Luna. Chapter 33

(Lyra's POV)

The exhibition hall was packed with people by eight o'clock. I stayed close to Magnus as we moved through the crowd, my hand resting protectively on my belly. Everyone seemed to be talking in hushed, excited tones.

"There she is," I heard someone whisper as we passed. "The one who looks like Christina."

More heads turned our way. I felt exposed under all the attention.

"Try to ignore them," Magnus murmured in my ear. "Focus on what we came here to learn."

The centerpiece of the exhibition was displayed on a raised platform in the center of the hall. A large glass case contained what looked like the most beautiful piece of jewelry I'd ever seen.

"The Goddess Stone," a placard read. "Sacred relic of the Moonlight Pack, passed down through the Alpha bloodline for over 500 years."

I moved closer to get a better look. The stone was roughly the size of a chicken egg, but it seemed to contain an entire galaxy. Deep blue swirled with silver, and when the light hit it just right, it almost looked like it was moving.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"Legend says it only responds to the true heir of the Sebastian bloodline," an elderly woman beside me said. "Alpha Derek's great-great-grandmother brought it from the old country."

I stared at the stone, transfixed. There was something about it that made me want to reach out and touch the glass case.

"Lyra," the stone seemed to whisper.

I jerked back. That was impossible. Stones didn't talk.

"Isabella," came the whisper again, so soft I wasn't sure I'd really heard it.

My heart started racing. I looked around to see if anyone else had heard the voice, but everyone seemed focused on their own conversations.

"Magnus," I started to say, then stopped.

Because standing across the room, near the entrance, was Kael.

Our eyes met across the crowded hall. He was wearing a dark suit that made him look devastatingly handsome, and for a moment, all the pain and anger I'd been carrying melted away.

He looked tired. Older. Like the past few months had aged him years.

"Lyra." My name on his lips was barely audible over the crowd noise, but I read it on his mouth.

Magnus noticed my attention had shifted. He followed my gaze and his expression hardened.

"What is he doing here?"

"I don't know."

Kael started moving through the crowd toward us. People stepped aside for him automatically, recognizing his Alpha presence even in an unfamiliar pack.

"Should we leave?" Magnus asked.

I looked back at the Goddess Stone one more time. It seemed to be pulsing now, the blue and silver swirls moving faster.

"Lyra," it whispered again. "Come home."

This time I was sure I heard it. The voice was warm and familiar, like someone I'd loved calling me back from far away.

"No," I said to Magnus. "We're not leaving. Not yet."

Kael reached us before Magnus could respond. He nodded politely to Magnus, then looked directly at me.

"You came."

"I came for the exhibition. Not for you."

"I know." His eyes were sad. "You look beautiful. That dress..."

"Don't."

"I'm sorry. I just..." He ran his hand through his hair, a gesture I remembered from our marriage. "I was hoping we could talk."

"There's nothing to say."

"There's everything to say." Kael stepped closer, and I caught his scent. Pine and earth and something uniquely him that still made my heart skip. "Lyra, I've learned so much since you left. About what really happened. About who was really lying."

Before I could respond, the lights dimmed and Alpha Derek stepped up to a microphone at the front of the hall.

"Welcome, everyone, to Moonlight Pack's heritage exhibition." His voice carried clearly through the sound system. "Tonight, we celebrate our history and look toward our future."

The crowd quieted, all attention focused on the Alpha.

"Five years ago, we lost someone precious. My mate Christina, and our unborn child, were taken from us too soon." Derek's voice caught slightly. "For five years, I've held onto the past, unable to move forward."

I felt the stone calling to me again, stronger this time. The whisper was insistent.

"Come home, Isabella. Come home."

"But recently," Derek continued, "we've discovered information that changes everything we thought we knew about Christina's family."

My breath caught. This was it. This was the moment we'd been waiting for.

"Christina was not an only child, as we believed. She had a sister. A twin sister, separated at birth and given up for adoption."

The hall erupted in excited murmurs. I felt Magnus tense beside me.

"We believe that sister is alive. And we believe she may be here tonight."

