Chapter 5

He shouldn't have stopped believing Elara.

He shouldn't have told her, right before labor, that he was taking Seraphine as Luna.

Damon wept, helpless, full of regret.

His voice was shaking worse than it ever had.

"Please. Let Elara live."

"It's my fault... my fault..."

He'd overestimated how much he controlled, and underestimated the pain of a female whelping her first pup.

One wrong step. Everything wrong after.

The lights outside the emergency chamber burned from day into night.

Damon stayed there on his knees until dark.

His chest got tighter and tighter.

He was afraid Elara would find out the pup was gone. Afraid she'd come apart and scream at him.

More than that, he was afraid the last time he'd seen her was the last time.

He begged, miserable.

"I'll trade every piece of wealth I own for Elara's life."

"Elara, I was wrong. Come back to me. I'll spend the rest of my life making this right."

He wanted to go tell Seraphine.

Tell her he'd made a mistake. That the female he'd really wanted as Luna was Elara.

He couldn't wait. He had to go confess to Seraphine now.

"Seraphine is so understanding. She'll agree."

"And I need to warn her. Healer Morgana is a monster. Stay far away from her."

But as he reached the door of the room, he heard Seraphine and Healer Morgana talking.

"Did you confirm it? That little bastard really suffocated?"

"Good. Good riddance. Trying to come compete with my pup for the Alpha bloodline. In her dreams!"

Seraphine's voice was piercing. Ugly.

It wasn't the Seraphine Damon knew at all.

"Well done! I wanted to drag that slut to death!"

"Thank the goddess for you. Insisting her birthing passage wasn't open. That bought us two whole days of torture."

"Too bad Elara didn't suffocate along with it. If she died, no one would ever compete with me for Damon again..."

Then, like something just occurred to her, she gave a contemptuous snort.

"Damon's too simple. 'Bring the pup out, we'll raise it together.'"

"Day-dreaming!"

Damon kicked the door open. The voices inside cut dead.

Seraphine shoved her phone behind her back, panicked.

"Alpha. You're back. Is Elara past the worst?"

When Damon didn't answer, she stepped forward and looped her arm through his, practiced.

"The goddess protects the good. Don't worry. I'll stay with you through this."

Damon stared at Seraphine.

His eyes looked like they wanted to rip her apart. "It was you? All of it was you?"

"You killed my pup. You put Elara through that."

Seraphine's voice shook. "You... you heard—"

Damon clamped his hand down on her shoulder. His teeth were bared.

"At the examination, you humiliated her on purpose! You stalled so she couldn't get into the birthing chamber!"

"And that last exam. Using it as cover to push the pup back up inside her."

"You ordered that, didn't you!"

The more he said it, the less he could believe it.

Was this the same Seraphine who used to cry over stepping on an ant?

Three years. That sweet, fragile Seraphine had been an act.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. His hand came around and slammed her to the floor.

"Evil! You're evil! How could you do that to a laboring female!"

"You played it so well. You're disgusting!"

Seraphine slumped on the floor, covering her face, pulling the pitiable act.

"Alpha, you can hit me, I won't hold it against you. But you can't misunderstand me."

"I did it because I love you! So you'd come home to our family sooner, for what we have together."

The words made Damon take a step back.

He stared at her in disbelief.

A long moment passed. Then he laughed, bitter.

"I was wrong before. I'm wrong now too."

Seraphine's eyes flickered with hope.

She stood and threw her arms around him.

"Damon, as long as you understand. We'll let go of all of this. Let's go home right now. Please."

Damon shoved her off like he'd been shocked. His voice went cold.

"I was wrong to ever be with you. And wrong to still be arguing right and wrong with a demon!"

"I should go home, yes."

"But not with you. With Elara. To the den we were meant to share!"

The instant Damon finished, Seraphine's face turned from hope to raw panic.

Before she could react—

Healer Morgana charged forward first, eyes wild.

"Damon Hale. You'd throw Seraphine over for some slut?"

"I'm telling you right now. Never!"

Looking at Morgana's twisted face—

Remembering how she'd pinned Elara down, how Elara had fought and couldn't get free—

Damon's rage broke open. He shoved Morgana off her feet.

He stood over the worthless healer.

"I'd forgotten about you. Don't worry. What you did today is attempted murder and grievous harm—"

Damon pulled out his phone and mind-linked his Beta to bring in the pack tribunal lawyers and start evidence chain.

Seraphine lost it. She rushed him, trying to grab the phone.

"No, Damon, no. That's my mother! You'd really throw my own mother into the prison caves?"