hapter Twenty Four
Roman’s POV
The house had grown too quiet
Not the silence of peace, but the kind that draped over everything like fog before a storm. Thick. Unsettling Charged
Ronan stood by the window in his study, a glass of untouched bourbon in his hand. Below, the gardens lay bathed in moonlight. and deceptive. You’d never know from looking that the ground had been watered with betrayal
pristine
Liora. The name now tasted like poison He’d listened to the recording twice–once with Elara beside him, fists clenched, tears in her eyes. The second time alone. He didn’t cry. He didn’t rage. He simply stood still, the weight of his failure pressing down on him like chains. He’d let that woman into their lives, Into their home. Into his heart.He set the glass down.
“Bring them in,” he said to the guard outside
Moments later, the triplets entered. Elara, face hard and unreadable. Ryker, coiled like a spring. Calix, silent but sharp–eyed He looked at them not children, not anymore Wolves. Selene’s children. His
“I want her gone,” Ryker said before anyone else spoke.
“Not just gone” Elara added. “Exposed”
Ronan nodded. “We do this right. No blood, unless we have to. No chaos. She’s still Luna in the eyes of the pack. She’s pregnant” “She says she is Calix muttered
“She is Elara said softly “I felt it. But it’s not ours. Not really.”
Ronan let out a breath. “Then we trap her Publicly, Carefully
“How?” Ryker asked
Ronan met their eyes. “We play along. All of us.”
R
The next morning. Liora entered the dining hall to find breakfast set like something out of a royal painting Warm rolls. Steaming tea. Honey–glazed venison. The triplets already seated. Ronan waiting for her…
She hesitated.
“Good morning. Ronan said, his voice smoother than it had been in weeks. “You’re glowing“!
Her eyes narrowed. Then softened. “I wasn’t sure you’d join me today.”
“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “About everything. About us. About the baby”
She moved to him, laid a hand on his chest. “I know I haven’t been perfect, Ronan, But I’ve tried-”
“Shhh” He took her hand, kissed it. “Let’s not look back.”
Across the table, Calix bit into a roll with theatrical nonchalance Elara watched her father like a hawk. Ryker said nothing, but Ronan felt his son’s tension from across the room.!
“We should go away, Ronan said. “Just us. The family. One last top before the baby comes.”
Liora blinked. “What?”
“Something small. Traditional. A wolf run through the sacred trails. We’ve done it every time a Luna was expecting. My mother did it before me.
“And Our Mother Elara added smoothly. “I remember the photos.”
Liora’s smile twitched. 1… don’t know if it’s safe. Traveling so late into pregnancy–2
“You said the baby’s strong,” Ronan said. “And the trail is protected. It will be good for the pack to see us united again.”
Liora hesitated. “Yes. Yes, of course. That sounds… wonderful.
They left two nights later.
Roman kept it intimate. Just the family, a few guards, and Healer Mave, under the guise of tending to Liora. In truth, Mave was a loyalist. One who had served Selene from the beginning.
The journey took them through the lower ridge of Stormveil, into the Moonpine Woods. Sacred land. No magic could be hidden here. No glamours could hold. The trees stripped you bare, body and soul.
Liora was tense the entire ride Elara pretended not to notice. Ryker kept close to Calix, murmuring about tactical positioning. at the front eyes sharp.
By dusk, they reached the clearing k she saw them…
Ronan rode
Mave had already begun preparing the stones–part of a traditional moon
rite. Liora paled slightly when
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A blessing for the unbom, Mave replied: “Custom”
Liora licked her lips. I didn’t bring the proper clothes-”
“We’ll provide them,” Elara said!
“And we need a fire, Ronan added. “Big
lig one. Tonight, we dance. For the past. For what’s coming
Chaudes Pupa Narry Soi Chood His Eremy
He laid a hand on her belly. “For our future.“|||
the fire b
That night, under a towering moon, the fire blazed high
The pack circle was drawn. Mave placed the ancestral mirror at the center–one enchanted to reveal truth when touched by blood and moonlight Ronan stood behind Liora, hands gently on her shoulders.
“Come,” he said. “We’ll begin.”
Liora turned to him, her smile twitching. “Are you sure?”
“More than ever”
She stepped into the circle. Mave stepped forward with the mirror
“This is tradition,” Mave said. “The Luna offers a drop of her blood. The mirror reflects her true heart to the pack. It ensures her protection -and the child’s,”
Liora froze.
“I’ve never heard of this,” she said.
“It’s old,” Ronan replied. “From the First Moonbloods. Lyra did it without hesitation“>
“Then I will too, Liora said, voice tight?
She took the blade. Nicked her finger Blood touched glass he fire surged. And the mirror changed
Her reflection melted. The face that emerged wasn’t young or radiant. It was sunken Twisted. Dark veins beneath the skin. Not Luna. Not wolf.
Witch. The triplets didn’t flinch.
The guards closed in Liora spun, wild with panic.
“You–no! This isn’t real, it’s a trick!”
“No trick,” Mave said. “Truth”
Ronan stepped into the circle. His voice low Deadly!
“Your les end here, Liora.”
ut you have no idea what I’ve promised. Who I serve.”
She backed away. “You all think you’re so clever. But you
“We don’t care,” Ryker said. “We just want you gone.”}
Elara lifted the recording crystal.
“And we’re not hiding anymore.”
Liora looked between them. Then she smiled. A smile full of teeth.
“You think this ends with me? You think Selene’s children will be safe? You’ve only just begun the war.“2
Ronan moved closer.
“Then let it begin. But not with you in my home. Not near my children, You’ll walk out of here alive–barely. If you ever return, you won’t walk out at all“)
For a moment, she considered lashing out. Then she saw the guards. The triplets. The fire. The mirror
And she knew, She vanished Smoke and shadow swallowed her But her scent lingered.
Ronan didn’t speak for a long while. Not until the fire died down and the circle dissolved.
He turned to his children. His warriors.)
“I’m sorry,” he said. “For everything I didn’t see. Everything I didn’t stop.”
Elara stepped forward first. She hugged him.
“We see now,” she whispered. “And we fight together.”
Ronan looked up at the moon, aching but relieved.
Wherever Selene was, he knew she would’ve been proud.But something deeper stirred in his chest. This wasn’t over!!
Liora was gone But her war had only just begun.
1107
