Chapter 4

When I learned Liam was in emergency care, I knew things between Damian and me were truly, finally over.

Before dawn, I was jolted awake by the relentless buzz of my communicator.

Maria, the nanny, was calling.

"Luna!" Maria's voice was choked with tears. "Liam's in the healing chamber! Please come quickly!"

I sat up with a start. "What happened?"

"The Alpha picked him up this afternoon. There was a Beta woman in the car—that Bella. They went to a family restaurant. Bella wouldn't let me follow. I could only watch Liam from a distance. Less than half an hour later, I saw the Alpha carrying Liam to the car—unconscious, his face purple!" Maria's words tumbled out.

A forbidden reaction.

Liam had been exposed to something he should never have touched.

"Give me the location." I forced down my fury.

Once I had the coordinates, I grabbed my coat and ran.

I kept calling Damian's communicator. No answer.

I reached his lieutenant. All I got was a cold "The Alpha is busy."

"Tell him," I said through clenched teeth, "that silver dust and wolfsbane are lethal to Liam. Even trace contamination could kill him. If anything happens to my child, I will tear Ravenhurst apart."

Silence on the other end. Finally: "I'll pass it along."

When I reached the edge of Ravenhurst territory, the guards saw me and their faces changed. They let me through immediately.

I grabbed a healer by the door. "Where's Liam?!"

"Just brought in. The forbidden reaction hit fast—he almost..." The healer's voice was grave. "It was silver dust. And wolfsbane residue. Likely contamination from utensils or food. For a pup, that's pure poison."

Pure poison. Of course I knew it was poison.

How could Damian not know?

A bed was wheeled out of the healing chamber.

Liam lay on it.

His small face was deathly pale, his lips blue.

I rushed forward and grabbed his hand.

Ice cold.

"Mommy..." His voice was faint. "I... can't breathe..."

"Mommy's here, baby. Mommy's here." I repeated it over and over.

Then I heard a suppressed sob behind me.

I turned.

Damian stood a short distance away. Bella was curled in his arms, crying softly.

He was murmuring to her, his voice gentler than I'd heard in years: "Don't cry. You didn't know. It's not your fault."

Bella lifted her tear-streaked face. "I just... I just wanted to let him try the restaurant's new dishes... I thought it would be fine..."

I stared at her feigned innocence, and the last thread of reason in my mind snapped.

I walked over. My voice was ice. "You didn't know? You didn't know, yet you dared to send the nanny away? You didn't know, yet you dared to feed a pup dishes with unknown ingredients?!"

Bella shrank further into Damian's arms, whimpering, "Luna, I didn't mean to..."

I turned on Damian. "And you? You didn't know either? Didn't know silver dust is lethal to Liam? Didn't know wolfsbane could kill him?!"

Damian's eyes darkened. "Enough. Don't make a scene here."

"A scene?" I laughed. "He almost died! You call that making a scene?!"

I raised my hand—

And with every ounce of strength I had, I slapped him across the face.

The crack echoed through the corridor.

Damian's head snapped to the side. Red finger marks bloomed on his cheek. He turned back to stare at me, disbelief in his eyes. "You dare hit me?"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" My voice was hoarse. "You took my child to please your Beta—what is he to you? A bargaining chip to trade away your Luna?!"

He offered no explanation. He pulled Bella closer.

"Stop yelling at her," he said coldly. "She didn't do it on purpose."

"So Liam deserved what happened?" I frowned at the man before me.

A father. An Alpha who had nearly let his own pup die.

Damian's hand shot out, seized my wrist, and shoved me hard.

I stumbled backward, feet slipping. I crashed to the ground.

Pain shot through my tailbone. My vision went black.

When I looked up, I saw Damian speaking softly to Bella. "Let me take you out of here first."

Bella nodded, nestling against him as they turned to leave.

As she passed me, she flashed a triumphant smile.

They walked away without looking back.

I braced myself against the floor and slowly stood.

I couldn't fall apart.

I walked to the end of the corridor, pressed my back against the cold stone wall, pulled out my communicator, and entered a cipher I hadn't used in years.

The connection was almost instant.

Two seconds of silence. Then a sigh. "Erin."

I held back the ache in my chest. "Father."

I gazed out the window at the gray sky and spoke quietly.

"I've failed. Damian's been cheating for three years. He wants a divorce. He wants to take Liam. Today he took our child to see his mistress and sent the nanny away. Liam had a forbidden reaction. He just barely survived."

A sigh came through from the other end.

"Erin, I told you long ago—Damian wasn't worth it..."

"Your mother has been worried about you all these years."

Tears finally fell. I choked out the words. "I want to bring Liam home to Waldridge."

"Come home, child." My father's voice. A pause, then: "I'll send people. Don't hesitate any longer."

The line went dead.

I stood there for a long time.

From this moment on, I would make Damian pay.