Three days in the dungeons, and Seline had stopped counting the hours. The stone walls wept moisture, the air reeked of mold and misery, and the delicate silk of her baby shower dress hung on her body like a rotting joke. She sat in her own filth, the Luna of the Northern Territories reduced to this. The other prisoners called out to her, crude and laughing.
She pressed her knees to her chest and said nothing. Her stomach cramped with hunger. She had been fed once a day, if the guards remembered. No one had spoken in her defense.
Her own mate, her Alpha, believed her capable of murder. The evidence had been perfect. A vial of poison. Journal entries in her handwriting.
Someone had studied her, knew her habits, wanted her destroyed. She thought of Bella, of the unborn child that would never breathe. She thought of her own barrenness, a wound she had thought healed. But the sharpest pain, the one that cut deepest, was Jace.
*Better this way*, she told herself as heavy boots approached. *Better he never sees what I’ve become. *
They dragged her through the gardens, and the weak winter light stabbed her eyes. The air carried too many scents.
Dozens, hundreds of shifters had gathered to witness her shame. Representatives from every allied territory. Leo had made this a spectacle. The massive doors of the Great Hall swung open.
Leo lounged on a throne, power radiating from him in waves. This was not the mate she had known for ten years. This was something ancient and terrible. “Luna Seline, you stand accused of poisoning Bella, my consort, and our unborn child, my heir.
”
She met his gaze steadily. When she did not reply, he called forth two other Alphas to judge her. Alpha Cedric of the Southern Territories studied her with clinical interest. And the third judge, who had not yet arrived.
“Is this where I come in? ”
Her heart stopped. That voice. She knew that voice better than her own heartbeat.
“I apologize for my tardiness, but my brother’s funeral arrangements have kept me quite busy. Though I wouldn’t miss this for the world. ”
The crowd parted, and there he was. Jace.
No, King Jace now, and he wore the title like he had been born to it. His blue eyes found hers across the crowded hall, and the warmth in them made her heart stutter. “My queen,” he greeted her, as if she wore silk instead of prison rags. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, a gesture that felt like a declaration of war.
“Shall we proceed? ” He turned to Leo, his smile holding the danger of a drawn blade. The trial continued. Leo presented the evidence, the poison, the journal, and witness after witness stepped forward, speaking of imagined wrongs under Leo’s oppressive power.
Only Sarah, a young pack member, stood straight-backed and declared her loyalty. Even Seline’s mother came, tearful, using her birth name, Siobhan, a name Leo had changed because he could not be bothered to learn its proper pronunciation. Then it was Seline’s turn to speak. “I didn’t kill Bella,” she said.
“But perhaps I know who did. ” The crowd murmured. “Have you seen Bella’s bodyguard since her death? Ian has been conspicuously absent.
”
She told them she had caught Bella and Ian in a passionate embrace in the gardens, that Ian had claimed Bella’s child was his. Leo’s fury filled the room like smoke. “Either you’re lying now, or you knew of this affair for months,” Leo snarled. “Either way, you’ve sealed your own guilt.
”
The vote came. Jace believed her innocent. But Cedric, after hesitation, voted against her. “As Alpha, I declare Seline guilty.
The sentence is death. ”
Her eyes found Jace’s amidst the chaos, his flecked with gold and filled with a crazed desperation. “No. ”
The word stopped the entire Hall cold.
“I claim right of substitution,” Jace declared. The silence was deafening. He was offering to die in her place. “This woman is my fated mate,” Jace said, his gaze locking with hers.
He reached for his shirt. “Shall I show you my mark? The name I’ve carried since birth? ”
He unbuttoned his shirt, and the mark sat above his heart.
Her name. Her true name. Siobhan, written in elegant script. Her hand trembled as she reached for it.
The moment her fingers brushed his skin, heat bloomed, spreading outward until her whole body hummed with awareness of him. Light spread beneath her fingertips. The mark began to glow with a soft blue radiance. “Well,” Jace’s voice held quiet triumph.
“That solves it. ”
But Leo’s satisfied voice shattered the moment. “Then as her fated mate, you have the right to take her place. The execution will proceed as planned.
