Lahat ng Kabanata ng Alpha’s Betrayal: The rejected Luna’s Secret: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

CATHERINEFor a moment I couldn’t move.The baby blankets were soft in my hands, faded with familiar stitching. I could still see the store clerk smiling as I asked for the twins’ names to be embroidered in neat cursive. I had stood for hours in that shop, choosing colors and fabrics, imagining Alora’s shy smile when I placed the finished bundles in her hands.And now they sat here.Shoved into a bin.Hidden in a rotting house at the edge of the woods like they meant nothing.My wolf snarled inside me, claws raking against the edges of my skin, demanding blood. The rage was so hot, so sharp, I could barely breathe. If I stayed in this room one moment longer, I would tear the walls down with my bare hands.But rage wouldn’t bring answers. Rage wouldn’t save the twins. And now that I knew for a fact that the babies had been here, getting angry and acting on my own wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. So I forced myself to stay level headed, shoved the blankets back down with trembling hands

SEBASTIANI woke to the sound of my own breathing, harsh and shallow, as though I’d been drowning in a dream. My head pounded loudly, every pulse a hammer against my skull, and my tongue felt swollen and bitter with the metallic tang of something unnatural. My wolf stirred weakly under my skin, growling in confusion, his voice muffled like it was trapped under water.The first thing I noticed was the scent. It wasn’t Alora’s lavender and earth scent that always lingered on me no matter how far I went. It wasn’t the faint, familiar smell of the hospital where I’d spent the last week guarding her bed either.This was sickly sweet and tangy, like a citrusy kind of perfume.I forced my eyes open.For a minute, the ceiling above me was unfamiliar, the walls were painted in muted cream. Curtains were drawn tight against the light. My body was heavy like lead, as though every muscle had forgotten how to move. I blinked hard, tried to sit up, and collapsed back against the pillows when the r

ALORA“Oh great heavens! You have your father’s lungs,” I whispered to Ace, who had become a screaming red faced mess against my shoulder.“And your mother’s stubbornness,” Catherine muttered from the doorway.I glanced up, exhausted but smiling faintly despite myself. “Storm barely fusses, but this one, he acts like he’s fighting the world with every breath.”Ace’s fists flailed against my collarbone. His cry was loud and relentless. My wolf paced in me, frantic, urging me to soothe him, to keep him safe, to make it right. I rocked him slowly, humming a tune low in my throat even though my voice was raw from hours of singing to them.Catherine stepped closer, her shawl trailing behind her, and reached out a hand. “Here. Let me.”I hesitated, then passed Ace into her arms. She moved with the ease of someone who had raised a son into a man, who had rocked countless restless pups in her lifetime. Ace quieted almost instantly, and I watched in wonder as his cries softened into hiccups.C

The dungeon was quiet except for the scrape of my boots on the stone floor and the faint hiss of the torches along the walls.The guards were gone, just as I’d arranged. Ten minutes alone. Ten minutes was more than enough.Emory rose the moment I came into view. His shackles clanked as he dragged himself to the bars, the noise sharp in the quiet. His shoulders were broad, but confinement was starting to gnaw at him. Still, there was fire in his eyes. Fire and desperation.“Lilith,” he rasped, gripping the bars so tightly the iron bit into his palms. “You finally came.”I lifted a finger to my lips as I stopped before his cell. “No names! Do you want these rats spreading rumors about me visiting you?”His lips curled, but he didn’t argue. He looked at the tray in my hands, the steam rising from the plate of meat. Hunger flickered in his expression, quickly replaced by suspicion.“You need to get me out of here.”“You do realize that you’re locked up under the alpha’s command, right? I

CATHERINEI found Lilith in the sitting room, where the late afternoon sun cut through the tall windows and painted her in gold. She was curled in one of the chairs, with her legs tucked beneath her, and a book open but unread in her lap. She looked serene. Untouched. As though chaos hadn’t shadowed every corner of this house since the twins were taken.I closed the door behind me. The soft click made her look up, and her eyes widened when she saw it was me.“Catherine,” she said, polite and smooth. “You startled me.”I didn’t take a seat. I stood across from her, hands folded before me. “We need to talk.”Her brow furrowed, and the faintest ripple of unease disturbed her perfect mask. “About what?”“Don’t insult me by pretending you don’t know.” I said sternlyShe tilted her head, feigning confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about...”“I know Emory wasn’t working alone. I know you took the babies.”Her eye twitched, so fast that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t paying so