:47:49my button's stuck.
00:47:55Hold still.
00:47:56I've got it.
00:48:01Can you tell me a story tonight?
00:48:08Sure.
00:48:09As long as you don't mind if I'm terrible at it.
00:48:12He had missed six whole years.
00:48:18Now he acted like he wanted to make all of it up at once.
00:48:28Ryder,
00:48:29will you still be here tomorrow?
00:48:39I will.
00:48:45It was a quiet promise,
00:48:48but it still made my chest burn.
00:48:56Because I knew that for Jackson,
00:48:59will you still be here tomorrow?
00:49:00was never a casual question.
00:49:04It was a child who had already been left behind once,
00:49:08trying to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
00:49:21But the one who surprised me next was Remy.
00:49:24Remy still looked permanently ready to bite someone.
00:49:28Don't let the kid step over the trip line.
00:49:32Can you say one thing without sounding like a threat?
00:49:35No.
00:49:37But half an hour later,
00:49:39when Jackson slipped off a stump,
00:49:41Remy was the first one there.
00:49:45Watch your footing.
00:49:47You caught me.
00:49:50Because your cry annoys me.
00:49:52Jackson grinned at him,
00:49:53and Remy was the one who looked away first.
00:49:56Do you like my mommy too?
00:50:01Jax!
00:50:02Because you always stand in front of her first.
00:50:06Remy was practically blushing,
00:50:07but his mouth stayed sharp.
00:50:08Shut it, kid.
00:50:09Remy always sounded like he was pushing people away.
00:50:12But when danger showed up for real,
00:50:14his body always answered first.
00:50:18But the first one to lay his cards on the table wasn't Remy.
00:50:21It was Callan.
00:50:30Callan had never been the kind of man who went in circles.
00:50:35You've been avoiding me.
00:50:40I've been avoiding all of you.
00:50:42Then I'd better make my case first.
00:50:45When he said it,
00:50:46the grin was gone.
00:50:47I love Jax.
00:50:51But I want more than kicking a ball around with him.
00:50:54Callan!
00:50:58And I don't just want to be your friend.
00:51:02This wasn't a joke anymore.
00:51:08Do you even hear yourself right now?
00:51:13Yeah.
00:51:14I'm saying I want you.
00:51:25I didn't push him away.
00:51:28And that was more dangerous than any answer.
00:51:33Because Callan wasn't the kind of man
00:51:35who tested my boundaries slowly.
00:51:37He laid his heart out in the open
00:51:40and forced me to see exactly what inside me
00:51:43was starting to move.
00:51:45But the most dangerous one
00:51:47was never the most direct.
00:51:50It was the one who never pushed me at all.
00:51:55Parker always made me think of shore.
00:51:59Not the hottest fire.
00:52:03The place I could lean on.
00:52:08Are you never in a hurry?
00:52:11Not true.
00:52:14You don't look like it.
00:52:16Because I want you
00:52:17to come to me on your own.
00:52:20That line landed
00:52:22like a soft hit straight to my chest.
00:52:25You four are impossible.
00:52:29I'll take that as a compliment.
00:52:31I looked at him for a few seconds.
00:52:34Then I kissed him first.
00:52:40What?
00:52:41Cat got your tongue?
00:52:42No.
00:52:47I'm just afraid that if I speak
00:52:49I'll scare you off.
00:52:50The dangerous thing about Parker
00:52:52was that he never grabbed.
00:52:53And somehow,
00:52:54that patience made it hardest
00:52:56for me to pretend I felt nothing.
00:52:58But before I could figure out
00:52:59what these men were turning me into,
00:53:01trouble from outside got there first.
00:53:05That night,
00:53:06the alarm went off without warning.
00:53:11Movement behind the house.
00:53:14Where's Jax?
00:53:16Upstairs!
00:53:20Everyone moved at once.
00:53:24Callan went for the window.
00:53:26Parker took the stairs.
00:53:28And Remy planted himself
00:53:29in front of me.