”
“No! ” The word tore from Seline’s throat. “I won’t let you do this! ”
“You can’t stop me,” Jace said gently.
“I’m Alpha now. I outrank you. ”
She turned to Cedric, desperation lending steel to her spine. “Give me time to prove my claims about Ian.
One week. ”
“Executing the leader of a foreign pack would have consequences,” Cedric mused. “The politics become messier. ” He declared, “Twenty-four hours.
Find proof, or he dies. ”
The countdown had begun. Seline descended the courthouse steps to find the pack surging forward with questions. A senior enforcer named Eric caught her elbow.
“The Alpha requests you leave his territory immediately, under escort. ”
“Leave? How am I supposed to gather evidence if I’m forced to leave? ” She met his gaze steadily.
“Because if I don’t clear my name, my true mate—the king of the leopard pack—will die. And then his blood won’t be the only one that spills. ”
She slipped free and pushed through the crowd. Back at the mansion, a servant named Sarah emerged from a hidden alcove.
“The Alpha’s men are watching your chambers. Use the servants’ passage. ”
“I don’t have an alpha,” Sarah declared, jaw clenched. “I have a Luna.
And that’s you. ”
Sarah had information. The cook had mentioned deliveries to the docks, supplies that didn’t match their usual orders. Ian had worked at the docks as security before being hired to protect Bella.
They found Ian’s chambers. He had been nervous, wanted to look his best. The fresh polish on his boots proved it. And beneath his bed, a crumpled receipt from Maritime Shipping Company.
Dock seven, storage. The docks bustled with afternoon activity. A weathered worker told them the warehouse had been quiet lately, except for one big fellow coming and going at odd hours. Ian’s scent grew stronger as they approached the warehouse.
The main entrance was locked, but a side door yielded to their touch. Inside, crates towered toward a distant ceiling, and the scent trail wove between them, growing fainter. It stopped at a stack of empty crates. A dead end.
“Six hours gone,” Sarah checked her watch. They split up, searching for records, and Sarah found a door tucked between towering shelves, unremarkable except for a faint golden light seeping beneath it. Seline reached for the handle. “I need to find the truth.
I need to save him. ”
The door swung open, and Seline stepped through. Not into an office. Into impossibility.
She stood inside an old bookshop. Dim moonlight filtered through the windows, though it had been midafternoon moments ago. Sarah was gone. The docks were gone.
She had never seen this town in her life. A shadow moved ahead. A young woman emerged from a small kitchen area, carrying a steaming cup of tea. Human.
Seline’s attack stopped mid-motion, her hand freezing inches from the girl’s horrified gaze. Then the girl screamed, tea splashing across worn floorboards, and something wrapped around Seline’s throat. The dark presence she had sensed exploded around them, crushing her windpipe. Dark spots danced at the edges of her vision.
Through the darkness, a man appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Green eyes bore into hers, his head cocked with curiosity. “What do you want with Iris? ” he asked.
Seline’s only reply was a choked gasp. The pressure vanished, dropping her unceremoniously to the floor. The man rounded on the girl. “Well, why did you scream then?
”
“Gee, I don’t know, Adrien. Maybe because she came out of nowhere? ”
The man, Adrien, knelt beside Seline. “Terribly sorry.
Thought you were attacking my assistant. ”
The darkness she had sensed emanated from him in waves. “This man practices dark magic,” Seline warned the girl. “Are you aware?
”
Iris rolled her eyes. “Oh, trust me, I’m aware. ”
Adrien gestured lazily toward the door. “Door’s right over there.
Go on, shifter. Nobody’s stopping you. ”
“Where even are we? ” Seline asked.
“My shop,” Adrien deadpanned. “It’s night out. ”
“It wasn’t when—” She stopped, unable to complete the thought. “I teleported to the shop,” Iris supplied helpfully.
“How do I get back? ”
“Through the door. You’ll end up right back where you started. It’s what happens to all our clients.
”
“I’m not a client. ”
“You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t,” Adrien said with absolute certainty. “People end up here when they truly yearn for something, so that I can give it to them. ”
“What do you mean?
