Chapter 7

Darius drives for three hours before his phone explodes with messages.

Serena: Where are you?

Serena: If you go after her, don't bother coming back.

He pulls over and types one message.

Darius: Pack your things. You're leaving Blood Moon territory. You and the child are no longer under my protection.

Her response is immediate.

Serena: You can't do this! The baby is YOURS!

Darius: Get. Out.

He blocks her number and keeps driving.

Elena was pregnant.

She lost our child while I was with my mistress.

The sun rises over the Northern Territories as he crosses the border.

First stop: a tattoo parlor in the border town.

"I need the Day-Moon-Star constellation," he tells the artist. "Right here." He touches his chest, over his heart.

"That's an old family mark," the artist says.

"Just do it."

The needle burns for two hours straight.

Silver ink, permanent, binding.

The three-star constellation—one for him, one for Elena, one for the child they lost.

The child I never knew existed.

He pays in cash and drives on.

Lynnview appears at noon—a sprawling vineyard town with rolling hills.

Of course she'd choose here.

He follows Marcus's intel to the Clearwater Vineyard Estate.

Through rows of grapevines toward the main house.

That's when he sees them.

Elena, wearing a simple white sundress, laughing at something the man beside her said.

The man has his arm around her waist.

Lucien kisses her temple.

No.

Darius's wolf roars to life, and he's moving before he can think.

"ELENA!"

She turns, fear flickering across her face.

Then her face goes blank.

"Darius." Her voice is flat. "You're trespassing."

"I came to bring you home." He's breathless. "I know about the baby. I know everything."

"Home?" She laughs coldly. "I don't have a home in Blood Moon territory."

"I was wrong." The words feel like glass. "Come back with me—"

"We'll what?" She steps closer, Lucien's hand still on her waist. "Pretend you didn't choose Serena seventeen times?"

"I ended it with Serena. She's gone."

"There is no 'us.'" Elena gestures to Lucien. "Darius Blackwood, meet Lucien Drake. My fiancé."

Fiancé.

"Pleasure." Lucien extends a hand, his smile sharp. "I've heard so much about you."

Darius ignores the hand.

"You can't be serious. You've known him for less than a week—"

"Six days," Lucien corrects. "But when you know, you know."

Elena smiles up at him—a real smile.

"Right."

"Elena, please." Darius reaches for her. "Just talk to me. Alone."

Lucien steps between them.

"The lady doesn't want to talk to you. And you're on my territory now."

"Your territory is a joke," Darius snarls. "You're not even a real Alpha—your father bought that title—"

Lucien's fist connects with his jaw.

Darius hits the ground, tasting blood.

"Finish that sentence," Lucien invites. "Please."

Darius spits blood and rises. "My father built Blood Moon from nothing—"

"Darius, stop." Elena's voice cuts through. "You need to leave. Now."

"Not without you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She pulls an envelope from her pocket. "That's your copy. Our bond is dissolved."

He picks it up with shaking hands.

The seal is real.

It's over.

"I already burned my copy," Darius says desperately. "It doesn't exist—"

"That's not how legal documents work," Lucien says. "There are seven copies filed across four territories."

"And I've formally renounced my Luna status," Elena adds. "I'm no longer bound to Blood Moon."

"I released Serena," Darius says rapidly. "I got a tattoo—look—" He tears open his shirt, revealing the Day-Moon-Star mark. "It's us. Our family—"

Elena's face goes white.

"You tattooed our dead child on your chest?" Her voice shakes. "The baby you KILLED with your neglect?"

"I didn't know—"

"YOU DIDN'T ASK!" She's screaming now. "I was bleeding in the snow, and you were with HER!"

Lucien pulls her close.

"I think you should go," Lucien says softly.

"Elena, please—"

"Go away, Darius." Her voice is muffled. "Just go away."

His vision blurs.

The ground rushes up.

Everything goes black.