Luna. Chapter 14

(Kael's POV)

I stood at my office window, staring out at the territory I'd ruled for five years. Everything looked the same as it had yesterday.

So why did it all feel wrong?

"Alpha?" Adrian's voice from the doorway made me turn. "The evening reports are ready for review."

"Right. The reports." I moved to my desk, but the papers might as well have been written in a foreign language. The words blurred together, meaningless.

"Kael," Adrian said more gently. "Maybe you should take a break. It's been a long weekend."

A long eekend. That was one way to put it.

Last morning I'd been funish divorced to Lyra, convinced she was lying about everything, focused on protecting Seraphina from imagined threats.

Tonight, I was alone in an office that felt too big, too quiet, too empty.

"How is she?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.

"Who?"

"Seraphina. How is she handling everything?"

Adrian tried to find the right words. "She seems... pleased with how things turned out."

Pleased. Not relieved, not grateful for safety, not concerned about the pack's stability after such a dramatic rejection ceremony. Pleased.

"And the pack? How are they responding?"

"Honestly? There's a lot of confusion. Questions about why you didn't scent-test Luna Lyra's pregnancy claims before the ceremony."

I closed my eyes and tried to make myself comfort. "What kind of questions?"

"The kind that wonder why an Alpha would reject his mate based on accusations instead of biological evidence." Adrian's voice was careful, diplomatic. "Some of the wolves are asking if there might have been... other reasons in your decision."

Other reasons. Like the woman currently living in what used to be the guest room, wearing Lyra's clothes and jewelry like she'd always belonged here.

"They can ask all the questions they want," I said roughly. "I made my decision based on the information I had."

"Did you?" Adrian moved closer. "Kael, I've been your beta for three years. I've seen you handle life-or-death situations with more careful analysis than you gave this situation."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe you should ask yourself why you were so quick to believe the worst about Lyra, and so slow to question Seraphina's story."

Before I could respond, a knock interrupted us. Seraphina entered without waiting for permission, looking radiant in one of Lyra's dresses - a blue silk that had been my wedding gift to my wife.

Ex-wife, I corrected myself. Rejected mate.

"Kael, darling, I was hoping we could have dinner together. Like old times." She moved to my side, placing her hand on my arm with familiar intimacy.

"Of course," I heard myself say, though every instinct screamed that something was wrong with this picture.

"Wonderful. I'll have the kitchen prepare something special." Seraphina's smile was bright, victorious. "Just the two of us. We have so much to catch up on."

After she left, Adrian stared at me with barely contained frustration. "She's moving fast."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, twelve hours ago you rejected your pregnant wife. Now your ex-mate is planning romantic dinners and acting like she never left." Adrian's voice was sharp. "Doesn't any of this strike you as... convenient?"

It did. That was the problem. It all felt too convenient and orchestrated.

But admitting that would mean admitting I'd made a catastrophic mistake.

"Seraphina has been through trauma," I said automatically. "She needs stability, familiarity."

"And what did Lyra need?" Adrian's question hung in the air like an accusation. "What did your pregnant wife need that you couldn't give her because you were so focused on someone else?"

I turned back to the window, unable to face his expression. In the distance, I could see the road that led toward Mountain Cross territory. The road Lyra had taken when she left with Magnus.

"It's done, Adrian. The rejection completed, the bonds severed. There's no going back."

"Isn't there?" Adrian moved to stand beside me. "Kael, what if you were wrong? If Lyra was telling the truth about everything?"

"Then I'm the worst kind of fool." It sound like a self-pitying remark."But it doesn't matter now. She's under Magnus's protection. She's probably already accepted him as her mate."

"And how does that make you feel?"

Dman,Adrian should he be so direct. How did it make me feel to think of Lyra with another man? To imagine Magnus holding her, protecting her, believing her when I hadn't?

It made me feel like a stray dog left on the street.

"It makes me feel like I should have dinner with Seraphina and stop dwelling on things I can't change," I lied.

Adrian was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "You know, there's something about Seraphina's story that's been bothering me."

"What?"

"She says she was held captive by Shadow Den pack for three years. Tortured, traumatized, barely escaped with her life."

"Yes?"

"But she looks remarkably healthy for someone who endured that kind of treatment. Her teeth are perfect, her skin is clear, her hair is shiny. She's obviously been well-fed and well-cared for."

I turned to stare at him. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just observing." Adrian met my gaze steadily. "Maybe you should start observing too, instead of just believing."

After he left, I sat alone in my office as darkness fell outside. The packhouse felt different without Lyra's presence.

Too quiet and cold.

It not like a home.

I found myself thinking about the morning she'd tried to tell me something important. How excited she'd looked, how her eyes had shone with some joy she'd wanted to share.

How quickly that joy had died when Seraphina called from upstairs.

For the first time, I let myself really think about the timeline. Lyra's morning sickness that I'd attributed to stress. Her strange eating habits. The way she'd touched her belly sometimes, like she was protecting something precious.

The way she'd tried so many times to tell me something important, only to be interrupted by Seraphina's needs.

"God," I whispered into the empty room. "What have I done?"