Luna. Chapter 74

(Lyra's POV)

I found Victor in his study after dinner, staring at financial reports like they held the secrets of the universe. He looked up when I knocked on the doorframe.

"Dad, we need to talk."

"If this is about your decision to let Kael spend more time with Asher, I've already heard."

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. "It's not a decision I made lightly."

"Really? Because it seems like you're making a lot of emotional choices lately without considering the practical consequences."

The criticism stung, but I'd expected it. "Asher needs his father."

"Asher needs stability. He needs consistency. He needs to know that the adults in his life aren't going to turn his world upside down every few weeks based on their feelings."

I sat down across from him, fighting the urge to get defensive. "You're right about stability. But you're wrong about Kael."

"Am I?" Victor leaned back in his chair. "Because from where I sit, he's the same man who rejected his pregnant mate and disappeared for four years."

"He sacrificed everything to save your life."

Victor went very still. "What?"

"The Ashwalkers poisoned you. Slowly. Over months. Kael infiltrated their organization to get the antidote." I met his eyes steadily. "He let me think he'd stopped loving me rather than risk your life by telling me the truth."

The silence stretched between us. Victor's face went through several expressions—confusion, disbelief, and finally something that looked like pain.

"That's impossible."

"Is it? When was the last time you were really sick, Dad? I mean genuinely ill, not just tired from work?"

Victor thought about it. "I... there was that period about five years ago. Fatigue, nausea, memory problems. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong."

"And then it just stopped?"

"Around the time you and Kael..." His voice trailed off.

"Around the time he rejected me. Because that's when he finally got them the information they wanted in exchange for the antidote."

Victor stood up slowly, walking to the window that looked out over the pack grounds. "How do you know this?"

"He told me. Finally." I joined him at the window. "He's been poisoning himself for four years to maintain the deception. The scar on his face isn't from a fight, Dad. It's their mark. Their way of claiming him."

"Jesus." Victor's voice was barely a whisper.

"He chose you. Over his own happiness, over his family, over everything. And I was so angry at him for so long that I never questioned why a man who loved me enough to die for me would suddenly stop caring."

Victor turned to face me, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "Lyra, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know."

"I should have known. I should have seen the signs, should have protected both of you from that choice." He ran a hand through his hair. "God, what he must have gone through. What you both went through."

"It's over now."

"Is it? Because if he's been marked by the Ashwalkers, if they think he's still loyal to their cause..."

"We'll figure it out. Together." I put my hand on his arm. "But I need to know you're okay with him being part of Asher's life. Really okay with it."

Victor was quiet for a long moment, processing everything I'd told him. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough with emotion.

"He saved my life at the cost of his own happiness. I owe him more than I can ever repay." He looked at me directly. "If you think he's good for Asher, then I trust your judgment."

"I do think he's good for Asher. And maybe..." I hesitated. "Maybe he's good for me too."

"Do you still love him?"

"I never stopped. But love isn't the problem. Trust is."

"And?"

"And I think we might be learning how to trust each other again."

Victor pulled me into a hug, holding me tight the way he had when I was a child and the world felt too big and scary.

"I'm proud of you," he said quietly. "You're handling this with more grace than I would have managed."

"I learned from the best."

We stood there for a moment, father and daughter finding our footing in a world that kept shifting around us. Outside, I could see Kael and Asher playing catch in the backyard, their laughter carrying through the evening air.

"He's good with him," Victor observed.

"He is. It's like they've known each other forever."

"Maybe they have. Maybe some connections transcend time and circumstances."

I watched Kael lift Asher onto his shoulders, both of them grinning widely. "Maybe they do."

"Lyra?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For telling me the truth about what he sacrificed. I needed to know."

"He never wanted credit for it."

"Which makes it even more remarkable." Victor squeezed my shoulder. "Invite him to dinner tomorrow night. It's time I properly thanked him for saving my life."

I felt something tight in my chest finally loosen. "He'd like that."

"Good. Because I have four years of gratitude to express."