Luna. Chapter 45

(Kael's POV)

I knew something was wrong the moment I walked into my house. The smell hit me first – too sweet, too floral. The same perfume Seraphina had been wearing when she'd pretended to be the grieving returned mate.

But she was supposed to be in federal custody.

I moved quietly through the entrance hall, my senses on high alert. There were voices coming from the kitchen. Seraphina's laugh, light and musical, and another voice I didn't recognize.

"He should be home soon," Seraphina was saying. "Poor Kael has been under so much stress lately."

"And you're sure the dosage is correct?" The other voice was male, professional.

"Positive. Just enough to make him compliant, not enough to cause permanent damage."

My blood went cold. I pressed myself against the wall, listening.

"What about the woman? Isabella?"

"What about her?" Seraphina's voice turned sharp, cruel. "Once Kael is under our control, she'll be easy to locate."

"Morrison wants her alive."

"Morrison can have her alive. I never said anything about unharmed."

I'd heard enough. I stepped into the kitchen with my Alpha authority fully engaged.

"Hello, Seraphina."

She spun around, her face cycling through surprise, fear, and then that familiar manipulative smile.

"Kael! Darling, you're early." She moved toward me like nothing was wrong. "I was just making dinner."

The man with her was reaching for something inside his jacket. I had him on the ground before he could clear whatever weapon he'd been going for.

"Friend of yours?" I asked, pressing my knee into his back.

"I have no idea who he is," Seraphina lied smoothly. "He must have broken in."

"Right. While you were coincidentally here making poisoned dinner."

"Poisoned? Kael, what are you talking about?"

I looked at the plates she'd been preparing. Two servings of what looked like my favorite pasta, but the smell was wrong. Chemical. Medicinal.

"How did you get out of federal custody?"

"I was released. The charges were dropped."

Another lie. I'd been monitoring the federal case. Seraphina was supposed to be in a maximum security facility.

"Try again."

"Fine." Her mask finally slipped completely. "Morrison's people arranged my release. Turns out they needed someone with inside access to you."

"And you volunteered?"

"I suggested it."

"Why?"

Seraphina's expression turned vicious. "Because that bitch ruined everything. I had you back, Kael. We could have been happy together if she hadn't come crawling back into your life."

"She didn't come crawling anywhere. I threw her away, remember?"

"You threw her away because you finally saw what she really was. A manipulative little—"

"Stop." My voice carried enough Alpha command to make her flinch. "Lyra was telling the truth about everything. You were the one manipulating everyone."

"So what if I was? We belonged together!"

"No. We didn't."

I pulled out my phone and called Magnus. "I have Seraphina. And one of Morrison's agents."

"How did she get out?"

"Inside help. Magnus, they're moving faster than we thought. Morrison's not waiting for legal channels."

"We'll be ready."

After I hung up, I looked at Seraphina, this woman I'd once loved who'd become something I didn't recognize.

"What did Morrison promise you?"

"A chance to get rid of Isabella permanently."

"And after that?"

"After that, you and I could be together the way we were always meant to be."

I stared at her, trying to understand how someone could twist love into something so poisonous.

"Seraphina, what we had ended five years ago. Even if Lyra had never existed, even if everything had gone according to your plan, I would never have loved you the way I loved her."

"That's not true."

"It is true. What Lyra and I had was real. What you and I had was... comfortable. Safe. But it wasn't the kind of love that changes your entire world."

"I could have been that for you."

"No, you couldn't. Because you never saw me, Seraphina. You saw the Alpha you wanted to be mated to. You saw the status, the power, the security. But you never saw me."

Tears were streaming down her face now, but they looked more like fury than sadness.

"She doesn't even love you anymore. She's moved on."

"I know."

"Then why are you still protecting her?"

"Because protecting the people we love isn't conditional on them loving us back."

Seraphina laughed bitterly. "You're pathetic."

"Maybe. But I'm not a traitor."

"Neither am I."

"You just tried to poison me for a government agent who wants to enslave supernatural beings."

"I tried to help you see reason."

"By drugging me?"

"By making you compliant enough to accept reality."

I looked at the man I'd tackled, who was now zip-tied and glaring at me with professional hatred.

"What was the plan after you drugged me?"

"Simple," Seraphina said. "You'd call Isabella and ask her to come home. Tell her you'd made a mistake, that you wanted to reconcile. She'd come running because she still loves you."

"And then?"

"And then Morrison's people would take her into protective custody while we explained the situation to you."

"Protective custody?"

"Research facility. Same thing."

The casual way she said it made me want to break something.

"You were going to help them torture her."

"I was going to help them understand what she's capable of. For the greater good."

"Whose greater good?"

"Everyone's. Do you have any idea how dangerous she is, Kael? What she could do if she lost control?"

"She's not dangerous. She's powerful. There's a difference."

"Is there?"

"Yes. And the fact that you can't see that difference is exactly why you could never be what I needed."

Seraphina stared at me for a long moment. Then she started laughing.

"You think you're the hero in this story."

"I think I'm trying to do the right thing."

"The right thing would be letting Morrison's people handle this professionally."

"The right thing is protecting the woman I love and our unborn child."

"Your child?" Seraphina's eyes widened. "She's really pregnant?"

"She was telling the truth about that too."

"But the medical records—"

"You deleted them. Remember?"

Seraphina sank into a chair, the full weight of what she'd done finally hitting her.

"I destroyed your marriage for nothing."

"You destroyed my marriage because you wanted to. The pregnancy was just an excuse."

"I loved you."

"No. You loved the idea of me. You loved being Luna. You loved the status and security that came with being my mate."

"That's not fair."

"It's honest."

I called Adrian to arrange pickup for both prisoners. As we waited, Seraphina sat in her chair looking lost and broken.

"What happens now?" she asked quietly.

"Now you face the consequences of your choices."

"And you?"

"I try to keep the people I care about safe from Morrison."

"He won't give up, you know. He'll keep coming until he gets what he wants."

"Then I'll keep fighting until he's stopped."

Seraphina looked at me with something that might have been respect.

"You really love her that much."

"More than you could ever understand."

"And if she never takes you back?"

"Then I'll spend the rest of my life making sure she and our child are safe and happy. Even if it's not with me."

"You're an idiot."

"Probably."

When Adrian arrived with the security team, I watched them take Seraphina away. Part of me felt sad for the woman she used to be, before obsession and jealousy had twisted her into something unrecognizable.

But mostly I felt relief.

One threat to Lyra was finally eliminated.

Now I just had to deal with Morrison and his government resources before they could make their move.

I looked at my phone, thinking about calling Lyra to warn her. But she was safe at Moonlight Pack, surrounded by people who would protect her.

And she'd made it clear she didn't want to hear from me.

So instead, I called Magnus again.

"It's time," I said. "Morrison is moving tonight."