The cell reeks of mold and misery. Three days in the dungeons, and Seline can no longer remember what fresh air tastes like. The cream silk of her baby shower dress, now stained with grime and sweat, feels like a mockery. The Luna of the Northern Territories sits in her own filth like any common criminal.
Something skitters in the darkness. Rat or roach—she stopped caring which. “Oi, your majesty,” a gravelly voice calls out. “Still too good to answer when we speak to you?
”
Raucous laughter follows. Some of them know exactly who she is. Others simply see a woman in fancy dress fallen from grace, an irresistible target. “Bet she’s not so uppity with the guards when they visit at night.
”
Seline pulls her knees tighter to her chest, pressing herself into the corner where the walls meet. Her stomach cramps with hunger. They feed the prisoners once a day—if they remember, if they bother. Someone will come, she’d thought at first.
Someone will realize this is madness. But the hours stretched into days, and no one has spoken in her defense. The guards who bring the thin gruel won’t meet her eyes. Her own mate—no, her Alpha—believes her capable of murder.
She almost laughs. All those years of perfect obedience, of putting the pack first, of being the ideal Luna—and for what? To die in this hole convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. The evidence had been perfectly planted.
The poison vial. The journal entries in her handwriting. Someone had studied her writing, knew her habits. Someone wanted her not just dead, but utterly destroyed.
A sob catches in her throat. She’s lived her entire life for duty, for the greater good. And this is her reward: abandoned, betrayed, expendable. The tears come then, hot and silent against her grimy cheeks.
So many regrets crowd her mind, impossible to ignore in the endless dark. She regrets not seeing Leo’s true nature sooner. Regrets thinking herself his equal when he only wanted submission. Regrets failing her pack when they needed her most.
She regrets Bella’s death. No—not Bella’s. Her unborn child’s. That innocent life snuffed out before it began.
Another thing she’ll never have, another dream to die with her in this pit. And Jace. The thought of him brings fresh pain, somehow worse than all the rest. She hopes he remembers her as she was—strong, dignified, worthy of respect.
Not this broken thing huddled in the dark, reduced to nothing but regret and bitter tears. Perhaps it’s better this way, she thinks as heavy boots approach down the corridor. Better he never sees what I’ve become. “Time for questioning,” a guard announces.
Seline knows there will be no mercy in what follows. The sunlight blinds her as they drag her through the gardens. After days in darkness, even the weak winter light feels like needles in her eyes. The air carries too many scents—dozens, perhaps hundreds of shifters gathered to witness her shame.
Murmurs ripple through the crowd as she stumbles past. Not just their pack then, but representatives from every allied territory. Leo has made this a spectacle. Her humiliation will be witnessed by the entire shifter world.
“The Luna’s fallen far,” someone whispers. “Never did trust those quiet ones. ”
“Hard to believe she’d poison a pregnant woman. ”
Her silk dress, once elegant, now hangs in filthy tatters.
Her hair, matted and unwashed, falls in her face. Each step feels like miles as they march her toward the Great Hall where Leo holds court. The crowd falls silent as the massive doors swing open. Afternoon moonlight streams through towering windows, creating a halo effect around Leo’s golden head.
He lounges on his throne—and it is a throne today, not the simple chair he usually uses. One leg thrown carelessly over the armrest, chin propped on his fist, power radiating from him in waves. This is not the mate she’s known for ten years. This is something ancient and terrible.
A god of judgment preparing to render verdict. “Bring her closer,” he commands, voice carrying to every corner. The guards shove her forward. She stumbles, knees hitting the marble floor hard enough to bruise.
Leo watches it all with cold detachment, as if she’s already ceased to exist in his mind. “Luna Seline,” his voice rings with authority. “You stand here today amongst our people and allies, in front of your Alpha and the alphas that stand with him, to be tried for the crime of murder. ”
She meets his gaze steadily, refusing to cower despite her position.
