I turned my head and saw a little girl.

"Hi, sir, would you mind if we sat here?" she asked.

The girl's features reminded me of someone. With a sense of wonder, I asked, "We? But you're alone."

She shook her head, pointing a tiny finger in a certain direction. "My brother's there. Uncle William's with us, too."

I didn't bother looking where she pointed. Her familiarity surprised me; she didn't know me, yet she spoke about her relatives. Looking at her, I couldn't help but think of the woman who was steadily trying my patience. The thought alone angered me.

"Why are you even asking? It's a public area. Sit wherever you want," I muttered, my voice strained.

I glanced toward Patrick, then away.

A short time later, a little boy approached, saying, "Don't talk to her rudely."

His voice was a warning. I turned to look at him; anger flared in his eyes. I was stunned by his aggressive stance.

"Excuse me, little guy?"

"Why were you scolding her?" the boy asked.

I glanced at the little girl, who was shaking her hands at the boy. "Noah, he wasn't scolding me."

"No, Aria. I saw how he was talking to you."

I frowned. Why was he so annoying? Then it hit me: he was the brother she'd mentioned. They looked like twins.

His glare almost made me laugh. He had no idea who he was glaring at. If his father knew well, the man would be terrified.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "Listen, little—"

"Don't call me little. My name is Noah."

"Oh."

His confidence surprised me. He seemed remarkably assertive.

A middle-aged man hurried over and apologized. "I'm sorry, young man. They're just kids. Please forgive them."

He didn't look like their father, more like a butler.

"Noah, this uncle isn't bad. Don't fight with him," the little girl, Aria, said.

"Aria, let me sit here. You can sit between me and Uncle William," Noah replied.

I rolled my eyes at his protectiveness. He was clearly positioning himself to protect his sister from me.

"Who am I? A kidnapper?" I asked.

The boy seemed taken aback.

The middle-aged man chuckled and gestured for Aria to sit. Noah sat next to me. All the passengers were waiting due to flight delays.

I mind-linked Patrick; he arrived and sat beside me, clearly surprised by my proximity to the children. He gave me a look; I rolled my eyes.

He handed me his phone. "Here's the post everyone's talking about."

It was Natalia's post, a clear attempt to smear Lynda's reputation. I scoffed. Until last night, you were fine with everything, telling me you didn't want me. Now what? You posted about our past yourself. Trying to get my attention?

The boy next to me craned his neck to look at Patrick. "Uncle, where are you going?"

Why was he ignoring me to talk to Patrick? His fearlessness was striking.

Patrick smiled. "We're going back to our pack."

Aria looked at me. "And you, Uncle? Which pack are you going to?"

People usually hesitated to speak to me, but she was acting like I was family. These children were incredibly bold. I wondered who their parents were. I'm not generally sociable, but I found myself interested in them.

"The Crystal Blood Pack," I replied.

Noah's lips parted, but he said nothing.

"What's your name?" I asked Aria, though I'd already heard it.

"I'm Aria, and he's my brother, Noah."

"Where are you going?"

"We came to see Mom. We missed her." Noah answered this time.

Just then, I heard someone call their names.

"Noah! Aria!"

The voice was familiar. I turned and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. A young woman stood there.

I stood as Noah and Aria rushed to her. "MOM!"

She hugged them tightly. Her eyes finally met mine. Disbelief etched my face as I frowned.

"Natalia?"