The Reckoning

Chapter Eight: The Reckoning

Three years, two months, and fourteen days.

Xavier had been counting.

He sat in his study, staring at the same map he'd been staring at for hours. The border patrols. The supply routes. The pack's defenses. It was all the same. It had been the same for three years.

Nothing had changed.

Except everything had changed.

The pack was prosperous. The warriors were strong. The borders were secure. On the surface, Silver Crescent was thriving.

But inside, Xavier was hollow.

He'd been hollow since the night he'd rejected Maya. Since the night he'd watched her bleed in the mud, her eyes filled with pain and betrayal. Since the night he'd sent her away.

He'd told himself it was the right choice. Seraphina was his true mate. Maya was a liar. A manipulator. A deceiver.

But deep down, he'd known the truth.

He'd been wrong.

It had started with small things.

A scent that reminded him of Maya. A laugh that sounded like hers. A glimpse of honey-brown hair in a crowd that made his heart stop.

He'd pushed it away. He'd told himself he was being foolish. He'd made his choice. He had to live with it.

But the doubts wouldn't leave.

Seraphina had changed. She was colder now. More distant. She snapped at the servants and sneered at the omegas. She criticized everything Maya had done, everything Maya had built.

She was incompetent, Seraphina said. "I'll do better.

But she didn't. She never did.

The pack was suffering. The omegas were frightened. The elders were uneasy. Seraphina had no warmth, no compassion, no love for the pack. She was a placeholder, pretending to be a Luna.

And Xavier was pretending to be happy.

The night everything changed, Xavier was in his study.

He was reviewing border reports when a servant burst through the door. Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking.

Alpha, she gasped. You need to come. There's been an attack.

Xavier was on his feet in an instant. Where?

The eastern border. A patrol was ambushed. Three wolves are dead.

Xavier's blood ran cold. He ran. He ran through the pack house, through the training yard, through the gates. He ran to the eastern border.

And there, in the mud and the blood, he saw her.

Seraphina stood over the bodies of the fallen wolves. She was holding a device in her hand,a small, silver object that glowed with an eerie light.

Seraphina? Xavier's voice was sharp. What happened?"

She turned. Her eyes were wild. Her smile was cold.

An accident, she said. They saw too much.

Xavier's heart stopped. Saw too much? Saw what?

Seraphina laughed. A cold, cruel laugh that sent chills down his spine.

The truth, she said. They saw me meeting with the Shadowfang Coalition. They saw me giving them our border patrol schedules. They saw me betraying this pack.

Xavier stared at her. His world tilted.

What are you saying?

I'm saying you're a fool, Xavier. Seraphina stepped closer. Her eyes glittered with malice. Did you really think I came back for you? Did you really think I loved you?"

Seraphina, what

I came back to destroy this pack, she hissed. You banished my family. You cast us out like garbage. And I swore I would make you pay.

Xavier's blood turned to ice.

The synthetic pheromones, he breathed. The scent-masking. You planted that in my mind.

Of course I did. Seraphina laughed again. You were so easy to fool. So desperate to believe that Maya was a liar. So eager to throw her away.

Xavier's legs buckled. He grabbed the nearest tree to steady himself.

Maya, he whispered. Maya was telling the truth. She never lied. She never deceived me.

No, Seraphina agreed. She loved you. She was carrying your pup. And you threw her away like trash.

Xavier's soul shattered.

What? His voice cracked. What did you say?

Seraphina smiled. A cold, triumphant smile.

She was pregnant, Xavier. You rejected your pregnant mate. You threw away your heir. You're a fool. You're a monster.

Xavier didn't remember what happened next.

He remembered screaming. He remembered shifting. He remembered tearing through the forest, hunting for Seraphina.

She escaped. She'd planned for it. She had allies waiting, wolves who pulled her into the shadows and disappeared.

But the damage was done.

Xavier collapsed in the forest. He wept. He screamed. He clawed at the earth, trying to dig out the pain in his chest.

Pregnant. She was pregnant. She was carrying my pup. And I rejected her. I threw her away. I called her a liar in front of everyone.

He vomited. He raged. He howled at the moon, begging for it to take him, to end the agony.

But the moon was silent. The pain remained.

Days passed. Weeks.

Xavier was a shell. He went through the motions,the meetings, the patrols, the duties. But he wasn't there. He was empty. Hollow. Dead inside.

He sent trackers to find Maya. He had to know. He had to find her. He had to make it right.

The trackers returned with photos.

Maya. Smiling. Laughing. Thriving. She was in the human world, living in a small coastal town called Port Crescent. She had a career. A home. Friends.

And a child.

A little girl with honey-brown eyes and storm-grey hair. A little girl who looked exactly like Xavier.

His daughter. His heir.

Xavier stared at the photo. His hands trembled.

She raised my daughter alone. She gave birth alone. She survived alone. And I wasn't there. I never knew. I never even asked.

He fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his face.

Please, he whispered. Please, Maya. Forgive me. Forgive me.

But no one was there to hear.

The next morning, Xavier made a decision.

He packed a bag. He left the pack in Marcus's care. He drove to Port Crescent alone.

He didn't know what he would say. He didn't know if she would even see him. He didn't know if she would ever forgive him.

But he had to try.

He had to try.