00:53:34Mommy!
00:53:35I'm here!
00:53:37The chaos came fast
00:53:39and ended fast.
00:53:40Just a feign attack.
00:53:43But it made one thing
00:53:44painfully clear.
00:53:45When danger came for real,
00:53:47those four men
00:53:48stood on the same side.
00:53:49All of them stood
00:53:50in front of me and Jax.
00:53:52So,
00:53:52can I have four dads?
00:53:55Everyone went silent
00:53:56for a full second.
00:53:58You dream big.
00:54:00That should have been funny.
00:54:01But what I really heard
00:54:02was that Jaxon
00:54:03had already started
00:54:04imagining a home
00:54:05bigger than the one he'd lost.
00:54:06But the next day,
00:54:07the real problem
00:54:08wasn't the hunters.
00:54:09It was Greg.
00:54:15I was almost starting
00:54:16to forget Greg's face.
00:54:21And of course
00:54:22he chose that moment
00:54:22to come back.
00:54:25You really thought
00:54:26moving here
00:54:26would make you disappear?
00:54:31What do you want?
00:54:33To see my wife
00:54:35and my son.
00:54:37The words
00:54:38my son
00:54:39almost made me laugh.
00:54:41Since when
00:54:42do you ever
00:54:43treat Jax like your son?
00:54:48Legally,
00:54:49he still is.
00:54:51The man was still
00:54:53rotten
00:54:53all the way through.
00:54:54I can take you
00:54:56to court.
00:54:56Go after custody.
00:55:01Or at least
00:55:02make your life
00:55:02difficult.
00:55:06Touch him once
00:55:08and I'll make you
00:55:09regret being born.
00:55:12The sickest thing
00:55:13about Greg
00:55:14wasn't just
00:55:14that he was cruel.
00:55:16It was that
00:55:17he always knew
00:55:18exactly where to strike.
00:55:21At the thing
00:55:21I was most afraid
00:55:22of losing.
00:55:35When Ryder heard
00:55:36about it
00:55:36he was one breath
00:55:38away from tearing
00:55:39Greg apart.
00:55:40If murder
00:55:40had been legal
00:55:41Greg would have
00:55:42been dead already.
00:55:47I'm going to deal
00:55:48with him right now.
00:55:50Don't you dare.
00:55:53He threatened you.
00:55:57Which is exactly
00:55:58why you can't
00:55:59be the one
00:55:59to touch him.
00:56:01Ryder was wound
00:56:02so tight
00:56:03he looked ready
00:56:04to snap.
00:56:05So you want
00:56:06me to do
00:56:07nothing?
00:56:08No.
00:56:10I need you
00:56:11to do something
00:56:12more important.
00:56:15What?
00:56:19Take a DNA test.
00:56:22The room went
00:56:23so still
00:56:23it felt frozen.
00:56:25Okay.
00:56:26In the end
00:56:27Greg hadn't
00:56:28come back
00:56:29just to start
00:56:30a fight.
00:56:31He had forced
00:56:32us to face
00:56:33the most
00:56:33practical truth
00:56:34of all.
00:56:35It was no
00:56:36longer enough
00:56:37for us to know
00:56:38in our hearts
00:56:39that Ryder
00:56:39was Jax's father.
00:56:46And somehow
00:56:47the person
00:56:48most afraid
00:56:49of the result
00:56:49was Ryder
00:56:50himself.
00:56:54I thought
00:56:55Ryder would
00:56:56grab onto
00:56:56the test
00:56:57immediately
00:56:57but on the
00:56:59day they
00:56:59drew blood
00:57:00he was
00:57:01terrifyingly
00:57:01quiet.
00:57:04What are
00:57:05you thinking
00:57:05about?
00:57:06I'm not
00:57:07scared he
00:57:08won't be
00:57:08my son.
00:57:09Then what
00:57:10are you
00:57:10scared of?
00:57:13I'm scared
00:57:14fate will
00:57:14find one
00:57:14more way
00:57:15to punish
00:57:15me.
