The Luna He Rejected: An Alpha's Regret

CHAPTER 21

Seraphine’s POV

The council chamber was colder than I remembered. The long wooden table stretched down the center of the room, polished until it reflected the faces of the elders sitting along both sides. Morning light filtered through the high windows, but it did nothing to warm the air. Every elder was already in their seats when we walked in. Caden moved with calm authority, but I could feel the tension rolling off him through the bond. Marcus walked on his right. I stayed close on his left. Amara Walsh carried the leather folder that held Daniel’s evidence and the succession document.

We had barely taken our places when the doors opened again.

Aldric of Greymoor entered like he already owned the room. Tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in dark formal clothes, he walked with the easy confidence of a man who believed the outcome had already been decided. Three of his wolves followed behind him, and Kofi Voss walked beside him. My father’s face was carefully blank, but I saw the tightness around his eyes. He didn’t look at me once.

The hearing began.

Aldric spoke first, his voice smooth and practiced. He laid out the case against Caden with cold precision, the thirty-two days of absence, the existence of unregistered heirs, the alleged instability of Ironmoor leadership. He presented the petition with my father’s signature at the bottom like it was irrefutable proof. Several of the younger elders shifted in their seats. I could feel the weight of their attention pressing down.

Then my dad stood, the entire room went still.

My father’s voice was low but steady when he spoke. “I withdraw my co-signature from this petition. I no longer support it.”

Aldric’s head snapped toward him so fast I thought his neck might break. “Elder Voss—”

“I was misled,” Kofi continued, cutting him off. “The information I was given was false. I will not be part of this.”

A ripple of shock moved through the chamber. Aldric’s face flushed dark with anger, but he recovered quickly. He turned back to the elders and tried to push forward, claiming the petition still stood on its own merits. That was when Mira rose from her seat near the back.

She spoke clearly and without hesitation. “I am Mira Tellen of Ironmoor security. Three days ago, I witnessed the Greymoor representative and two of his wolves approaching younger pack members inside the packhouse. They were offering favors and promises in exchange for support against Alpha Caden. That is a direct violation of inter-pack law.”

The elders began murmuring among themselves. Aldric tried to speak over them, but Amara was already on her feet. She walked to the center of the table and placed two items down with deliberate care, the encrypted drive from Daniel and the signed succession document.

“Before this council continues,” she said, voice crisp and professional, “I would like every elder here to consider whether a petition built on conspiracy, manipulation, and illegal recruitment has any legal standing at all.”

She opened the drive on the projection screen at the far end of the room. Timestamps, messages, and financial records filled the wall in black and white. The succession document followed. The elders read in silence. The longer they looked, the more the atmosphere in the room shifted.

Aldric’s confidence finally cracked. He asked for a recess.

No one answered him at first. Then one of the senior elders simply said, “Granted.”

Aldric and his wolves left the chamber, and they never came back.

Twenty minutes later, Marcus received word through his radio. Aldric had fled. He and his remaining wolves had been seen crossing the boundary line back toward Greymoor territory at speed.

The remaining elders voted without hesitation. The title challenge against Caden was suspended pending a full investigation into the conspiracy. The petition was declared compromised. Caden’s position as Alpha of Ironmoor was secure, for now.

But as we walked out of the chamber, I felt no real relief. Isolde was still out there. Brennan was still missing. And until both of them were found, the children would never truly be safe.

---

The following morning, I sat in the kitchen table with a mug of tea that had long since gone cold. I hadn’t touched it. The sky outside was overcast, the water gray and restless. Kevin had been standing at the front window for nearly an hour without saying a word. Every few minutes he would shift his weight, but his eyes never left the dock.

Dani had visited, she was at the stove, stirring something that smelled like eggs and garlic, but even she was quieter than usual. The twins and Evan were still upstairs, hopefully still asleep. Marcus sat across from me, arms crossed, watching Kevin with narrowed eyes.

Then Kevin finally spoke.

“There’s a man at the end of the dock,” he said. His voice was low. “He’s been standing there for forty minutes. And he hasn’t moved for a second.”

Marcus was on his feet before Kevin finished the sentence. He crossed the room in three long strides and looked out the window. His entire body went rigid.

“f**k,” he muttered.

Caden was already moving toward the door, shoulders set. “Who is it?”

Marcus didn’t take his eyes off the window. “It’s Daniel.”

The name landed like a stone in the room. Caden’s hand was already on the door handle when I stood up fast.

“Stop,” I said.

He turned to look at me, eyes sharp. “He’s right there. We can end this right now.”

“If we go out there now, he’ll know we’ve seen him,” I said, keeping my voice calm even though my heart was pounding. “He’ll run or call for backup. We lose whatever advantage we have. Let’s wait and watch for now.”

Caden stared at me for a long moment. I could feel the conflict rolling through the bond, the Alpha in him wanted to move, to confront and to protect. But he trusted me enough to hesitate.

After several tense seconds, he let go of the door handle and stepped back. “Fine,” he said tightly. “We watch.”

Dani had moved to the window beside Marcus. She was squinting, head tilted slightly. “Wait,” she said suddenly. “He’s not even looking at the house.”

Everyone turned to her.

Dani pointed. “His head hasn’t moved in the last ten minutes. He’s staring straight at the boat. At The Vera.”

Kevin went very still. The color drained from his face so fast I thought he might pass out. He turned slowly from the window and looked at me.

“The children’s original birth certificates,” he said quietly. “The real ones. I hid them in a safe below deck the day they were born. I never told anyone except Dani.”

Marcus turned sharply. “Who built the safe?”

Kevin swallowed. “A contractor from Ironmoor territory. I paid him extra to keep it quiet. I thought it was safer that way.”

The pieces clicked together so fast it made my stomach turn. Isolde had known about the boat for years. She had known about the safe. The council hearing had failed, so now she was going after the one thing that could still hurt us, proof of the twins’ existence and bloodline that she could twist or destroy.

Before anyone could speak again, Marcus’s radio crackled to life on the table.

“Perimeter breach,” the guard’s voice came through, tense and clipped. “Someone bypassed the main dock. They’re boarding the boat directly from the water. Right now.”

Caden was already moving again, but this time I didn’t stop him. We were out of time.

The children were still asleep upstairs.

And someone was on Kevin’s boat.