All Chapters of The Alpha’s Greatest Enemy: Return of the Bastard Luna 2: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

“I don’t blame you,” Charles says, his voice thick and hoarse, vibrating through the cold, damp air of the abandoned structure. “I never stopped holding onto hope for you, Vespera.”Vespera Crowe—once known to the world as Lacey—lets out a broken, wet laugh, her dark eyes glittering with tears as she stares up at him. “Thank you. Thank you for not looking at me like I’m a piece of meat left out to rot in the forest.”She closes her eyes, her lips trembling violently as if making a silent request to the Moon Goddess.“Mmm!”A strangled, wet gasp tears from her throat. Her body goes instantly rigid, her eyes snapping wide open as a thick, dark stream of blood spills over her lower lip, staining her chin and dripping onto her tied hands.“She’s biting her own tongue!” Darius growls, lunging forward with lightning speed. He grabs her jaw, slamming his thumb between her teeth to force her mouth open before she can sever it completely.Blood spatters across the concrete.“Tom!” Charles roar

“I can’t let you do that, Charles,” I say, my knuckles turning white as I set the porcelain coffee cup back onto the glass table with a sharp, echoing clack.My pulse hammers against my throat like a trapped bird. The room is stiflingly warm, the scent of fresh brew suddenly sickening. If Charles digs any deeper into Nathan’s past, he won’t just expose the old grudges of the Blood Moon Coven—he’ll uncover the raw, bloody rift between the Harris clan and the Blackthorne Pack Estate. He’ll blow Kaelen’s true parentage wide open to the entire Council.“Why?” Charles asks, his dark eyes narrowing as he leans forward in his mechanical chair, the rubber wheels squeaking against the polished floorboards. “He was my mentor. He pulled me out of the gutter and gave me a legacy. Whoever severed his hand and forced Victoria into hiding deserves to pay in blood. You know who did it, don’t you, Lyra?”“Some graves are meant to stay closed,” I whisper, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to p

“I’m not afraid of you, Charles,” I say, wrapping my thick wool coat tighter around my shoulders as I slide into the leather passenger seat of the luxury SUV. The sharp, metallic scent of snow and faint ozone clings to his coat, but beneath it lies the copper tang of fresh blood from the driveway. “I’m just trying to understand why you dragged me into your personal war.”Charles engages the engine, the powerful motor humming as we roll down the long, pine-lined driveway away from the isolated villa. He keeps his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.“It wasn’t a war until Jordan brought his filth to my doorstep,” Charles says, his voice gravelly and stripped of its usual smooth polish. “That worthless rogue thought he could auction off Vespera’s life like she was livestock. In the Blackthorne territory, we break the bones of males who trade in their own blood.”“You didn’t just break his bones, Charles. You baited him,” I counter, turning in my s

“Why don't you just hand over the ring right now if you’re so eager to stop Mrs. Leslie’s mouth?” Armand snaps, slamming his palms against the edge of the dining table while his face burns bright red under the flickering torchlight of Ember Hall. “She’s been asking me every ten minutes since sunrise!”I flinch in my seat, my claws almost extending through my skin from the sheer tension radiating across the banquet hall. Sitting right across from me, Kaelen stays entirely motionless, his golden eyes narrowed into thin, dangerous slits. The scent of dark pine and ozone rolling off his broad shoulders tells me he hasn't forgotten a single second of the confrontation outside the Crimson Fang Lodge.Boyce kicks back in his heavy timber chair, a wicked smirk on his lips as he takes a long draught of dark mead. “She asked you three times during breakfast, mate. Five times before noon. I’m surprised she hasn't dragged you to the sacred mating altar by your tail.”Theresa sits right beside Boy

“His brother showed up and caused a scene,” I continue, determined to clear the heavy cloud between us. “It delayed me. He offered to buy me lunch, but I refused and asked to be brought straight back to the lodge. My heavy winter coat got caught in the door latch of his vehicle, and he was simply helping me unhook it. That is what you saw.”Silence stretches across the room. Kaelen remains motionless.He is waiting. I know my mate. He wants me to drop my pride, to step around the desk, to wrap my arms around his neck and soothe the possessive, jealous beast roaring inside his chest.I take a step back instead. “I have my principles, Kaelen. I am your mated Luna. I have never betrayed you, and I expect you to trust me. I’ll leave you to your work.”I turn toward the door.I hear the sharp thud of his laptop slamming shut before I even lay a hand on the iron doorknob.I pull the door open and step out into the hallway, heading straight for the lower levels. I don't look back, but I hear