Luna. Chapter 31

(Kael's POV)

Adrian was waiting for me when I returned to the packhouse after my evening patrol. His expression was thunderous, and I could see the barely contained rage radiating from him.

"We need to talk. Now."

"About what?"

"About the fact that your grand plan is complete bullshit."

I looked around the main hall, noting the pack members within hearing distance. "My office."

"No. Right here." Adrian's voice carried clearly, drawing attention from everyone nearby. "I'm done protecting your reputation while you destroy everyone around you."

"Adrian, calm down—"

"Calm down?" He stepped closer, his wolf pressing against mine with challenge energy. "You want to tell me how calm I should be while you lie to my face about protecting Lyra?"

"I told you the truth."

"You told me part of the truth. The part that makes you look like a noble martyr instead of a coward."

Pack members were gathering now, drawn by the tension and the rare sight of their Alpha being publicly challenged by his Beta.

"What's your problem with my handling of the situation?"

"My problem is that I've been watching you for months. I was here for every conversation." Adrian's eyes were blazing. "And I know the truth about why you really rejected Lyra."

"Which is?"

"You never trusted her. Not really. Not the way a mate should trust their partner."

"That's not—"

"Shut up and listen for once in your life." Adrian's Alpha command was strong enough to make me step back instinctively. "From the moment Seraphina walked back into your life, you were looking for reasons to doubt Lyra. You immediately assumed the worst about your wife."

"I was investigating—"

"You were covering your ass. Because the truth is, you wanted to believe Seraphina's story. You wanted an excuse to push Lyra away before she could make you feel too much."

Around us, pack members were watching with shock and growing understanding. Some of them were nodding, recognizing the truth in Adrian's words.

"When Lyra tried to tell you about the pregnancy, you didn't listen because you were too busy playing rescuer to your ex-mate. When she tried to explain her doctor visits, you assumed she was lying because it was easier than admitting you hadn't been paying attention to your wife's health."

"That's enough."

"I'm not finished." Adrian moved closer, invading my personal space with aggressive intent. "When the medical records disappeared, did you immediately assume someone was trying to frame Lyra? Did you investigate who might have tampered with the files?"

"I looked into it—"

"You looked into it after you'd already rejected her. After you'd already chosen to believe she was manipulative and dishonest."

The truth of his words was undeniable. Yes, I'd eventually investigated. Yes, I'd discovered the tampering and manipulation. But my first instinct had been to doubt Lyra, not to protect her.

"A real mate, a man who truly trusted his wife, would have moved heaven and earth to prove her innocence. He would have demanded answers before making accusations. He would have protected her from suspicion, not exposed her to it."

"I was trying—"

"You were trying to find a way to avoid admitting how much you loved her. Because loving Lyra meant being vulnerable, and you've never been comfortable with vulnerability."

Adrian was right. Every word was hitting home with devastating accuracy.

"So when Seraphina showed up with a convenient story that painted Lyra as the villain, you grabbed onto it with both hands. Because it gave you permission to pull back, to protect yourself from feeling too much."

"That's not what happened."

"Isn't it?" Adrian laughed bitterly. "Then explain to me why your first reaction to unexplained medical records was suspicion instead of protection. Explain why you spent more energy investigating your pregnant wife than investigating the woman who'd been mysteriously absent for three years."

I wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come. Because he was right about all of it.

"You want to know the real tragedy here, Kael? Lyra would have understood if you'd told her the truth. If you'd said 'Someone's trying to manipulate us, and I need you to be safe while I figure out who and why,' she would have supported you."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. Because that's who she was—loyal, supportive, willing to sacrifice for the greater good. But instead of trusting her with the truth, you made her the sacrifice."

The rage that had been building finally exploded. I swung at Adrian, catching him across the jaw with enough force to stagger him backward.

He recovered quickly, coming back with a right hook that connected with my ribs. The fight that followed was brutal and personal, fueled by months of suppressed anger and disappointment.

"You never deserved her!" Adrian shouted, landing another punch. "She was the best thing that ever happened to you, and you threw her away because you were too much of a coward to be worthy of her love!"

I tackled him, and we went down hard on the packhouse floor. Pack members scattered to give us room, but none of them tried to intervene. This fight had been building for too long.

"She's gone because of you!" Adrian continued, even as we grappled for dominance. "Your child will grow up thinking their father didn't want them because of your cowardice!"

"Stop!" I roared, using my Alpha authority to force him back.

We separated, both breathing hard, both bloody and bruised. Around us, the pack watched in stunned silence.

"You want to know what the worst part is?" Adrian wiped blood from his split lip. "Lyra still loves you. Even after everything you did to her, part of her still loves the man she thought she married."

The words broke something inside me. Because I knew he was right about that too. I'd seen it in her eyes yesterday, she still loves me.

"But that man was never real, was he? The man she fell in love with—the one who made her feel safe and valued—he was just an act. A role you played until you got scared of how real it was becoming."

I sank to my knees on the packhouse floor, finally accepting the full weight of what I'd done. Not just the investigation, It saw the farce that personally pushed my family to ruin.

"You're right," I whispered. "About all of it."

"I know I am."

"I never trusted her the way she deserved. I was always holding something back, always protecting myself from being too vulnerable."

"And now she's gone."

I looked up at the faces surrounding us—pack members who'd witnessed their Alpha being stripped bare by his Beta's brutal honesty. Some looked disappointed. Others looked relieved, like they'd been waiting for someone to say what everyone had been thinking.

"I lost the most important person in my life because I was too scared to admit how much I needed her."

"Yes, you did."

"And there's no way to fix it."

“Yes."

The finality of those words settled over me like a death sentence. Lyra was gone. My child would grow up calling another man father. And I had no one to blame but myself.

I'd lost everything that mattered, and I'd done it to myself.