Luna. Chapter 73

(Lyra's POV)

Victor appeared in Asher's hospital room the next morning carrying coffee and wearing the expression he got when he was about to say something I wouldn't like.

"Morning, sweetheart." He kissed my forehead and glanced at Kael, who was reading to Asher from a picture book. "How's our patient?"

"Better. Much better." I stretched in the uncomfortable hospital chair. "The doctors say his blood counts are improving faster than expected."

"That's wonderful news."

But his tone suggested he had other things on his mind. I recognized that voice. It was the same one he'd used when he told me I needed to accept Kael's rejection four years ago.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just think we need to have a serious conversation about your future."

"My future?"

"Your family's future. Asher's future."

Kael looked up from the book but didn't say anything. Asher had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

"Can we talk in the hallway?" Victor asked.

"Whatever you want to say, you can say here."

"Lyra—"

"Dad, I'm tired of private conversations and secrets. If this affects my family, then Kael should hear it too."

Victor sighed and sat down in the visitor's chair. "Fine. I think you should get married."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You should remarry. Soon."

I stared at him. "To who?"

"To Magnus."

The words hit me like cold water. "Are you serious right now?"

"Completely serious."

"Why?"

"Because look around, Lyra. Look at what's happened to your family in the past week. Your son was poisoned. You're being hunted by a psychopath. You have no legal protections, no pack status, no guarantee that the Council will continue supporting you if things get messy."

"I have—"

"You have temporary arrangements and good intentions. That's not enough."

I felt anger building in my chest. "So your solution is for me to marry someone I'm not sure I love anymore?"

"My solution is for you to provide your son with a stable father and yourself with official protection."

"Magnus left, Dad. He walked away because he couldn't handle the complications."

"He left because he felt like he was competing with a ghost. If you made a clear choice, if you committed fully..."

"If I what? Pretended the last few days didn't happen?"

"If you prioritized Asher's safety over your personal feelings."

The accusation stung. "You think I'm not prioritizing Asher's safety?"

"I think you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment."

I looked at Kael, whose face had gone completely neutral. The expression he wore when he was working very hard not to interfere with something that wasn't his business.

But it was his business. We were talking about his son.

"What about Kael?" I asked. "He's Asher's biological father. Doesn't that matter?"

"Kael gave up his parental rights when he rejected you."

"He was trying to save your life."

"He was making choices that put his agenda ahead of his family's needs."

"Dad, that's not fair."

"Fair has nothing to do with this. This is about survival."

I stood up, pacing to the window. Outside, the world looked normal. People going about their regular lives without worrying about supernatural politics or assassination attempts.

"You want me to marry Magnus because you're scared."

"I want you to marry Magnus because it's the smart thing to do."

"For who?"

"For Asher. For the pack. For the future of our bloodline."

"What about what I want?"

"What you want is a luxury we can't afford right now."

The words were like a slap. "A luxury?"

"Lyra, be realistic. You're a single mother with a child who has extraordinary abilities. There are people who want to hurt him, people who see him as a threat. You need someone who can provide legal protection, pack backing, political connections."

"And you think Magnus is that person?"

"I think Magnus has proven himself. He's been a father to Asher for four years. He loves that boy."

"He does love Asher. But he doesn't trust me."

"He doesn't trust your judgment when it comes to Kael. Can you blame him?"

I whirled around to face my father. "Yes, I can blame him. Because my judgment is my business, not his."

"Not when it affects your son's safety."

"Everything affects Asher's safety. That doesn't mean I should make major life decisions based on fear."

Victor's expression softened slightly. "I'm not asking you to live in fear. I'm asking you to be practical."

"Practical would be finding a way to neutralize the threat instead of running from it."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"I don't know yet. But I know that marrying someone for the wrong reasons isn't the answer."

"Even if it keeps Asher safe?"

"Especially if it's only about keeping Asher safe. Children need more than safety, Dad. They need parents who love each other, who choose to be together for the right reasons."

"Love doesn't stop bullets, sweetheart."

"No, but it gives you something worth protecting."

Victor was quiet for a moment, studying my face. "You still love him."

It wasn't a question.

"I don't know what I feel."

"Yes, you do."

I looked at Kael, who was carefully not listening to our conversation while somehow hearing every word.

"Maybe I do. But that doesn't solve anything."

"Doesn't it?"

"No. Because loving someone and being able to build a life with them are two different things."

"Are they?"