00:57:16That left
00:57:17me speechless
00:57:17for a second.
00:57:19Mommy,
00:57:19why is
00:57:20everyone
00:57:20acting weird
00:57:21today?
00:57:23Because
00:57:23adults
00:57:24are stupid
00:57:25sometimes.
00:57:26Then I
00:57:26don't want
00:57:27to grow
00:57:27up.
00:57:29Even at
00:57:30a moment
00:57:30like this
00:57:31Jax still
00:57:32managed to
00:57:32make me
00:57:32laugh.
00:57:33And I
00:57:34finally
00:57:34understood
00:57:35that Ryder
00:57:35wasn't afraid
00:57:36of not
00:57:36being the
00:57:37father.
00:57:39He was
00:57:39afraid that
00:57:40fate would
00:57:40bring him
00:57:41back to
00:57:41us only
00:57:42to rip
00:57:42it all
00:57:42away
00:57:43again.
00:57:52But before
00:57:53the results
00:57:54came back
00:57:54the pack
00:57:55somehow got
00:57:56a few
00:57:56stolen moments
00:57:57that felt
00:57:57like home.
00:58:07who's
00:58:08making
00:58:08breakfast
00:58:08today?
00:58:11I vote
00:58:12Parker.
00:58:13I'll do
00:58:13it.
00:58:16Jax,
00:58:16don't dump
00:58:17all the
00:58:17sugar in.
00:58:21But it
00:58:22tastes
00:58:22better
00:58:22that way.
00:58:28loud,
00:58:29messy,
00:58:30warm,
00:58:30the whole
00:58:31thing felt
00:58:32absurdly
00:58:32dreamlike.
00:58:34I stood
00:58:34in the
00:58:35kitchen doorway
00:58:35and suddenly
00:58:36got scared
00:58:37that all
00:58:37of it
00:58:37was temporary.
00:58:39I was
00:58:39already
00:58:40getting used
00:58:40to not
00:58:40carrying
00:58:41everything
00:58:41alone.
00:58:43I was
00:58:44getting used
00:58:45to Jax
00:58:45having people
00:58:46around him
00:58:46who laughed
00:58:47with him,
00:58:48caught him,
00:58:49protected him.
00:58:52Then Ryder's
00:58:53phone
00:58:54vibrated.
00:58:55The results
00:58:56were in.
00:58:58And all
00:58:58of us
00:58:59were waiting
00:58:59for him
00:58:59to open
00:59:00that email.
00:59:01Ryder's
00:59:01hand was
00:59:02actually
00:59:02shaking.
00:59:03Open it.
00:59:07You sure?
00:59:11Open it.
00:59:12He opened
00:59:13the file
00:59:13and stared
00:59:14at the screen
00:59:14without speaking.
00:59:17Ryder?
00:59:19I am.
00:59:22My breathing
00:59:23stopped
00:59:23for a second.
00:59:25Jax
00:59:26is my son.
00:59:27It was
00:59:27the answer
00:59:28we had
00:59:28already
00:59:29known
00:59:29in our
00:59:29bones.
00:59:30But this
00:59:31was the
00:59:31moment
00:59:32it finally
00:59:32became
00:59:33something
00:59:33undeniable.
00:59:35Mommy,
00:59:35why are
00:59:36you crying?
00:59:38Because
00:59:38you're
00:59:39finally
00:59:39getting
00:59:39the father
00:59:40you deserve
00:59:40on paper.
00:59:41But before
00:59:42the room
00:59:42could actually
00:59:43relax,
00:59:44Remy
00:59:44spoke.
00:59:46If we
00:59:46make paternity
00:59:47official right
00:59:48now,
00:59:48we'll walk
00:59:48straight into
00:59:49the hunter's
00:59:49line of
00:59:50sight.
00:59:50That was
00:59:51reality.