”
“I grant wishes. Any wish, really. Though there’s always a price. ”
“What kind of price?
”
“Whatever you love most. Though it’s rarely what people expect. ”
Her mind raced. Eighteen hours to save Jace.
No leads. No proof. Just the truth locked away somewhere, taunting her while time slipped away. “Could you help me find proof against someone?
” The words escaped before she could stop them. “Yes,” Adrien said simply. His eyes met hers, and she saw something there that made her wolf want to howl—a deep, endless sadness, like he already knew exactly how this would end. She explained everything.
Bella. Her mate’s mistress. The sudden death. The evidence that appeared as if by magic.
Ian’s suspicious disappearance. As she spoke, Adrien’s face grew steadily pale. When she finished, he looked downright ill. “So will you help me?
”
“I’m sorry,” Adrien said, genuine regret in his voice. “I can’t. ”
“But you just said—”
“Helping you find what you’re looking for would go directly against a wish I’ve already granted. ”
Seline froze as the implications crashed over her like ice water.
“Are you saying Ian asked you to frame me? ”
“I can neither confirm nor deny. ”
Iris stepped between them. “It’s not his fault.
There are rules. He can’t refuse a wish, can’t take one back, and can’t grant anything that would undo a previous wish. And he absolutely cannot tell you who wished for what or why. ”
“Someone is about to die in my place,” Seline’s composure cracked, “for a crime I didn’t commit.
”
“Adrien will die if he breaks the rules,” Iris snapped back. Seline forced herself to breathe. Facts aligned in her mind like pieces on a chessboard. Someone had definitely wished for her to be framed.
Her instincts screamed it was Ian. “Could you help me track someone down? ”
Adrien nodded. “Could you help me get to this person right away?
”
Another nod. “Then, in exchange, you’d take what matters most to me—”
“Iris whirled on him, appalled. “What are you doing? ”
“I’m just saying,” Adrien tried.
“No, you’re doing the thing. The thing where he’s not technically breaking the rules, but he kind of is, and then he gets sick. ”
“I don’t understand,” Seline began. “He already explained.
Use your powers. Track down your culprit. ”
“I already tried that,” Seline snapped. “It led me—” She stopped.
Realization dawning. It had led her here. To this impossible shop where Ian had been. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus past the overwhelming darkness of Adrien’s magic.
Beneath layers of dust and old paper, past the lingering traces of countless desperate visitors, she caught it. Ian’s distinctive scent. It led to the shop’s entrance. Iris yanked the door open.
Beyond lay the dark street. “Take my hand. I’ll go first. ”
They stepped out together onto worn cobblestones.
“There. You’re still here. ”
“Thank you,” Seline breathed. “Yeah, whatever.
Come back to the shop when you want to get home. If I’m not holding your hand, the portal will work. ”
The scent grew stronger with each step, leading her to a rundown motel. She acted casual, got a room for the night.
Then she followed Ian’s trail up creaking stairs. His scent was overwhelming. He was close. Something else tickled her nose.
Another shifter. Maddeningly familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Time was running out. Jace’s life hung by a thread.
With a silent prayer, Seline kicked the door clean off its hinges. A shocked scream pierced the air, followed by a deep male growl. But Seline barely registered them. Her entire world narrowed to a single, impossible sight.
For there, tangled in cheap motel sheets and very much alive, was Bella. The word caught in Seline’s throat. Bella’s pregnant belly was clearly visible beneath a silk nightgown as she scrambled to cover herself. The baby, at least, was safe.
Bella’s eyes were wide with terror. “You can’t be here. Seline, how are you here? ”
A shadow launched itself forward.
Ian’s massive frame filled Seline’s vision. “You should have left well enough alone, Luna. ”
“And died for your fake crime? ” Seline snapped, dropping into a defensive crouch.
He struck first, but Seline slid under his guard, landing three quick strikes to his ribs. He was stronger, but his movements telegraphed his intentions. All brute force, no finesse. “Ian, she’ll tell Leo,” Bella wailed.
