Chapter 4

The silence in the living room pressed against my eardrums like a held breath.

Kael stood frozen, staring at me like I'd just driven a silver blade through his chest.

"You're serious." His voice pitched higher than usual—almost desperate. "You actually want to break our bond."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"I was making a point, Sera." He stepped toward me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body, his wolf's energy crackling against my skin. "I didn't think you'd actually—"

He stopped. Ran a hand through his hair. Then laughed—a short, disbelieving sound.

"I see what this is." His eyes narrowed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You've learned to play hard to get. Cute." He loosened his collar with a sharp tug. "But I don't play those games, little wolf."

The front door slammed behind him hard enough to splinter the frame.

He didn't come back.

Two weeks. No calls. No texts. No black Range Rover idling outside my office.

Word filtered back through the pack—whispers after the full moon gatherings. Kael had moved into the Alpha suite at the pack's main lodge. Taking meetings. Running borders. Living like an Alpha who'd forgotten he had a Luna at home.

On day five, my phone buzzed at 2 AM. Marcus's name.

"Luna." His voice was careful—the tone Betas used when delivering bad news. "The Alpha... he's had a rough night. Too much whiskey. He's asking for someone to bring him home."

I stared at the ceiling in the dark. The sheets beside me cold. Empty. Through the bond, I felt nothing—Kael had shut me out completely.

"Then call Raven. I'm sure she knows the way."

Silence. I could almost hear him wince.

"Luna—"

"Goodnight, Marcus."

I hung up. Rolled over. Closed my eyes.

Two hours later, the front door opened.

Heavy footsteps. The clatter of keys missing the bowl. Then Kael appeared in my doorway, swaying slightly, shirt half-untucked, collar smeared with something pink.

Lipstick. Her shade.

"Sera." His voice was rougher than usual. Softer. "Couldn't sleep. Kept thinking about you."

He moved toward the bed. His hand found my shoulder—tentative, almost gentle. Through the bond, I felt his wolf whimpering, reaching for mine.

My wolf turned away.

"Come on, sweetheart." His breath was warm against my hair, carrying whiskey and her scent. "Let's just... talk. Like we used to."

I looked at him. At the performance of vulnerability. At the calculated softness in his eyes. At the lipstick he hadn't bothered to wipe.

"You smell like her," I said. "And you're in the wrong room."

I turned my back and pulled the covers higher.

He stood there for a long moment. Through the bond, I felt his confusion bleeding into something darker.

Then he left. The guest room door clicked shut down the hall.

I didn't sleep. But I smiled in the dark.

After that night, everything changed.

Kael started coming home. Every night. On time.

The roses began arriving at my office—three dozen red ones, every single day. The cards all said the same thing: You're still mine. —K

I sent them to the pack orphanage. Every last one.

Day four brought a Cartier box. I left it unopened.

Day five, white orchids. Day six, a pair of diamond earrings I recognized from a post Raven had liked last month.

I met with my lawyer that afternoon. Rebecca Ashford—the wolf who'd dissolved three Alpha bonds and walked away with the Lunas holding everything.

"He's getting desperate," she said. "That's good. Desperate Alphas make mistakes."

"How long do I wait?"

"Until he shows you exactly who he is." She smiled, cold and precise. "Then we take everything."

That Saturday, I met Vivian at a private club downtown.

"Sera! Over here!"

I started toward her booth—and froze.

Kael was there. In a corner booth, half-hidden by shadows.

But I could see enough.

His hand was tangled in Raven's hair. Her body pressed against his chest. Their lips locked together—not a stolen peck, but the kind of kiss that didn't care who was watching.

The kind of kiss he used to give me.

As if sensing my presence—or perhaps catching my scent—Kael pulled back. His eyes found mine across the room.

Panic flashed across his face. His composure cracked.

He crossed the room in four strides, wiping his mouth.

"Sera." His voice was steady, but his jaw was tight. "It's not what it looks like. We were playing a drinking game. Marcus dared her to—"

"A drinking game," I repeated. "How very juvenile."

Behind him, Raven approached. Eyes glistening, lips still swollen.

"Sera, please." Her voice trembled perfectly. "It was just a silly game. There's nothing between us—"

She lifted her arm to dab at her tears.

That's when I saw it.

A tattoo on the inside of her wrist. A crescent moon cradling a star—delicate, precise, inked in fine black lines.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Two months ago. Our bedroom. Kael stepping out of the shower. I'd traced my fingers across his chest and found it—a new tattoo, just below his collarbone.

A crescent moon cradling a star.

"What's this?" I'd asked.

"Lost a bet with Marcus." He'd pulled on his shirt without meeting my eyes. "Don't make it weird."

Now I understood.

The same moon. The same star. Inked where a lover's lips might linger.

Matching. Hidden. Theirs.

Raven's hand flew to cover the mark. Too late.

I stepped forward. Took his hand in my left. Hers in my right.

And pressed them together.

"True mates deserve a witness," I said softly. "The one who isn't loved shouldn't stand in the way."

I released them both.

"Pick a date for your bonding ceremony. I'll send flowers."

I turned toward the door.

"Sera—" His voice cracked. "Wait—"

I kept walking.

But just before I reached the exit, I paused. Turned back one last time.

And did the one thing no one in that room expected.