00:59:51We had
00:59:52only just
00:59:52managed to
00:59:53make the
00:59:53word
00:59:53father
00:59:54real,
00:59:54and already
00:59:55it had
00:59:56become
00:59:56something that
00:59:56could put
00:59:57a target
00:59:57on all
00:59:58of us.
00:59:58Suddenly,
00:59:59claiming paternity
01:00:00became a
01:00:01battle too.
01:00:02I never
01:00:03thought adding
01:00:03a father's
01:00:04name to
01:00:04a legal
01:00:05record could
01:00:05feel like
01:00:06a military
01:00:07operation.
01:00:11We
01:00:12rotate
01:00:12roots
01:00:13three
01:00:13times.
01:00:14Sweep
01:00:14the
01:00:14area
01:00:15first.
01:00:15Keep
01:00:16eyes
01:00:16on the
01:00:16perimeter.
01:00:18You
01:00:19realize this
01:00:20is insane,
01:00:20right?
01:00:22You can
01:00:22stay behind.
01:00:24I didn't
01:00:24say I was
01:00:25staying
01:00:25behind.
01:00:26Watching
01:00:27them build
01:00:28an actual
01:00:28operation around
01:00:29paternity
01:00:30paperwork was
01:00:31so absurd,
01:00:31I almost
01:00:32laughed.
01:00:34Are you
01:00:35all always
01:00:35this
01:00:35dramatic?
01:00:37Only
01:00:38when it's
01:00:38about you
01:00:38and Jax.
01:00:42That line
01:00:43hit so
01:00:43directly that
01:00:44even my
01:00:44comments
01:00:45stalled,
01:00:45but I
01:00:46also knew
01:00:47they weren't
01:00:47being dramatic
01:00:48for no
01:00:48reason.
01:00:49They were
01:00:50telling me,
01:00:50in the only
01:00:51way they
01:00:51knew how,
01:00:53that this
01:00:53time I
01:00:54wasn't
01:00:54carrying it
01:00:54alone.
01:00:57But while
01:00:58we were
01:00:58preparing to
01:00:59make River
01:00:59his legal
01:01:00father,
01:01:01the changes
01:01:02in Jackson
01:01:04kept getting
01:01:04harder to
01:01:05ignore.
01:01:14Something
01:01:15about
01:01:15Jackson
01:01:15had been
01:01:16changing.
01:01:17Not
01:01:18worse.
01:01:19Stronger.
01:01:25Mommy,
01:01:26I hear
01:01:27someone walking
01:01:27behind the
01:01:28ridge.
01:01:28You can
01:01:29hear that
01:01:30from this
01:01:30far away?
01:01:33Very
01:01:33clearly.
01:01:37It wasn't
01:01:38just his
01:01:38strength
01:01:39anymore.
01:01:40His
01:01:41hearing,
01:01:41instincts,
01:01:42even the
01:01:43force of
01:01:43his presence
01:01:44were sharpening.
01:01:51This child
01:01:52isn't an
01:01:53ordinary
01:01:53cub.
01:01:56What does
01:01:57that mean?
01:01:58He may be
01:01:59more than
01:02:00an alpha's
01:02:00son.
01:02:03He may
01:02:04be
01:02:04the heir.
01:02:07The second
01:02:08that word
01:02:09was spoken,
01:02:10the whole
01:02:10room changed.
01:02:12In that
01:02:13moment,
01:02:13I finally
01:02:14understood why
01:02:15the hunters
01:02:15were after
01:02:16Jack's.
01:02:19They weren't
01:02:20after just
01:02:20any child.
01:02:22They were
01:02:23after a future
01:02:24that hadn't
01:02:24fully taken
01:02:25shape yet.
01:02:28And
01:02:29somewhere else,
01:02:30Greg finally
01:02:31did the thing
01:02:31he did best.
01:02:34Betrayal.
01:02:35I had
01:02:36always known
01:02:37Greg was
01:02:37rotten,
01:02:38but I still
01:02:39underestimated
01:02:39how low he
01:02:40could go.
01:02:41I know
01:02:41where the
01:02:41woman and
01:02:42the boy
01:02:42are.
