CHAPTER 5

XARION'S POV

I didn’t sleep at all last night. I couldn't. Not with Megan haunting every inch of my mind and those twins seared into my chest.

I run my hand through my hair as I sit at the dining table, staring at a plate of scrambled eggs and smoked venison I can’t even taste.

My phone is next to my elbow and I keep glancing at it, waiting for Andrew to report back. He should’ve found something by now.

He was supposed to get back to me this morning with everything on Megan and the twins. I need answers, and this wait is killing me.

I have a meeting in an hour. One of the biggest corporate sponsorships we’ve pursued in years. Winning it means increased protection for the outer territories and major funding for my company. Losing it isn’t an option.

But right now, I can’t focus on any of that. Not when I can still hear Megan's voice saying, "Stay away from me and my children."

Children who might be mine.

I cut into the venison, chewing slowly, trying not to give in to the spiral forming in the back of my skull when I hear the door swing open.

I glance over my shoulder only to see none other than the former Alpha of the Aethonix Pack. Wilson Luther. My father.

“Dad?” I frown with an arched brow. “What are you doing here?”

“Morning, son,” he says, strolling into the room like he owns the place. “Didn’t think I’d need an invitation to see my own blood.”

I set my fork down with a low clink. “You never show up unless there’s a reason. So, what is it this time?”

He smiles lightly. “Maybe I missed my son.”

“And maybe I’ll believe that when the moon turns green.”

He chuckles as he walks to the liquor cart, pouring himself a splash of whiskey. Seven in the morning. Typical.

"How’s the pack?" he asks, not bothering to sit.

"Thriving. Despite your constant hovering."

"You call this hovering? I haven’t seen you in months."

"And yet I’ve never felt so supervised."

He raises his glass slightly in salute, then takes a sip. His gaze sharpens, cutting straight through me.

"And Danielle? When are you finally going to make her your Luna? Do you have a wedding date in mind yet?”

Ah. There it is. The real reason he came.

I pick my fork up slowly. "I’m still thinking about it."

"You’ve been 'thinking' for four years, Xarion,” He scoffs. “At some point, you'll eventually have to make a decision."

"So this is a Danielle check-in? Should I be expecting her father next, too?"

His face darkens. "Don’t test me, Xarion. You know how important that alliance is."

"To you."

"To the pack!" he fires back. "To your mother and I. We’re not getting any younger, and we’d like to meet our grandpups before we keel over."

I groan internally.

"Stop pressuring me, Dad."

His eyes narrow as he stares at me. "This isn't still about Megan, is it?”

The mention of her name punches the air from my lungs.

“Goddess, son, you’ve been brooding like a damn ghost since she left,” he continues. “You did the right thing divorcing her. She was never meant to be Luna. Danielle has always been the better fit."

“She’s back.” I snap.

Dad pauses mid-sip of his whiskey. Lowers the glass slowly. “What did you say?”

“Megan. She’s back. I saw her yesterday.”

His gaze sharpens. “Where?”

“Arkon General Hospital. She was with her father, he seemed to be ill.”

“And?”

I exhale slowly. “She had twins with her. A boy and a girl.”

His eyes widen “Twins?”

“Yes. And the second I saw them… I knew, Dad. I felt it. They looked exactly like me. Like her.”

“That’s impossible,” he mutters. “I wasn’t aware she left the pack pregnant.”

“Neither was I.”

He starts pacing, then turns to me with a hard look. "Are you sure they’re yours? They could be someone else’s. Megan always had a way of... charming men."

Those words make my blood boil.

“Don’t talk about her like that, Dad,” I snap, standing up. “Not in my home.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but before he can, the door opens again.

Andrew walks in, looking like he’s jogged up ten flights of stairs as his eyes move between the two of us.

“Xarion,” he says, then he gives a slight nod to my father. “Sir.”

“Andrew,” I say quickly. “Tell me you have something.”

“I do.”

My heart skips a beat as I step toward him, my pulse pounding in my chest.

“According to what I've found, Megan’s been working for Stone Corporations. She’s their regional lead now.”

That explains the designer clothes. The sharp tongue. The quiet authority in the way she walked away from me.

“Stone Corporation?” My father frowns.

Andrew nods. “She gave birth to twins exactly nine months after she left the pack. There’s no father listed on the birth certificates, but… the timing lines up perfectly.”

Everything inside me stops the second I hear that.

There it is. The confirmation I've been waiting for.

The twins are mine. I knew it the moment I saw them.

My Dad's speechless for once, and honestly, I'm glad.

Before I can say another word, my phone rings sharply against the table.

I glance down.

’Board Member: Chairman Brigg Calloway’

I snatch it up and press it to my ear.

“Xarion,” comes Brigg’s panicked voice on the other end. “You need to come to Valemont Enterprises immediately.”

“Why? What happened?”

“The sponsorship deal… It’s been given to someone else.”

My heart slams into my ribs.

“What?!”

“The board chose another pitch. A better one.” he adds, static cracking over the line. “They signed the contract this morning.”

“Whose pitch?” I ask, my voice turning deadly.

A heavy silence falls.

And then, click.

The line goes dead.

Dammit.