“She’ll keep it down if you want every human in this dump to hear us,” Ian snapped over his shoulder. Seline seized her opening. She drove her knee into his sternum, followed by an elbow to his throat. He staggered.
A sweep took his legs out, and she followed him down, forearm pressed against his windpipe. “How did you do it? The magician helped you fake her death somehow, didn’t he? All to frame me?
”
“He had no choice! ” Bella’s voice cracked with desperation. “Ian was protecting me. Leo found out about us.
He was going to execute me. Ian had to get me away, had to make sure Leo wouldn’t come looking. By framing me for murder? ”
Seline’s mind raced.
She compared this story to Leo’s genuine devastation at losing the heir he so desperately wanted. “You’re lying,” she realized. “Even if Leo somehow discovered the affair—which I doubt—he would never harm his own child. Pack laws forbid executing pregnant women.
Leo may be impulsive, but he’s still Alpha. And most importantly, he’s convinced this child is his. You lied to Bella to get her to play along, didn’t you? ”
Bella’s tear-streaked face went very still.
“Besides, if he’d truly discovered your infidelity, he wouldn’t have been so quick to blame me for your death. Trust me on this. He has no idea. ”
Something shifted in Bella’s expression.
Dawning horror as she searched Ian’s face. “Ian. You lied to me. ”
Ian’s struggles renewed with fresh desperation.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore! Watching him parade you around, touching you, claiming you, when you’re mine! I had to get you away, make you see reason! ”
“How could you?
Tell me about the magician! ” Seline cut through Bella’s hysteria. “You made a wish. ”
Ian’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Yes. I wished for his help to fake her death, to get her away from him. ”
Bella launched herself from the bed, tiny fists beating against Ian’s chest. “I had everything!
The finest silks from Paris! Jewelry worth fortunes! An entire wing of the mansion to myself! I was special—Leo’s miracle, his perfect love—and you destroyed it!
”
“If that’s all you wanted,” Ian snarled, straining against Seline’s hold, “you should have let me go. But you couldn’t, could you? Because deep down, you know none of those things matter. Not compared to what we have.
”
Bella’s only response was a fresh wave of tears. Time was slipping away. Somewhere, Jace waited in a cell, counting down his final hours. “Listen,” Seline cut in, forcing her voice to be reasonable.
“I can take you back to court, Bella. I’ll testify that Ian kidnapped you, that I tracked you down and rescued you. Leo never has to know the truth. You can pick up exactly where you left off.
”
Hope flared in Bella’s tear-stained face, but uncertainty quickly followed. “But Leo will never stop hunting Ian. He’ll want revenge. ”
Seline turned to Ian, still pinned beneath her.
“But with a good head start, you could disappear, couldn’t you? ”
“Never,” Ian snarled. “She’s mine. I won’t let her.
”
“Then make him see it,” Seline snapped at Bella. “Tell him you don’t want to see him again. ”
Bella’s lower lip trembled. Something passed between them, some silent communication.
“You can’t do it, can you? ” Ian’s smile held triumph despite his position. “Go on, tell her. Tell her you don’t want me.
”
“I—I don’t—” Bella’s voice wavered unconvincingly. Before Seline could react, Ian surged upward with unexpected strength. Her hold broke as he twisted free. But instead of attacking, he reached for Bella.
She fell into his arms like she had been waiting for exactly this moment, their lips meeting in a desperate kiss. Seline watched them with growing disgust. Did either of them realize how many lives their theatrical romance had destroyed? Or perhaps they simply didn’t care.
“Fine,” she said, moving toward the door. “Then I’ll tell them all what you did. Good luck hiding from an Alpha’s rage. ”
Ian broke away from Bella with a snarl, lunging for Seline.
She pivoted, catching him with a precise kick that sent him staggering back. “If I don’t return, people will come looking. If not Leo, then the leopards. And they’ll be furious about Jace’s death.
”
“Jace? ” Bella’s brow furrowed. “Why would Jace die? ”
“Because he claimed right of substitution.
He offered his life in place of mine. ”
Shock rippled across Bella’s face as the implications sank in. Real guilt flickered in her eyes for the first time. “Your best chance is to run now.