01:02:43Pay me,
01:02:44and I'll
01:02:45give you
01:02:45the address.
01:02:47When I
01:02:48heard the
01:02:48recording,
01:02:49I nearly
01:02:49crushed the
01:02:50phone in
01:02:50my hand.
01:02:53he sold
01:02:54me and
01:02:54Jack's
01:02:54out?
01:02:56Yeah.
01:02:59I'll
01:03:00kill him.
01:03:02No.
01:03:03I didn't
01:03:04cry this
01:03:05time.
01:03:07For the
01:03:08first time,
01:03:09I just
01:03:10understood
01:03:10completely
01:03:11that this
01:03:11man was
01:03:12beneath
01:03:12trash.
01:03:15I want
01:03:16him alive
01:03:16long enough
01:03:17to see
01:03:17exactly what
01:03:18a failure
01:03:18he is.
01:03:18Greg used
01:03:20to be
01:03:20just a
01:03:20pathetic
01:03:21husband I
01:03:21wanted to
01:03:22leave behind.
01:03:23But from
01:03:23that moment
01:03:24on,
01:03:24he became
01:03:25the man
01:03:25who would
01:03:26sell my
01:03:26son to
01:03:27the enemy.
01:03:27But the
01:03:28hunters didn't
01:03:29give us
01:03:29time to
01:03:29keep
01:03:30planning.
01:03:31They
01:03:32came
01:03:32fast.
01:03:53The
01:03:53hunters came
01:03:54in hard
01:03:54and fast.
01:03:55I barely
01:03:56had time
01:03:57to hold
01:03:57on to
01:03:57Jackson.
01:04:01Paige,
01:04:02run.
01:04:03Jax is
01:04:03still-
01:04:04You're
01:04:04the target!
01:04:10An
01:04:11arrow cut
01:04:12past my
01:04:13shoulder.
01:04:16The next
01:04:17second,
01:04:18Remy shoved
01:04:18me behind
01:04:19a tree.
01:04:21What are
01:04:22you?
01:04:24He
01:04:25lowered his
01:04:26head and
01:04:26bit straight
01:04:27into my
01:04:27neck.
01:04:31Don't
01:04:32move.
01:04:34Pain,
01:04:35heat,
01:04:36something like
01:04:36electricity
01:04:37exploded
01:04:38through me
01:04:39all at
01:04:40once.
01:04:41Now run.
01:04:47And for
01:04:48the first
01:04:48time,
01:04:49I heard
01:04:49his voice
01:04:50inside my
01:04:51head.
01:04:53Left.
01:04:54Don't
01:04:54look back.
01:04:57I didn't
01:04:58have time
01:04:58to understand
01:04:59what he'd
01:04:59just done.
01:05:01I only
01:05:01knew that
01:05:02Remy had
01:05:02shoved me
01:05:03out of
01:05:03death's
01:05:04trath in
01:05:04the most
01:05:04brutal way
01:05:05possible.
01:05:06I finally
01:05:07understood
01:05:08why Remy
01:05:08had bitten
01:05:09me.
01:05:11Remy's
01:05:12bite wasn't
01:05:12a claim.
01:05:13It was
01:05:14survival.
01:05:16Suddenly,
01:05:17I was
01:05:17moving fast
01:05:18as wind.
01:05:20Faster.
01:05:21Stop
01:05:21ordering me
01:05:22around.
01:05:24If you
01:05:25die now,
01:05:25who am I
01:05:26supposed to
01:05:26piss off
01:05:27later?
01:05:28Even
01:05:28then,
01:05:29he still
01:05:30had to
01:05:30be a
01:05:30smart
01:05:30ass.
01:05:34Remy!
01:05:35It was
01:05:36the first
01:05:37time I
01:05:37was that
01:05:38afraid of
01:05:38losing him
01:05:39and it
01:05:39was the
01:05:40first time
01:05:40I understood
01:05:41this
01:05:41clearly.