“You are accused of poisoning Bella, my consort, and our unborn child—my heir. ” Each word falls like a stone. “Two other alphas will assist me in determining your fate. ”
She manages a slight nod.
“To my right, Alpha Cedric of the Southern Territories. ”
Cedric studies her like a particularly interesting specimen. She remembers him from countless diplomatic functions, remembers earning his respect through careful negotiation. Now his gaze holds nothing but clinical interest.
Leo’s jaw clenches. “And our third judge—” He trails off, clearly annoyed by footsteps echoing through the hall. The crowd parts, murmuring. Though Seline can’t see who approaches through the sea of faces, their reactions ripple with shock, recognition, and something else.
Fear. “Is this where I come in? ” a voice booms. Seline’s heart stops.
That voice. She knows that smooth tone, knows the way it can shift from playful to lethal in a heartbeat. But it can’t be. He can’t be here.
Not now. Not like this. “I apologize for my tardiness, but my brother’s funeral arrangements have kept me quite busy. ” The voice continues, closer now, smug.
“Though I wouldn’t miss this for the world. ”
“Oh, we know,” Leo grinds out. “You made that perfectly clear. ”
The crowd parts fully, and there he is.
Jace. No—King Jace now. And dear God, he wears the title like he was born to it. Seline can’t breathe.
Can’t think. Her world narrows to the sight of him, to the way his eyes find hers across the crowded hall. “King Jace,” Leo inclines his head stiffly. “How nice of you to join us.
”
But Jace isn’t looking at Leo. He’s looking at her, blue gaze fixed on Seline with nothing but warmth and something deeper that makes her heart stutter. “My queen,” he greets her. The title sends a shockwave through the assembled shifters.
Whispers erupt like fire through dry grass. Queen, not Luna. Jace is claiming her as his own—and more than that, he’s claiming her as his equal. She catches a glimpse of Bella in the crowd, golden-haired and pregnant, watching the proceedings with undisguised jealousy.
Not Janet’s wife—impossible, Janet’s her mother. Yet she recognizes the other woman. Jace kneels before her, taking her filthy hands in his. “You’re my mate, Selene.
You’ve always been my mate. I was just too blind to see it. ”
A sharp gasp ripples through the crowd. Even Leo recoils as if struck.
A true mate bond, declared publicly, is irreversible. “Whatever happens in this courtroom, I want you to know—I love you. I’ve always loved you. And if you die today, I die with you.
”
The declaration hangs in the air for a precious heartbeat. The crowd’s reactions are a tapestry of shock, scandal, and something almost like admiration. Then Bella speaks, dripping venom. “Even a condemned woman can find a man willing to claim her.
”
“Forgive me, Alpha,” Jace ignores her easily, “but I believe my brother’s arrangements are my own concern. ”
“Your concern? ” Bella scoffs. “You’d choose the woman who killed my child?
”
“I choose the woman I love. ”
“You forget why we’re here,” Leo snarls, features twisting. “This is a trial, not a mating ceremony. ”
“Then perhaps we should get to the trial part,” Jace replies smoothly, rising to his feet and taking his place at the table to Seline’s right.
The three alphas take their positions like judges at a tribunal. Leo towers at the center, dictating the terms of the trial with relish. “Forty-eight hours, Luna Seline. That is all the time you have to prove your innocence.
If you fail, your mate will die in your place. ”
The words ring in Seline’s ears as the guards roughly pull her away. Behind her, she hears Jace’s voice, calm and unafraid. “I’ll see you soon, my queen.
”
Time becomes a blur of desperation. Seline’s mind races, trying to piece together the fragments of evidence. The real killer is still out there. Bella is alive, her pregnancy progressing when it should have ended in death.
There’s a magician involved—she’s heard whispers of one named Adrian. She has a plan forming, but she needs proof. Her mate’s life depends on it. —
The pack house feels alien when she enters it on her borrowed time.
