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Chapter 12: The Woman Who Refuses Blackthorn
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-11-04 20:00:00Serena
I replace my bank cards before nine.
It takes four phone calls, two security questions about my mother's maiden name, which I answer with a lie I've told so often it comes out smooth, and one very long hold song. When I hang up, the cards are handled.
The photograph isn't.
I sit at my desk with a cold coffee and a spreadsheet I can't read. The numbers slide around the screen. Every few minutes my eyes drift to the corner of the desk where my wallet used to s
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Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 23: The Touch She Couldn't Forget
SerenaI open Kael's contact information twice before lunch.The first time, I get as far as his name. The second time, my thumb actually hovers over the call button. Then I close the screen and set the phone face down on the desk, like it might hear me thinking.*Dr. Halvorsen is next Wednesday. That's the plan. Nobody needs to call anyone.*The shipment agreement in front of me has been on my screen for an hour. I've read the same clause six times. Something about liability for refrigerated cargo. I couldn't tell you what it says.Marlowe is still at the hospital for one more night of observation. Her sitter is back on her feet and has promised to text me every hour. At eleven, she sent a photo of Marlowe holding up a cup of jello with a face of deep betrayal. I've looked at it four times."Lysandra."Marcus is standing in the doorway with his tablet, and I have no idea how long he's been there."Yes.""I said your nam
Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 22: A Boundary Neither Can Cross
SerenaDr. Maren's office is dim. She has turned off the overhead light and left only the desk lamp burning, which is somehow more frightening than the fluorescent glare in the hallway."Sit, please."I sit. My knees are still shaking from the run, and I press both palms flat against them to make them stop."First, she's fine." Dr. Maren says it before I can open my mouth. "I know the nurse made it sound urgent, and I'm sorry for that. I wanted you here while the results were fresh, but there's no emergency."The breath leaves me so fast it hurts. "You scared me.""I know. I should have told her to phrase it differently." She almost smiles. "Let me explain what we found."She turns her monitor so I can see it. Lines and columns. A graph that rises and falls in jagged waves, like a mountain range drawn by a nervous child."We've ruled out the common causes. Viral infections, bacterial infections, the usual childhood illnesses. H
Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 21: The Man Who Waited
KaelThe vending machine hums in the corner. I've been looking at it for ten minutes.There's no reason for me to be here. I brought her to the door. She thanked me, stiffly, and left. My Gamma has an inspection to run and a broken barrier to explain, and the driver is idling outside with the engine on.I stay in the chair anyway.My phone buzzes against my knee."Alpha." My Gamma sounds tired. Rain drums behind his voice. "The road team has cleared the crossing for foot traffic. They're saying the damage was recent but not yet traced. They've closed it for the night, and the inspection resumes tomorrow morning.""Who's on the cameras?""Three men, and they've been told to say nothing." He pauses. "Are you coming back?""No.""Alpha—""You have the authority. Make the calls you need to. Send me the reports tonight.""And Blackthorn? The council expects you by evening.""The council can wait a d
Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 20: The Call That Changes Everything
SerenaMy hands won't hold still.I dial Dr. Maren's number and miss the first digit. I try again. It rings once."Ms. Vogan." Her voice is calm. It's the calm of someone who has said these words to a lot of frightened parents. "Marlowe is stable. I want you to hear that first.""Stable." My voice cracks on the word. "The message said her fever was over 104.""It peaked and came down. She's awake, she's drinking water, and her heart rate is steady. But it's another episode we can't explain, and I'd like you here for the next examination.""I'm coming. I'm forty minutes up a mountain, but I'm coming.""As quickly as you can. We'll be with her until you arrive."I hang up and stare at the screen. *Forty minutes. Closed road. My car's dead in a freight yard.*I dial the driver. It goes to voicemail. I try Marcus, and the call drops before it rings. I try again, and the line crackles and gives me nothing."The crossin
Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 19: Trapped on the Same Side
SerenaThe shelter is smaller on the inside.One bench. One table pushed against the wall. A single bulb hangs from the ceiling, buzzing like it resents us. Rain hammers the tin roof so hard I can barely hear my own breathing.Kael shuts the door behind him and the sound drops to a roar.He doesn't mention what he called me out there. I don't either. I take the end of the bench farthest from the door and pull out my phone, because it's the only thing in this room that feels like mine.*One signal bar. Come on.*"Marcus." I press it to my ear the second it connects. "Tell me where you are.""Halfway down the mountain. We got the radio call about the barrier." His voice crackles. "Are you okay? Is he behaving?""Everyone's fine. How long until the road team clears the crossing?""They're saying five hours.""Of course they are." I rub my forehead. "Pull the loading bay crew back to the station and keep them out of t
Alpha's Regret: Chasing the Luna He Called Barren Chapter 18: The Inspection Neither Wanted
SerenaThe Ashgate freight yard smells like diesel, wet gravel, and bad decisions."Eight trucks in the queue," Marcus says, reading from his tablet as we cross the lot. "Two with Blackthorn plates, three with ours, three human contractors who look like they'd rather be anywhere else.""They'll fit right in.""I brought coffee." He lifts a cardboard tray. "For emergencies.""Is this an emergency?""It will be."My technical team trails behind us in matching gray jackets, carrying clipboards and measuring wheels. I've told all four of them the same thing. Stay close, stay professional, and if the Alpha asks anything that isn't about freight, you've never heard of me.*Business only. Three hours, maybe four. Then I go home to my daughter.*A black SUV rolls through the gate. Another follows. Kael steps out of the first one, in dark work clothes this time, no suit, sleeves pushed to his forearms. His Gamma climbs out behind
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