"Dad, stop." I was exhausted suddenly. Tired of everyone having opinions about my life, tired of being told what was best for me and my son. "I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I'm not marrying Magnus just because you think it's the safe choice."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to figure out how to protect my family without sacrificing my autonomy."

"And if you can't?"

"Then I'll deal with the consequences."

"What if the consequences include losing Asher?"

The question hit like a physical blow. "That's not going to happen."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I won't let it happen."

"You can't control everything, Lyra."

"No, but I can control my own choices. And I choose not to live my life according to other people's fears."

Victor stood up, his expression disappointed but not surprised. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I."

After he left, Kael was quiet for a long time. Asher continued sleeping peacefully against his shoulder, looking small and vulnerable in the hospital bed.

"He's not completely wrong," Kael said finally.

"About what?"

"About the practical concerns. About Asher needing protection."

I felt a spike of irritation. "Are you going to tell me I should marry Magnus too?"

"I'm going to tell you that your father loves you and he's terrified of losing you."

"That doesn't make him right."

"No. But it doesn't make him wrong either."

I sat back down, suddenly exhausted. "I can't marry someone just to make other people feel safer."

"Even if it actually would make you safer?"

"Would it? Or would it just create different problems?"

Kael considered that. "Probably different problems."

"Exactly."

"But maybe more manageable problems."

"Or maybe problems that would slowly destroy everything good about my relationship with Asher."

"How so?"

"Because every time he looked at Magnus, he'd know I chose security over love. Every time he looked at me, he'd wonder if I made the same calculation about him."

Kael was quiet for a moment. "You think children pick up on things like that?"

"I think children pick up on everything. Especially children like Asher."

"Children with abilities."

"Children with emotional sensitivity and supernatural awareness and the ability to taste lies."

"Good point."

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching Asher sleep. His color was so much better than it had been a week ago. The transplant was working, his body accepting Kael's bone marrow, his blood counts improving daily.

"Can I ask you something?" Kael said.

"Sure."

"If Magnus came back tomorrow and apologized for leaving, if he promised to accept whatever relationship you and I decide to have... would you consider remarrying him?"

I thought about that. Really thought about it.

"A week ago, I would have said yes."

"And now?"

"Now I realize that Marcus left at the first sign of complications. And that tells me something important about how he deals with problems."

"Which is?"

"He runs. And I can't build a life with someone who runs when things get hard."

"Even if he comes back?"

"Running and coming back aren't the same as staying and fighting through problems together."

Kael nodded slowly. "That's very wise."

"Is it? Because sometimes I think I'm just making everything more complicated than it needs to be."

"How so?"

"I mean, maybe Dad is right. Maybe I should just pick the safe choice and stop overthinking everything."

"Do you want the safe choice?"

I looked at him holding our son, this man who'd sacrificed everything to protect our family, who'd given his bone marrow to save Asher's life, who'd been honest about his mistakes even when the truth made him look terrible.

"No," I said quietly. "I don't want the safe choice."

"What do you want?"

"I want the right choice. Even if it's harder."

"And what's the right choice?"

"I don't know yet. But I know it's not marrying someone out of fear."

"Even if that someone is a good man who loves Asher?"

"Even then. Because Asher deserves parents who chose each other for the right reasons."

"And what are the right reasons?"

I thought about love and compatibility and shared values and the ability to weather crises together.

"Love," I said finally. "Partnership. The belief that you're stronger together than apart."

"And do you think you and Magnus had that?"

"I thought we did. But when the first real test came, he left."

"What about us? Do you think we could have that?"

The question hung in the air between us, heavy with possibility and risk.

"I think we might," I said honestly. "But I also think we have a lot of work to do to get there."

"What kind of work?"

"Learning to trust each other. Learning to communicate instead of making assumptions. Learning to be partners instead of just co-parents."

"Is that something you want to work on?"

"With you?"

"With me."

I looked at him, really looked at him. The exhaustion in his eyes from weeks of worry. The careful way he held Asher, like our son was made of glass. The hope he was trying not to show.

"Yes," I said. "I want to work on it with you."

"Even though it won't be easy?"

"Because it won't be easy."

"And if your father disapproves?"

"Then he'll disapprove. But it's my life to live."

Kael smiled, the first genuine smile I'd seen from him in years. "I'd like that."

"Like what?"

"Like the chance to do this right. To be the partner you deserve instead of the one I was before."

"Think you can handle it?"

"I think we can figure it out by ourselves."