She searches Leo’s office while her heart pounds in her throat. Letters and documents scattered everywhere hint at a conspiracy deeper than she imagined. Mateo schemes. Jace’s imprisonment and her own.
Her hands close around what she needs: a private letter to an alpha of a neighboring pack. The words implicate Leo in a plot to use her death as a pretext for war. Her mind races. She can expose him.
But that would tear the pack apart. She falters at the door. The pack that raised her, that she’s bled for. The people she was born to protect.
Her loyalty to them is the very thing Leo is counting on. Because she’s never been able to just walk away. —
Fifty hours have passed. Seline’s heart hammers against her ribs as she approaches the door to the room where Sarah waits, carefully avoiding the camera that watches from the corner.
The guard outside is dimwitted, easily distracted by the mention of a commotion around the pack. “You better have a good reason for this,” Sarah whispers, her voice tense as she cracks the door. “A key. Now.
” Seline’s voice is steel. “For what? ”
“I need to see Jace. ”
Sarah’s eyes go wide, then knowing.
“You love him, don’t you? ”
Seline doesn’t deny it. “He’s going to die for me, Sarah. I can’t let that happen.
”
“He’s not wrong to want to save you,” Sarah says softly. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to this pack. ”
“I can’t be the reason he dies. ”
Sarah’s face crumples, but she nods.
She presses a key into Seline’s palm. “The tunnel entrance is behind the old oak in the garden. It’ll take you right to the dungeon cells. ”
Seline’s eyes sting.
Her voice trembles. “Why—”
“Because you taught me what loyalty really means. ”
—
The tunnel is cold and dark, smelling of damp earth and rust. Seline’s hands shake as she finally finds him.
He’s chained to the wall, his face bruised but unbroken. The smile he gives her is the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. “Knew you’d come. ”
Seeing him like this—broken, battered, yet still smiling at her—shatters something inside her.
A sob escapes her throat. She presses her hand to the glass of his cell, watching him drag himself toward her, chains scraping against stone. “Don’t you cry, my queen. ” His voice is low, fierce.
“You hear me? Our story isn’t over yet. ”
“You’re going to die because of me. ”
He reaches for her through the bars, his fingers brushing hers.
“Better me than you. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. ”
She blinks back tears. “I won’t let that happen.
”
“Promise me you’ll fight. Whatever happens in that courtroom—you don’t give up. ”
She grips his hand through the bars. “I promise.
”
“Good girl. ” He presses a kiss to her knuckles. “Now go. Find the truth.
I’ll be waiting. ”
—
The courtroom is packed when Seline returns. She hasn’t slept, hasn’t eaten. But she has a piece of the truth hidden in her pocket and Bella’s name on her lips.
Leo watches her with a predator’s intensity, already savoring his victory. “You returned. ”
“You didn’t think I’d miss my own mate’s execution, did you? ”
Jace’s head snaps up, but Leo’s voice cuts through sharply.
“Spare me the theatrics. Do you have proof of your innocence or not? ”
“I have discovered some interesting things these past two days. ”
She draws herself up, her voice ringing through the room.
“The truth is that Bella is alive. She was never poisoned. ”
The crowd erupts. Voices rise in shock and disbelief.
Leo’s face goes through a series of colors before landing on a shade of purple that can’t be healthy. “That’s a serious accusation,” he growls. “I don’t make accusations, Alpha. I provide proof.
”
She holds up a fistful of golden hair, holding it high for all to see. “This is Bella’s hair. I pulled it from her head myself, just hours ago. You’ll recognize her scent, Alpha.
You’ll also notice it doesn’t carry the taint of death. ”
She watches as Leo breathes in the strands. Recognition, confusion, maybe even hope flickers in his eyes before they harden again. But Seline doesn’t stop.
“Your consort is alive. She faked her death with the help of the magician Adrian. She planned to run away with her lover, Ian. After the deed was done, she insisted on keeping me in this trial, while lying to everyone.