I won’t stop you. But I will not sacrifice Jace or risk war between our packs for the likes of you. ”
Ian’s muscles bunched, clearly considering his odds. But Bella moved faster.
She threw herself at Seline’s feet, clutching at her hands. “Please. I understand, but please beg Leo for mercy for both of us. ”
“As if that would matter.
”
“It will,” Bella’s gaze held steady. “You matter to him more than you know. And more importantly, you matter to the pack. Leo threw me aside for you.
The pack’s loyalty belongs to him. ”
“If I’m good at one thing,” Bella’s voice dropped lower, “it’s understanding what people want. Leo wants a version of you he can’t have. And the pack wants their Luna.
Why do you think I was so jealous? I tried so hard, but not everyone can be who you are. ”
Seline studied her face, searching for manipulation. She found it, of course.
Bella was nothing if not skilled at telling people what they wanted to hear. But beneath the calculation lay something else. Genuine admiration, maybe even shame. “Good luck,” Seline said finally.
She reached down and grabbed a handful of Bella’s golden hair, yanking hard. “Ow! What was that for? ”
“What do you think?
” Seline replied, holding the hair in her hand. “For stealing your man? ” Bella offered reluctantly. Seline rolled her eyes.
“No, silly girl. For proof that you’re alive. ”
She left them there, their dramatic romance perfectly intact. She had a life to save and not much time left to do it.
Bella’s words echoed in her mind. *Not everyone can be who you are. *
Perhaps the girl had meant it as flattery. But she had spoken a deeper truth than she knew.
Seline hadn’t spent years becoming the perfect Luna just to throw it all away now. It was time to remind everyone exactly who she was. Seline stood before the courthouse doors, fingers tightening around the strands of golden hair in her pocket. “You really think this will work?
” Sarah whispered beside her. “It has to. ”
She had only one person to convince. Leo.
Jace’s fate rested in the Alpha’s hands. The courtroom was already packed, but Leo’s presence dominated everything. Power meant to crush. “I’m aware,” she said when he snarled that her time was almost up.
She demanded to see Jace. When they brought him in chains, their eyes met across the crowded room, and something inside her chest broke and mended all at once. If he died today, she knew with sudden clarity, she would die with him. “Consort Bella is still alive,” Seline declared.
The courtroom exploded. Voices rose in shock and disbelief. “Is this a joke to you? ” Leo roared, silencing the chaos.
“Is this how you treat the dead? ”
“Seeing as no one’s dead, it’s hard to know how I’d treat them. ”
“How dare you come here—”
“Let her speak. ” Jace’s command cut through Leo’s rage like a blade.
His eyes found hers, that dangerous half-smile she loved so much playing at his lips. “The floor is yours, my queen. ”
She straightened her spine and told them everything. The affair she had witnessed.
Ian’s disappearance. The docks. The portal. The magician Adrien.
Cedric’s measured tone sliced through the tension. “This magician she speaks of does exist. I’ve heard of him from other packs. ”
She told them about tracking Ian to the motel, about finding Bella alive.
She pulled the golden strands from her pocket, holding them high. “I took this as proof. You’ll recognize Bella’s scent, Alpha. You’ll also notice it doesn’t carry the taint of death.
”
She approached Leo, offering the hair. Something flickered in his eyes as he breathed in the scent. Recognition. Confusion.
Maybe even hope. “My Alpha,” she began gently. “I know this betrayal cuts deep. But Bella was as much victim as perpetrator.
She and her unborn child deserve mercy, not pursuit. If I can find forgiveness in my heart after being framed for her murder, surely you—”
The words died in her throat. Something in Leo’s amber depths made her wolf want to bare its throat. Not anger or hatred, but something worse.
A cold, calculated pleasure, like a predator watching its prey walk willingly into a trap. “Is this a joke? ” Leo’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. He held up the strands like they offended him.
“This proves nothing. Just hair. You could have collected it anywhere in the mansion. ”
Disbelief crashed through her chest.
