Chapter Five: Five Years Later
1122 Words
Five years.
That’s how long it had been since I walked out of Crescent Moon Pack.
Five years since Damon turned away from me and kissed my stepsister in front of everyone. Since I left with a broken heart and two secret lives growing inside me.
Now I was standing at the edge of the territory again, holding one of those lives by the hand… and watching the other chase butterflies just ahead of us.
“I want to go in now, Mama!” Cael shouted, his dark curls bouncing as he ran through the trees.
Lina giggled beside me, tugging at her tiny white boots. “Can I go too?”
I knelt beside her, brushing a leaf from her cheek. “Not yet. We wait until Elias signals.”
Her little face scrunched in frustration. “But why? It’s just a big house.”
I smiled faintly. “It’s more than a house, sweetheart. And we’re not going to it. It’s coming to us.”
She frowned, but didn’t argue. She trusted me.
They always did.
⸻
From the moment they were born, I knew Lina and Cael were different.
Cael was the quiet one—thoughtful, observant, fiercely protective of his sister.
Lina was bold, wild-hearted, sharp-tongued, and far too smart for her own good.
And both of them… were powerful.
They hadn’t shifted yet—too young—but the way they moved, the way animals responded to them, the way their eyes sometimes flashed gold in anger… It was clear they were children of Alpha blood.
Damon’s children.
He didn’t know.
He had no idea they even existed.
But that was about to change.
⸻
Elias stepped out from behind a thick tree trunk, his cloak blending into the woods like smoke.
He nodded once, sharp and certain.
“They’re setting up for the Luna ceremony now,” he said, voice low. “Talia’s being crowned in two hours. They’ll be distracted.”
I clenched my hands into fists.
Of course.
After five years, they were finally making it official.
Damon hadn’t just chosen her — he had ruled beside her.
Without a mate bond.
Without regret.
Until now.
Elias saw the look in my eyes and touched my shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m not here for revenge,” I said. “I’m here for my children.”
“To do what? Introduce them to the Alpha who left you? Or remind him of what he lost?”
I stared past the trees at the distant gleam of Crescent Moon’s watchtower.
“No,” I said. “I want them to see where they come from. To know the truth. I want him to see them. Just once.”
“And after that?”
I met Elias’s gaze. “Then I walk away. Forever.”
⸻
The walk to the Crescent Moon Pack’s border was short, but my heart pounded like war drums with every step.
Cael and Lina stayed close now, sensing the shift in energy.
The guards at the gate moved into defensive stances as we stepped out of the forest. Their eyes scanned me—then landed on the children.
“State your name,” one barked.
“I’m Serena Vale,” I said clearly. “Former Omega of this pack. I’m here to see Alpha Damon.”
The guard blinked, stunned.
Then his face darkened. “Serena Vale? You’re—”
“Yes,” I cut in. “I know exactly who I am. And if you don’t want to answer to your Alpha for turning away his mate and his children, I suggest you let him know I’m here.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You think I believe these are his—”
“Look at them,” I said.
They did.
Cael’s golden eyes. Lina’s sharp chin. The same high cheekbones, the same Alpha energy in their posture.
The guard swallowed hard.
“I’ll inform the Alpha.”
He disappeared inside the gates.
I picked up Lina and held Cael’s hand tighter.
My body was trembling—but not from fear.
This wasn’t about proving anything to Damon.
It was about closure.
For me. For the twins.
For all the years lost.
⸻
Damon appeared at the gates twenty minutes later.
When I saw him again, my breath caught in my throat.
He looked the same—but older somehow.
Stronger. Colder.
His dark hair was slicked back, his Alpha mark gleaming like polished silver on his collar. But his face…
The moment he laid eyes on me, everything stopped.
His gaze locked on mine, and I felt it.
The bond.
Still there.
Still burning.
But behind it… confusion. Shock. And something else.
Something like pain.
“Serena?” he said, voice hoarse.
I didn’t move.
“Why are you here?” he asked, stepping forward.
I shifted slightly, letting Lina down to stand beside me. “I think you already know.”
His eyes dropped to the children—and widened.
He took a step back.
“No…”
Cael stepped slightly in front of Lina, already protective. Already a little Alpha.
“Who are they?” Damon asked, eyes locked on the boy.
“They’re your children,” I said.
The words hit like a slap.
Damon swayed, his jaw clenching. “That’s not possible.”
“You and I both know it is,” I said quietly.
“I would’ve known—”
“You didn’t want to know,” I snapped. “You chose Talia. You didn’t even look at me the day you announced your engagement. You left me broken, alone, and pregnant.”
Damon ran a hand through his hair, breathing hard. “Serena… if this is some game—”
“It’s not.”
He looked at Lina, then at Cael again.
His expression changed.
There it was.
Recognition.
He saw himself in them.
And it broke him.
“How… how could you not tell me?” he whispered.
“Would you have listened?” I asked. “Would you have believed me? Or would you have handed me over to Talia like everything else?”
Silence.
“I tried to protect them,” I said. “From you. From her. From all of it.”
Damon stepped closer, slowly, as if afraid I’d vanish again.
“Can I… can I talk to them?”
Cael took a step back. “Why? We don’t know you.”
Lina clung to my leg. “Mommy, I want to go home.”
Their words sliced through him.
But I stood firm.
“You had five years to be their father,” I said. “Now you get five minutes.”
- Writer