”
A woman in the crowd gasps. The ripple of shock passes through the courtroom like a wave. Leo stares at her, his expression unreadable. But Seline meets his gaze without flinching.
“I know your first instinct is to accuse me of lying. But ask yourself this: why would Bella, who had everything, throw it all away? Because she was afraid you would choose me over her. ”
Silence.
The kind that feels like a held breath. Then Leo speaks, his voice dangerously soft. “If what you say is true—where is she now? ”
“She’s hiding.
But I have her hair, and I have proof she’s alive. ”
The next words hang in the air like a blade suspended by a thread:
“The question is, what are you going to do about it? ”
—
Forty hours remain. Seline’s mind races as she tracks Ian to a motel on the edge of town.
He’s alive and well, which means Bella is too. She moves quickly, finding her way to the motel room where the clatter of fast-food wrappers and TV static tells her everything she needs. Through the window, she sees Ian pacing, but she doesn’t have time for games. She kicks the door open, startling him into a snarl.
“Seline. ” Ian’s voice is cold. “You’re supposed to be getting yourself killed in a courtroom. ”
“I’m afraid I have different plans.
”
She steps inside, holding up the strands of golden hair. “Your mistress is alive, Ian. And taking her life into his own hands, Leo has condemned me to die for her crime. I have proof.
”
Something flickers in Ian’s eyes. Not fear—calculation. “Let’s say I believe you. What do you want?
”
“Bella. Alive. Testifying to the truth. ”
“No.
”
“Then I’ll tell the alphas everything. About the affair. About the magician. About how you helped her fake her death.
”
Ian’s jaw tightens. “You have no proof. ”
Seline smiles. “I have her hair.
And once you dragged that poor sap into the interrogator, he’ll spill everything. ”
When Seline leaves the motel, her hands are shaking but her resolve is steel. She has one piece of the truth. The rest will come from somewhere else.
—
In the dark of night, Seline finds the magician’s shop tucked behind a seam in reality. The man at the counter has eyes like voids and a smile dripping with secrets. “Luna Seline,” Adrian greets, as if expecting her. “I’ve been waiting for you.
”
“You know why I’m here. ”
“I know many things. The question is—what are you willing to pay for what you want? ”
“I need proof that Bella didn’t die.
That I didn’t poison her. ”
Adrian tilts his head. “The truth can be purchased, but it has a price. ”
“What price?
”
He hands her a small silver mirror. “This will show you the truth of what happened that night. But it will cost you something precious. ”
“What?
”
He smiles wider. “A memory. Your mate’s name on your lips, three times. ”
Seline’s heart stops.
Jace’s name is the most precious thing she owns. But without proof, Jace dies anyway. “Fine. ”
She takes the mirror and speaks the words: “Jace, Jace, Jace.
”
The memory vanishes like smoke through her fingers. But in the mirror, she sees what really happened: Bella mixing the poison herself, priming her own body, knowing Leo would never question her. The image shatters into a thousand pieces. But the cost of the spell has left a lingering trace.
A strange new sense of him—still present, but distant. He is her mate. She painted it in her own red blood over her heart when she was young and foolish. And she will do it again, a thousand times, to save him.
—
Her verdict is declared: not guilty. But the trial is far from over. As the courtroom empties, Bella emerges from the shadows, looking pale and drawn. Her gaze lands on Seline with something that might be hatred—or admiration.
“So you did it. You saved yourself. ”
“I saved everyone. ”
Bella laughs bitterly.
“Do you really think Leo will let you go that easily? He wants you dead. You’re a threat. ”
“It doesn’t matter what Leo wants anymore.
”
“Then you don’t know him as well as you think you do. ”
Voices echo down the hall. Leo storming toward the dungeons, fury radiating from him like heat. Bella moves quickly, grabbing Seline’s arm.
“Follow me. Now. ”
She pulls Seline toward the farthest chamber, a forgotten storage room with a grate leading to the city sewers. Bella’s breaths come in ragged gasps.