01:05:43He had
01:05:44never been
01:05:44just playing.
01:05:46Remy
01:05:46always felt
01:05:47like a
01:05:47blade.
01:05:52And yet
01:05:53when it
01:05:53mattered most,
01:05:54he threw
01:05:55himself into
01:05:56danger first
01:05:57so I could
01:05:58stay alive.
01:06:00but when he
01:06:01came back,
01:06:02he had to
01:06:03face more
01:06:03than me.
01:06:04He had to
01:06:05face the
01:06:05other three
01:06:06men too.
01:06:11When Remy
01:06:12came back,
01:06:13he was
01:06:13covered in
01:06:14blood.
01:06:15Are you
01:06:15insane?
01:06:17I came
01:06:18back alive,
01:06:19didn't I?
01:06:19But this
01:06:20time,
01:06:21nobody
01:06:21laughed.
01:06:22You bonded
01:06:23with her
01:06:24first.
01:06:26She might
01:06:27die.
01:06:28We know.
01:06:33The issue
01:06:34isn't that
01:06:34you saved
01:06:35her.
01:06:36The issue
01:06:37is that
01:06:38from now
01:06:38on,
01:06:39everything
01:06:40changes.
01:06:43I thought
01:06:44they were
01:06:44about to
01:06:45fight,
01:06:45but they
01:06:46didn't.
01:06:49For the
01:06:50first time,
01:06:50they all
01:06:51looked seriously
01:06:52at the
01:06:52same question.
01:06:54What was
01:06:55this family
01:06:55supposed to
01:06:56become?
01:06:57Remy's
01:06:58bite hadn't
01:06:58just broken
01:06:59skin.
01:07:00It had
01:07:01ripped open
01:07:01the last
01:07:02thing any
01:07:02of us could
01:07:03still pretend
01:07:03not to
01:07:04see.
01:07:05And this
01:07:06time,
01:07:06it was
01:07:07my turn
01:07:07to answer.
01:07:09I couldn't
01:07:10pretend not
01:07:10to see it
01:07:11anymore.
01:07:12I loved
01:07:13Ryder.
01:07:14And Callan,
01:07:15Remy,
01:07:16Parker had
01:07:16all been
01:07:17pulling me
01:07:17in too,
01:07:18each in a
01:07:19different way.
01:07:19I don't
01:07:20want to
01:07:20avoid this
01:07:21anymore.
01:07:22Then don't.
01:07:24I love
01:07:24Ryder.
01:07:25Ryder's
01:07:26eyes reddened
01:07:27instantly.
01:07:30But I
01:07:30can't
01:07:31pretend I
01:07:31don't
01:07:31need the
01:07:32three of
01:07:32you too.
01:07:36Do you
01:07:36realize how
01:07:37dangerous that
01:07:38sentence is?
01:07:40Yes.
01:07:42Are you
01:07:43afraid?
01:07:46Yes.
01:07:48But I'm
01:07:49more afraid
01:07:49of missing
01:07:50this again.
01:07:51All four
01:07:52men went
01:07:53silent.
01:07:54This wasn't
01:07:55the life I
01:07:56had once
01:07:56imagined for
01:07:57myself.
01:07:58But the
01:07:58moment I
01:07:59said it
01:07:59all out
01:07:59loud for
01:08:00the first
01:08:00time,
01:08:01I didn't
01:08:02want to
01:08:02run.
01:08:03Then they
01:08:04made the
01:08:04same choice.
01:08:07I thought
01:08:08they would
01:08:08fight over
01:08:08it, but
01:08:10they didn't.
01:08:17I'm not
01:08:18letting you
01:08:19carry this
01:08:19alone again.
01:08:21I'll handle
01:08:21making you
01:08:22laugh.
01:08:24I'll handle
01:08:25killing anything
01:08:26that comes
01:08:26for you.
01:08:28I'll make
01:08:29sure this
01:08:29home stands.