“Leo, surely you recognize her scent. How it differs from old hair or a corpse. ” She took a steadying breath and played her final card. “Besides, Leo, you’re my mate.
You can feel it through our bond. Am I lying? ”
Their eyes locked. For one heartbeat, Seline believed this man who had shared her bed, her life, her dreams for over a decade.
Whatever his faults, he knew her heart. He knew her truth. But then something shifted in his gaze. Something mean and dark and deliberately cruel.
“Yes,” Leo said, crushing the strands in his fist. “You’re lying. ”
He turned to the crowd, his voice dripping with contempt. “Why would Bella, who loved me, abandon me for a lesser wolf?
Why would she deny our child the brightest future? She had me, yet she’d chosen another. Impossible. She, however”—he rounded on Seline—”was about to be replaced in favor of my heir.
She was about to lose everything. She had motive. ”
The truth hit Seline like a physical blow. She had been so focused on Leo knowing her that she’d forgotten how well she knew him.
Instead of catering to his ego, phrasing the story to leave his pride intact, she had simply told the truth. But truth meant nothing to Leo. Only pride. “I am Alpha of this pack and this woman’s mate,” Leo declared.
“Actually, I’m her mate,” Jace interjected. “You’re not bonded yet,” Leo snarled. “Only I have insight into Seline’s feelings. She’s lying, desperate to save you.
She fabricated this ridiculous story because she can’t bear losing you. But she committed a crime against me, against this pack, against you all. She must pay the price. And since—”
Seline clenched her fists.
How could she have been so foolish? Blinded again by doing the right thing. By trying to save everyone. By trusting Leo.
“I’m not lying,” the words burst from her. She lifted her chin and turned to face her people. “For years, I’ve served this pack faithfully. Done everything in my power to make it thrive.
For this pack, I accepted my mate’s betrayal. For this pack, I sent the man I love away. And for this pack, I would have stepped aside so it could have its heir. I would never risk instability, conflict, and death to satisfy a selfish impulse.
I would never harm a member of my pack and her unborn child, no matter what she did with my mate. I’m a Luna. As Luna, my duty defines me. ”
Silence fell like snow over the courtroom.
Seline closed her eyes, resigned to meeting Jace again in death. “Then I believe her. ” Sarah’s voice cut through the silence like a blade. She dropped to her knees.
“Our Luna is fair and true. She would never lie. ”
“You’ll pay for this, Sarah! ” Leo roared.
“And why should she? ” Jace’s voice carried that dangerous edge. “You say Seline is lying; she says she isn’t. Who’s to say you’re not the liar here, Alpha?
” He turned to Cedric. “Seline has been nothing but faithful and reliable for years, to her pack and others. Do you really think she’d risk everything? ”
A heavy silence followed.
Seline watched faces she had known for years—people she had helped, protected, served—turn away from her gaze, one by one. Some looked ashamed, others simply resigned. But none spoke up. None challenged their Alpha.
Leo’s triumphant snort echoed through the heavy silence. Seline offered Jace a sad smile. He was too new an Alpha to understand. A pack always trusted its Alpha first.
“Then I believe Luna Seline. ” The words came soft but clear from an elderly wolf at the back of the room, one whose grandchildren Seline had helped deliver. “I believe my Luna. ” A young warrior dropped to one knee.
Then another. Like dominoes falling in slow motion. Women Seline had counseled through difficult matings. Men whose territory disputes she had settled fairly.
Children she had protected, trained, guided. One by one, then in waves, they knelt before her, heads bowed in submission to her truth. “How dare you! ” Leo’s voice cracked with fury.
“I’m the Alpha! My word is law! ”
“You’re only Alpha while the pack trusts you to lead it,” Jace said, his smile holding no warmth. Leo’s answering roar of rage drowned beneath a rising tide of voices.
“Luna Seline! ” they chanted, fists pressed to hearts in ancient gestures of respect and devotion. The sound swelled until it seemed to make the very walls vibrate. Not just voices, but the collective heartbeat of her pack.
Choosing truth over power. Choosing her. Tears slipped down Seline’s cheeks as she watched them kneel, one after another, until only Leo remained standing, screaming in impotent rage at the wall of their pack’s faith in her. She had never sought power or glory, had never wanted anything but to serve her people well.