“He’ll kill you if he finds you. ”
“You brought me here to help me escape? ”
“I owed you. ” Bella’s eyes are haunted.
“You were the only one who ever saw me. As more than a tool. You were the only one who treated me like a person. ”
Seline stares at her.
Bella pushes open the grate. “Go. Run. Find your mate.
”
“What about you? ”
“I’ll tell Leo you fought me. That you escaped alone. ”
“You’re lying to him for me?
”
Bella meets her eyes one last time, raw pain flickering in hers. “Maybe I want to be the hero of someone’s story for once. ”
—
Rain pounds the cobblestones as Seline runs toward the edge of the territory. Every muscle burns, every breath ragged.
Behind her, howls split the night—Leo’s enforcers closing in. She plunges into the forest, branches whipping her face, heart slamming against her ribs. Through the storm, another howl answers her. Strong, desperate, familiar.
Jace. He appears through the trees, wet and wild. She flings herself into his arms, her voice breaking on a sob. “I thought you were dead.
”
“I’ll never stop coming for you. ”
She presses her hand to his chest; his heart hammers beneath her palm. Pride surges through her alongside the exhaustion. This is a king who came for his queen.
“Are you ready to go home? ” he asks. “I’m ready. ”
—
The pack house has become a fortress.
Alpha Felix arrived a day after Seline returned, his presence stirring the air with tension. Along the wall, Jace stands with Seline at his side, meeting the newcomer’s gaze. “Thanks for coming,” Jace says. Felix’s eyes cut to Seline.
“For her, I would’ve walked through fire. ”
Jace stiffens. “Careful, Felix. ”
Felix replies with a shrug that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“The truth is the truth, Alpha. But don’t mistake it for a threat. ”
“You made your position clear. ”
“Then we understand each other.
”
Seline tries to read the currents beneath the calm surface, but the air has shifted. Something bled through her grasp. Felix’s gaze lingers on her longer than necessary, and Jace’s hold on her waist tightens. “We’ll speak after the trial,” Jace says firmly.
Felix nods, turning away. But the tension he leaves behind coils in Seline’s gut like something alive. —
In her chambers, disbelief still clings to her. “He came all this way for me.
”
“For you,” Jace agrees, too quietly. “Seline. ” He cups her face, voice going low. “I need you to understand something.
Whatever Felix feels, it doesn’t matter. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. ”
“I know that.
”
“Do you? ” His thumb brushes her cheek. “Because watching him look at you—it makes me want to stake my claim in ways I can’t take back. ”
Her breath catches.
“Then don’t hold back. ”
His mouth crashes into hers, a kiss of claiming and promise. When he pulls back, his smile is wolfish. “Have I told you how much I love you?
”
“Once or twice. ” She grins. “Remind me again. ”
—
The afternoon of the trial dawns bright and tense.
The courtroom feels larger today, crowded with shifters from every territory. Leo sits at the center of it all, his face a mask of disdain. Felix stands beside him, his gaze fixed on Seline with an intensity that makes her skin prickle. Jace’s hand finds hers under the table.
“Ready? ” he murmurs. “Always. ”
Two guards bring in Bella, her hands unbound.
Seline’s heart surges. She can do this. She has the proof. She has the mirror and the truth, and soon—finally—her name will be cleared.
But as Bella steps to the stand, a faint smile turns up the corner of her mouth. And Seline’s voice catches. “I don’t know what Seline wants you to believe,” Bella begins. “But I know the truth.
She tried to kill me. ”
“No. ”
Bella holds up her hand. “I have proof.
”
She pulls out a parchment covered in Seline’s handwriting—her own journal entry, full of venom. But Seline never wrote those words. The handwriting is a match, but it was forged. The courtroom erupts.
Jace is on his feet, shouting her innocence. Leo’s eyes gleam with vindication. Felix watches, unreadable. Seline’s chest tightens as she realizes the magician’s price wasn’t his name.