01:08:31It sounded
01:08:31absurd and
01:08:32messy and
01:08:33nothing like a
01:08:33normal life,
01:08:34and somehow
01:08:35it was the
01:08:36first time I
01:08:37truly felt
01:08:38like I
01:08:38belonged.
01:08:41So I
01:08:41really do
01:08:42get four
01:08:43dads now?
01:08:46You ask
01:08:47for a lot.
01:08:50But
01:08:50they're all
01:08:51awesome.
01:08:52That line
01:08:53almost made
01:08:54me laugh.
01:08:55But after
01:08:56the laugh,
01:08:57what stayed
01:08:57in me was
01:08:58something
01:08:58painfully
01:08:58tender.
01:09:01Because I
01:09:02suddenly realized
01:09:03that Jax had
01:09:03already started
01:09:04forming his
01:09:05own version
01:09:05of family.
01:09:07And just
01:09:08when we
01:09:08finally started
01:09:09to feel
01:09:10like a
01:09:10family,
01:09:13paternity
01:09:13day arrived.
01:09:15Paternity
01:09:15day felt
01:09:16far more
01:09:16like going
01:09:17into battle
01:09:18than I
01:09:18had imagined.
01:09:19Jax stays
01:09:20with the
01:09:20pack.
01:09:22Parker
01:09:23and I
01:09:23stay here.
01:09:25I'm going
01:09:26with you.
01:09:27Nobody
01:09:28moves alone.
01:09:29Jackson was
01:09:30unusually
01:09:31quiet that
01:09:31day.
01:09:39Ryder.
01:09:40Yeah?
01:09:42After
01:09:43today?
01:09:44Can I
01:09:45still call you
01:09:46that?
01:09:47Ryder looked
01:09:47like he didn't
01:09:48understand at
01:09:49first.
01:09:49Then Jaxon
01:09:50threw his
01:09:50arms around
01:09:51him.
01:09:53Dad.
01:09:55Ryder
01:09:56couldn't get a
01:09:56single word
01:09:57out.
01:09:58That one word
01:09:59landed harder
01:10:00than I had
01:10:00imagined because
01:10:02it wasn't just a
01:10:02title.
01:10:03It was Jax placing
01:10:05his heart, for
01:10:06real, into Ryder's
01:10:07hands.
01:10:08And with that one
01:10:09word, Dad, today
01:10:10became something we
01:10:11absolutely couldn't
01:10:13lose.
01:10:13When the car
01:10:14crossed the pack
01:10:15boundary, a strange
01:10:16feeling hit me.
01:10:17Like we weren't just
01:10:18going to register a
01:10:19name.
01:10:20Like we were
01:10:21declaring to the
01:10:22world that Jaxon
01:10:23had a father, a
01:10:24mother, and a
01:10:25home.
01:10:26Stop drifting.
01:10:28Watch the
01:10:29road.
01:10:31I'm reflecting.
01:10:33Reflecting on
01:10:34what?
01:10:34That I'm
01:10:35apparently heading
01:10:36to file paternity
01:10:37paperwork with two
01:10:38werewolves and a
01:10:39trunk full of
01:10:39weapons.
01:10:41You've adapted
01:10:42well.
01:10:43Ryder reached
01:10:43over and took my
01:10:44hand.
01:10:45When we get
01:10:46back, all of
01:10:47this becomes
01:10:47official.
01:10:49For me, it's
01:10:51already been
01:10:51official for a
01:10:52long time.
01:10:53The car kept
01:10:53moving.
01:10:54Then somewhere
01:10:55in the tree
01:10:55line, a cold
01:10:57glint flashed.
01:10:58A sniper scope.
01:11:00In that moment, I
01:11:01didn't scream.
01:11:02I didn't freeze.
01:11:03I simply understood.
01:11:05Completely.
01:11:06At last.
01:11:07We had only just
01:11:08managed to build
01:11:08this family.
01:11:09And the people who
01:11:10wanted to destroy
01:11:11it were only just
01:11:12beginning.
01:11:12The real war was
01:11:14only just beginning.
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