Every eye in the room seemed to turn toward me. The resemblance between Christina and me was too obvious to ignore.

Derek's gaze found mine across the crowded room. "We've invited everyone here tonight because the Goddess Stone will reveal the truth. It has never failed to recognize the true Sebastian bloodline."

He gestured toward the display case. "If Christina's sister is truly among us, the stone will call to her. It will recognize her as the rightful heir to our pack."

The whispers around me grew louder. I could hear fragments of conversations.

"Look at her. It has to be her."

"The resemblance is incredible."

"But she's Luna of Mountain Cross now."

I looked at the stone again, and this time I was sure it was glowing. Faint, but definitely brighter than it had been before.

"Lyra," Kael said quietly. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." My voice was shaky. "The stone... it's been calling my name."

"What?"

"Ever since I got close to it, I've been hearing whispers. Someone calling me Isabella."

Magnus and Kael exchanged glances over my head.

"Isabella was Christina's middle name," Magnus said quietly.

The pieces were falling into place too quickly. The birthmark. The resemblance. The familiar feeling I'd had about this place. The stone calling to me.

"I need some air," I said suddenly.

"Lyra, wait—" Kael reached for my arm, but I pulled away.

"Don't touch me."

I pushed through the crowd toward the nearest exit. Behind me, I could hear Magnus following, and probably Kael too. But I needed space to think.

The exit led to a balcony that overlooked the lake. The night air was cool against my flushed face. I gripped the railing and tried to steady my breathing.

"Lyra." Kael's voice came from behind me.

I didn't turn around. "Go away."

"I can't. Not when you're going through this alone."

"I'm not alone. Magnus is here."

"Magnus doesn't know you like I do."

That made me spin around. "You don't know me at all. If you knew me, you never would have believed I'd lie about being pregnant with your child."

Pain flashed across his features. "You're right. I failed you in every way that mattered."

"Yes, you did."

"But I'm here now. And whatever you're discovering about your past, whatever this means for your future, you don't have to face it alone."

"I'm not facing it alone. I have Magnus."

"Do you love him?"

The question caught me off guard. "That's none of your business."

"It is my business. You're carrying my child."

"Our child will have Magnus as a father figure. You lost that right when you rejected us."

Kael moved closer. The moonlight made his features look sharper, more dangerous.

"I made a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life. But Lyra, I never stopped loving you. Not for one second."

"Love isn't enough."

"Isn't it?"

"No. Love is what you do, not what you feel. And what you did was throw me away the moment someone else needed your attention."

"I was been lied."

"Stop making excuses!" The anger that had been building for months finally exploded. "You were been lied because you wanted to be! You were looking for a reason to doubt me!"

"That's not true—"

"It is true! From the moment Seraphina walked back into your life, you started pulling away from me. You stopped listening to me, stopped caring about my needs, stopped treating me like your partner."

Kael flinched like I'd slapped him.

"And when she gave you an excuse to believe the worst about me, you grabbed it with both hands. Because it was easier than admitting how much you actually needed me."

"You're right." His voice was barely a whisper. "About all of it."

The admission took the wind out of my sails. I'd been expecting him to argue, to defend himself.

"What?"

"You're right. I was scared of how much I loved you. How much I needed you. And when Seraphina offered me an escape, I took it."

I stared at him in the moonlight, seeing the truth in his eyes.

"But Lyra, I know better now. I know what I lost. And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it if you'll let me."

"I won't let you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust you anymore. Because I can't risk you doing this to me again. Because our child deserves better than a father who runs away when things get complicated."

"I won't run away again."

"How can I believe that?"

Before Kael could answer, Magnus appeared on the balcony.

"Lyra, they're asking for you inside. Alpha Derek wants to test the stone's reaction to your presence."

I looked between the two men who were both offering to protect me in their own ways. One who'd already failed me once, and one who'd never let me down.

"I'm coming," I said to Magnus.

As I walked past Kael toward the door, he caught my hand gently.

"This isn't over," he said quietly.

"Yes, it is."

But even as I said it, I could feel the stone calling to me from inside the building. Calling me home to a life I'd never known I'd lost.