Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

Callum’s POV

The moment Becca told me that Nadia and Keisha had left the estate and had been gone for more than two hours, every other thought in my head had disappeared. I had told them to stay inside. I had been clear about it, especially after everything that had happened recently, and yet they had somehow managed to leave without telling anyone where they were going. I wasn’t angry simply because they had disobeyed me. I was angry because I had spent those hours wondering whether someone had gotten to them, whether another attack had happened, whether I was about to receive news that I would never forgive myself for hearing.

Now they were standing in front of me, alive and apparently unharmed, but that relief was doing very little to soften my temper.

"You both need to understand what you’ve done," I said before either of them could start explaining. "I told you to remain inside the estate. You agreed to that. Then you disappeared, and nobody knew where you were. Becca had no idea whether you had gone somewhere voluntarily or whether something had happened to you. I had guards searching around the property trying to figure out where you’d gone, and all this time neither of you thought it was important enough to leave a message."

Nadia shifted her weight. "But we’re here now."

I looked directly at her with a glare and she immediately stopped smiling.

"I don’t care that you’re standing here now. Of course I’m relieved that you’re safe, but that doesn’t erase the fact that you left without telling me. After everything that has happened to Keisha, after someone literally tried to kill her outside this house, how did you think disappearing for hours without telling anyone was acceptable?" My voice rose.

Nadia lowered her gaze. "I didn’t think you’d be this angry."

At this point, I probably looked like I was about to snap. "That’s because you weren’t thinking about what could happen."

Keisha stepped forward before Nadia could answer. "Don’t blame her."

I turned toward her. "Keisha—"

She kept talking. "It was my decision. I was the one who asked her to come with me, and I should have told you where we were going. Nadia only came because she didn’t want me going alone."

The anger in me immediately became harder to hold. I could stay angry at Nadia because she was my daughter and because I knew she could handle my anger, but seeing Keisha standing there trying to take all the blame made something in my chest tighten. "You shouldn’t have gone anywhere without telling me either."

She bowed her head. "I know."

I took a deep breath. "And you know why I’m saying this."

She nodded. "I do."

I took a breath and forced myself to calm down. "Both of you, go upstairs."

Nadia looked up. "Dad—"

"Upstairs, Nadia." I forced the words out.

She sighed but didn’t argue and Keisha gave me one last apologetic look before following her.

I waited until they disappeared up the stairs before turning toward Becca.

She was standing stiffly near the doorway, her hands clasped together.

"Becca." I started.

"I’m sorry, Alpha." She immediately said.

I frowned. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I called you because they hadn’t returned when Nadia said they would. I didn’t know where they were, and I thought something might have happened. I didn’t want to disturb you, but after the time passed, I became frightened."

I sighed. "You did the right thing."

She looked relieved. "I didn’t know if you’d be angry."

"I was angry because they left without telling anyone. Not because you called me. If you hadn’t, I would have been even more furious when I eventually discovered they’d disappeared."

Becca nodded. "I’m glad they’re safe."

"So am I." I nodded.

She hesitated before quietly excusing herself, leaving me alone in the sitting room.

By the time I reached the stairs, the anger had already begun to disappear. What remained was the same concern that had been there from the beginning. Nadia had always been capable of getting herself into situations that made me question whether she’d inherited every reckless quality from me, but she was still my daughter. I couldn’t stay angry at her forever.

And Keisha... My thoughts immediately went to her.

I stopped outside Nadia’s room first and knocked.

There was no answer so I opened the door slightly.

Nadia was sitting on her bed with her arms folded, staring straight ahead.

"Nadia." I called out.

Nothing.

I walked farther into the room. "You planning to ignore me?"

She turned her head slowly. "I’m not ignoring you."

A heavy sigh escaped me. "You haven’t looked at me since I came in."

She didn’t smile. "I can hear you without looking at you."

I almost smiled. "You’ve decided to be angry with me."

"I’m not angry." She huffed.

"Of course." I chuckled.

She rolled her eyes and I sat on the edge of the bed. "I wasn’t trying to ruin your day."

"You kind of did." Her voice was no more than a whisper.

I wanted to understand how she felt — I mean, I did. But still, it didn’t stop me from being straightforward with her. "I was worried. You can’t blame me. I thought something had happened."

Her expression softened slightly, but she still tried to maintain her attitude. "You could have just asked where we were instead of looking like you were about to arrest us."

"I did ask."

She rolled her eyes. "After giving us a whole speech."

I paused for a second. "You deserved the speech."

She sighed. "Yeah. I know."

I reached over and touched her hair. "Get some rest."

She didn’t respond, but she didn’t pull away either.

I left her room and walked to Keisha’s. I knocked before entering to see she was sitting on the bed, waiting for me.

"You’re awake." I muttered.

"I knew you’d come." Her voice was soft as she stared at me.

I closed the door behind me and walked toward her. "I’m not going to shout at you."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. "I wasn’t expecting you to."

I folded my hands slowly. "I want you to tell me where you went."

She looked down at her hands and I sat beside her. "Keisha, I’m asking because I need to know what happened. I’m not asking so I can punish you. I need to understand why you thought leaving the estate was worth the risk."

She looked at me for several seconds before finally taking a breath. "I’ll tell you."

Oh?

That was easier than i expected.

I placed my hands on her laps to steady her. "Okay. Tell me everything."