Todos los capítulos de Married To My Ex’s Step-Father: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

POV: MagnusI found Celeste in the garden the following morning, sitting alone beneath the shade of the old oak tree where she often took her tea in solitude. She looked up as I approached, her expression shifting quickly into the careful pleasantness she wore like armor around everyone in this house."Alpha," she said, setting down her cup. "Twice in two days. Should I be concerned?""Sit," I said, though she had not moved to stand. I lowered myself onto the bench across from her, studying the woman who had spent twenty years learning to survive in a house that never fully valued her. "I know what you did, Celeste. Not guessing anymore. Roxana told me everything last night."Her composure flickered, just slightly, before settling back into place. "Everything," she repeated carefully. "That is a broad word, Alpha.""The staged argument between your daughters," I said. "The silver key stolen from my study. The tunnel behind the loose stone. Your involvement in freeing a witch from this

POV: RoxanaThe Elders arrived at midday, five gray robes moving through the front gates with a heaviness that felt entirely different from their first visit. Dain led them again, but his expression carried none of the measured neutrality from before. Something had hardened in him, sharpened into open suspicion.Magnus met them in the great hall this time, formal chairs arranged in a wide circle instead of the casual courtyard meeting we had before. I sat beside him, my spine straight, my hands folded carefully in my lap exactly as we had practiced the night before."Alpha Magnus," Dain said, taking his seat without the usual pleasantries. "We received troubling word before our journey here. A letter, from a concerned member of this pack, describing events considerably different from whatever explanation you intend to offer us today."My stomach dropped. A letter. Someone inside this house had gone behind our backs, feeding the Elders information before we ever had a chance to present

POV: MagnusI woke before dawn, Roxana still sleeping beside me, and slipped from the bed without waking her. Whatever peace we had allowed ourselves the night before, the morning demanded action. Someone in my household had written to the Elders behind my back, and I intended to know exactly who before another day passed.I summoned the gatekeeper first, an old wolf named Bram who had guarded the front entrance for longer than I had ruled this territory. He met me in the courtyard, bowing low despite the early hour."Alpha," Bram said. "You wished to speak with me?""Two days before the Elders arrived, did anyone leave this territory carrying a message?" I asked. "A private letter, sent without my knowledge or approval."Bram's brow furrowed as he considered the question carefully. "A young wolf left just after midnight, three nights past," he said slowly. "Deacon, from your first wife's household staff. He claimed urgent business visiting his sister in the eastern village, though I

POV: RoxanaThe Elders' chosen watcher arrived three days after the council departed, a thin, sharp-eyed wolf named Corwin who carried himself with the quiet, unassuming manner of someone trained to notice everything while appearing to notice nothing at all. Magnus introduced him to the household during breakfast, his tone carefully neutral despite the tension visible in the set of his shoulders."Corwin will be residing within these walls for the remainder of the ninety days," Magnus announced to the gathered table. "He answers directly to the Elders' council, and I expect every member of this household to extend him full cooperation."Corwin bowed slightly, his pale eyes sweeping across the table, lingering perhaps a fraction too long on Celeste before moving on to study Victoria, then Jaxon, then finally settling on me. "I appreciate the hospitality, Alpha," he said, his voice smooth and unremarkable. "I assure you, my presence here is simply a formality. I have no interest in disr

POV: CelesteI noticed the shift in Corwin's behavior within a single day. Where his attention had once drifted evenly across the household, careful and unhurried, it now settled on me with a precision that made my skin crawl every time I crossed his path.He appeared outside my chambers that morning, standing near the corridor with the same unassuming patience he wore like a second skin. "Lady Celeste," he said, bowing slightly as I approached. "A pleasant morning, is it not?""Pleasant enough," I said, keeping my voice carefully light despite the unease coiling tighter in my stomach. "Is there something you require, Corwin?""Merely a few questions, if you have the time," he said. "The council prefers thoroughness in matters such as this, and I confess, certain details about the night of the escape remain unclear to me."I forced a smile, gesturing toward the small sitting room nearby rather than allow this conversation to unfold in the open corridor where curious ears might overhea