It was her ability to make anyone believe the truth. —
She can’t speak. Her voice leaves her entirely—stolen by the spell. The alphas confer in urgent voices.
Leo’s hand slams down. “The evidence is clear. Treason within this pack cannot be tolerated. ”
“No.
” Jace’s voice cuts through, sharp enough to draw blood. “I don’t believe this. ”
“The evidence speaks for itself,” Leo snarls. “Then I demand the right of substitution.
”
The room goes silent. Seline’s heart stops. Leo’s eyes narrow. “You know what that means.
”
“A life for a life,” Jace says steadily. “My mate’s crime is mine to answer. ”
“Jace, no. ” Seline’s voice is nothing more than a whisper, a hoarse rasp.
“Please. ”
But he looks at her with fierce tenderness. “I would die for you. A thousand times.
”
“You can’t—”
“I love you,” he says. “More than my own life. She watches as they take him away, her world collapsing around her. Leo turns to her with cold satisfaction.
“You will witness his execution at sunset. ”
—
Her cell is cold and empty. Her throat is raw from screaming words that won’t come. The mirror still sits in her pocket, leaking a faint silver light.
In the darkness, she finds it. He said he’d come for her. But this time, there’s no one coming to save her. She presses her hand to the mirror, and the voice that echoes back is not her own.
It’s Adrian’s. “A soul for a soul. ”
Her breath catches. “Your name is Siobhan,” he says.
“Use it, and he will live. ”
But the power of the spell will cost her everything she is, everything she’s ever been. Time is running out. She holds the mirror to her lips.
“I am Siobhan. ”
—
The courtroom is packed for the execution. Jace kneels at the block, his eyes finding hers across the room. They are clear and certain, full of love.
“I love you,” he says. “Until the stars burn out. ”
The executioner raises the blade. “No!
” Seline’s voice rings out like a bell. Words explode from her chest like fire, raw and powerful. “I am Siobhan! True Luna of the Northern Territories!
”
Golden light erupts around her, making everyone shield their eyes. The chains on Jace’s wrists shatter. The executioner’s blade freezes in mid-air. Leo recoils.
“What sorcery is this? ”
“This is the power of my true name,” she says, her voice echoing with an ancient force. “And I will not let you hurt my mate. ”
She raises her hand.
Forgotten truths pulse through her veins, the power of who she really is. “I demand justice. Not vengeance. Justice.
”
The light engulfs the room. —
When the light fades, the courtroom hums with raw power. The atmosphere is suffocating. Leo stands his ground, but there’s something new in his eyes—a flicker of fear.
“You can’t do this,” he says, but his voice shakes. “I can do more than you know. ”
Her gaze sweeps across the crowd. “The evidence against me was forged.
I have proof that Bella poisoned herself. I have a witness who will admit to the crime. ”
“Impossible! ”
“Succubus.
” She speaks the word with deliberate weight. “Her true nature is revealed. ”
Bella recoils; the glamour shatters like glass. Her form twists, revealing horns, a tail, eyes of flame.
Flying through the crowd, terrified screams erupt. Leo stares in horror. “You expected me to deny my nature, but you were wrong. I am stronger than you, and this ends now.
”
She holds out her hand. “The amulet. ”
From thin air, the truth her captors tried to bury spirals into her palm. She crushes it to dust.
The spell binding her voice shatters. “Reveal yourself, Leo. ”
He takes a step back, and the light of truth falls upon him. His shadow twists on the wall, revealing what he truly is—a beast clad in flesh, the killer who framed her from the start.
“You—” Leo’s voice is barely a whisper. “I am your justice. ”
—
The trial concludes with Leo stripped of his title and Bella banished. Jace’s chains fall away, and he crosses the distance in three strides, catching Seline in his arms so tightly she can barely breathe.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he murmurs against her hair. “Do what? ”
“Give up your voice for me. ”
Seline smiles into his chest.