But in this moment, watching them choose her, choose truth and justice and everything she had tried to represent, she finally understood what it truly meant to be Luna. Six months later, moonlight spilled across rumpled sheets, painting silver paths along bare skin. Seline traced her fingers over the mark above Jace’s heart where *Siobhan* stood stark against his skin. Her true name, the one she had almost forgotten until fate brought them together.
“Still can’t believe you never told me your real name,” Jace murmured, catching her wandering hand and bringing it to his lips. “I hadn’t used it in so many years, I’d almost forgotten it. ” She smiled against his chest, pressing a kiss to the mark that had drawn them together even before they knew it. “Besides, I rather enjoyed watching you search for your mysterious soulmate when she was right in front of you.
”
His laugh rumbled beneath her cheek. “Wicked woman. ” His hands slid down her back, drawing her closer. “Though I suppose I deserve it for not recognizing my true mate sooner.
”
“We found each other in the end. ”
His hand drifted to her swollen belly, where their twins grew stronger each day. “More than found each other. Created something entirely new.
”
Their packs had merged seamlessly under their joint leadership, something that might have seemed impossible mere months ago. But then, so much had changed since that day in court when her people chose truth over power. “Any word on Leo’s whereabouts? ” Jace asked, though they both knew he didn’t really care.
“None. ” Seline’s voice held no regret. Their mate bond had broken clean after the trial, like cutting a rope already frayed beyond repair. “Though I heard interesting news about Bella.
She’s mated to some powerful beta in the southern territories. Calls herself Genevieve now. ”
Jace’s nose wrinkled. “After everything Ian risked for her?
”
Seline shrugged. “He made a wish to get Bella, and in doing so, he lost her. ”
“Speaking of the magician,” Jace’s fingers trailed up her spine. “Sarah swears she found his shop again last week.
”
“She didn’t. ” Seline snorted. “Some doors only open once, when they’re truly needed. ”
His lips found that sensitive spot behind her ear.
“And what do you truly need now, my queen? ”
“Just this. ” She turned in his arms, meeting his midnight blue eyes. “You.
Us. The truth of what we are together. ”
His smile held everything she loved about him, that dangerous edge softened by genuine warmth. No flattery.
No ego-stroking. “Would you want that? ” she asked. “Gods, no.
” He captured her mouth in another kiss, this one heated with promise. “I want exactly what I have. You. ”
She smiled.
“Even when I’m pointing out how impossible you’re being? ”
“Especially then. ” His hands grew more purposeful in their wandering. “Though perhaps we could delay the next lesson in honesty for a few hours.
”
Seline laughed, thinking about paths not taken. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t found the courage that day in court. What if I’d just accepted his judgment, like the perfect, obedient Luna everyone expected me to be? ”
“You were never meant to be just someone’s perfect, obedient Luna.
” His fingers trailed along her arm. “You’re just meant to be you. Which turns out great for me, because you are perfect. ”
“Still,” she mused.
“I suppose I owe someone a huge thank-you for helping us find each other. ”
Jace’s chest puffed up. “Well, you’re welcome, my queen. ”
Seline snorted.
“Oh, I meant Bella. ”
“Bella? ” Jace sounded so offended she had to laugh. “Well, think about it.
Without her creating all this drama, who knows how long I would have stayed trapped, playing the perfect mate? ” She grinned up at him. “Really, we should send her a gift basket. ”
“A gift basket,” he repeated flatly.
“To thank her for almost getting you executed. ”
“It all worked out in the end, didn’t it? ” She patted his chest soothingly. “I found my true mate, escaped a loveless marriage, and learned I wasn’t actually barren.
”
Jace laughed despite himself, pulling her closer. “You’re impossible. ”
“And yet you love me. ”
“I do.
”
She snuggled into his warmth, grateful for everything, even the hard parts that had led her here. To a future bright with possibility, and twins on the way. Maybe she really should send Bella that thank-you note. She snorted and decided against it.
Let’s not push it.