“Never. ”
—
Alpha Leo’s removal is negotiated. Seline takes her rightful place as Luna of the Northern Territories. Her voice returns stronger than before.
She no longer recognizes the person she was, but Jace’s hand in hers keeps her grounded. One thing remains unresolved—the severed mate bond between her and Leo. It was broken the day she used her true name. It can never be re-formed.
“Are you happy with this? ” Jace asks under the moonlight. Seline traces the mark above his heart. “Happy is too small a word for what I feel.
”
Five months later, she stands under the stars, her hand pressed to the swell of her belly. Twins. Her children will know a different world. —
Six months after the trial, moonlight spills across rumpled sheets.
Seline’s fingers trace over the mark above Jace’s heart, where her true name sits stark against his skin. “I still can’t believe you never told me your name,” Jace murmurs. “I hadn’t used it in so many years, I’d almost forgotten it. ” She smiles, pressing a kiss to the mark that drew them together.
“Besides, I rather enjoyed watching you search for your mysterious soulmate. ”
“Wicked woman. ” His hands slide 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 drifts to her swollen belly, where their twins grow stronger each day. “More than found each other. We created something entirely new.
”
“Any word on Leo? ” Jace asks, though they both know he doesn’t really care. “None. ” Seline’s voice holds no regret.
Their mate bond had broken clean after the trial, like cutting a rope already frayed beyond repair. “I heard interesting news about Bella,” she adds. “She’s mated to some powerful beta in the southern territories. Calls herself Genevieve now.
”
Jace’s nose wrinkles. “After everything Ian risked for her? ”
“He made a wish to get Bella,” Seline shrugs. “In doing so, he lost her.
”
“Speaking of the magician—Sarah swears she found his shop again last week. ”
“She didn’t. ” Seline snorts. “Some doors only open once, when they’re truly needed.
”
His lips find the sensitive spot behind her ear. “And what do you truly need now, my queen? ”
“Just this. ” She turns in his arms, meeting his midnight blue eyes.
“You. Us. The truth of what we are together. ”
His smile holds everything she loves about him—that dangerous edge softened by genuine warmth.
“Would you want anything more? ”
“Gods, no. ” She captures his mouth in another kiss, this one heated with promise. “I want exactly what I have.
”
“You. ”
“Seline smiles. “Even when I’m pointing out how impossible you’re being. ”
“Especially then.
”
His hands grow more purposeful in their wandering. “Though perhaps we could delay the next lesson in honesty for a few hours. ”
“Some things are worth waiting for. ”
There’s a comfortable silence, then Jace murmurs, “I sometimes wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t found the courage that day in court.
”
“You’d still be miserable with Leo,” Seline points out. “No, I mean—what if you hadn’t stood up for yourself? What if you’d just accepted his judgment like the perfect, obedient Luna everyone expected you to be? ”
“You were never meant to be just someone’s perfect, obedient Luna,” he says firmly.
“You’re just meant to be you. Which turns out great for me, because you’re perfect. ”
“Still, I suppose I owe someone a huge thank you for helping us find each other. ”
Jace’s chest puffs up.
“Well, you’re welcome, my queen. ”
Seline snorts. “Oh, I meant Bella. ”
“Bella?
” Jace sounds so offended she has 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 grins up at him.
“Really, we should send her a gift basket. ”
“A gift basket,” he repeats flatly. “To thank her for almost getting you executed. ”
“It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?
” She pats his chest soothingly. “I found my true mate, escaped a loveless marriage, and learned I wasn’t actually barren. ”
Jace laughs despite himself, pulling her closer. “You’re impossible.
”
“And yet you love me. ”
“I do. ” She snuggles into his warmth, grateful for everything—even the hard parts that led her here, to a future bright with possibility and twins on the way. Maybe she really should send Bella that thank you note.
Then she snorts and decides against it. Because let’s not push it.
