The Luna He Rejected: An Alpha's Regret

CHAPTER 27

Seraphine’s POV

The house was quiet when we returned, but it was the kind of quiet that felt unnatural. Most of the packhouse had gone dark for the night, yet something in the air felt charged. Kevin met us in the main hallway before we could even reach the stairs. His face was serious, and he kept his voice low.

“Luna’s already awake,” he said. “She’s been sitting in the dark for the last twenty minutes.”

I didn’t need to ask how he knew. Kevin had always been unusually attuned to the children.

I made my way upstairs quietly, my footsteps soft against the wooden floor. When I reached Luna’s room, the door was slightly open. I pushed it gently and stepped inside.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed in the dark, fully dressed. Her small backpack was already packed and resting beside her. Her wolf was fully forward, I could see it in the sharp focus of her eyes and the way she held herself. There was no fear in her expression.

She looked up when I entered, as if she had been expecting me.

“I packed for Emery too,” she said matter-of-factly. “He’s still asleep, but I put his favorite dinosaur shirt and extra socks in my bag. He always forgets socks.”

I moved closer and crouched in front of her. “How did you know we were leaving tonight?”

“Marcus’s wolf told us,” she answered simply. “When he arrived this afternoon. He didn’t mean to broadcast it, but I felt it. Emery felt it too, even if he doesn’t understand it.”

I stared at my daughter. She was only four years old, yet she spoke with a calm certainty that made my chest ache. She had been sitting here in the dark, waiting, because she already knew what was coming.

I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to be brave about this, Luna.”

“I’m not being brave,” she replied. “I’m being ready.”

Before I could respond, Kevin appeared in the doorway behind me.

“I’m coming with you,” he said without hesitation. His voice was firm. “Raven is my friend. I’m not staying behind while you go after him.”

I stood up slowly. “Kevin—”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it,” he cut in. “I’ve known Raven longer than I’ve known anyone in this pack. If Isolde took him, then she took him because of us. I’m not sitting here waiting for news.”

I could see the determination in his eyes. There was no point arguing with him when he got like this.

Outside, I could already hear raised voices. Dani was standing by the vehicles, gesturing wildly while Marcus stood with his arms crossed, looking like he was trying very hard to remain patient.

“I’m not sitting in the middle,” Dani was saying. “I get carsick. And if we’re driving three and a half hours into whatever this is, I refuse to throw up on anyone.”

Marcus’s voice was flat. “Then sit in the back.”

“I already called the back,” Dani shot back. “You can sit in the back. You’re bigger anyway.”

Kevin sighed beside me. “She’s been at it for ten minutes.”

I stepped outside just as Dani noticed me. She immediately pointed at Marcus. “Tell him I’m not sitting in the middle.”

“We have bigger problems right now,” I said quietly.

Kevin moved closer to me, his voice dropping. “You know what she’s doing, right? Isolde. She’s trying to pull everyone you care about into one place. Raven. The children. Even your father. She wants you surrounded and vulnerable.”

I looked out at the dark mountain road that stretched ahead of us. “I know. But that’s exactly why we’re going. She still thinks I’m the same woman who ran from Ironmoor four years ago. The one who was too scared to fight back. She expects me to hesitate. To be afraid. Walking straight into her trap while knowing it’s a trap… that’s not weakness. That’s the one thing she won’t see coming.”

Kevin studied me for a long moment, then gave a small nod. He didn’t look happy about it, but he accepted it.

We headed back inside to gather the rest of what we needed. As we passed the kitchen, I noticed a small figure sitting at the table.

Evan was there, his backpack on his shoulders and his wolf fully present in his eyes. He sat very still, his small hands resting on the table. When he saw me, he spoke without being asked.

“I packed my sketch notebook,” he said. “So my drawings won’t get ruined if something bad happens.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. I walked over and knelt in front of him, placing my hands gently on his knees.

“Evan,” I said softly. “Listen to me. Whatever happens when we get there, I will not leave you behind. Do you understand me? I will not leave any of you behind.”

He looked at me with those serious eyes that always seemed older than they should. Then he nodded once.

“I know,” he said. “But I wanted to be ready anyway.”

I pulled him into a quick hug, holding him tightly for a few seconds before standing up again. My heart felt heavy, but my resolve was sharpening with every passing minute.

Outside, Caden was standing by the main vehicle, speaking quietly with Marcus. When I approached, he turned to me.

“The agreement with Rowan Greymoor is done,” he said. “He signed the witness documents an hour ago. Rowan also confirmed something interesting. Isolde approached him weeks ago and offered him full control of the eastern corridor if he supported her claim against me. He turned her down because he didn’t trust her motives. He’s been watching her ever since.”

I absorbed the information quietly. Another layer of Isolde’s plans exposed.

Caden looked at me, his expression more open than usual. “I spent years assuming I knew what was best for everyone. That my decisions were the only ones that mattered. It cost us a lot of time. It cost you even more. I’m trying not to do that anymore.”

I didn’t have an immediate answer for him. The honesty in his voice was still new between us. I simply nodded and moved to help load the last of the bags into the car.

Kevin and Dani climbed in first, followed by the children. Luna sat between Evan and Emery in the middle row, her small hand resting protectively on her brother’s arm. Evan stared out the window with quiet focus. Emery, surprisingly, had fallen back asleep with his head against the seat.

Caden got into the driver’s seat. I took the passenger side. Marcus sat in the very back with the extra supplies.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Caden started the engine.

The car pulled away from the packhouse and onto the long mountain road. The headlights cut through the darkness as we began the three-and-a-half-hour drive toward whatever Isolde had waiting for us.

In the back seat, I could feel the children’s wolves. A quiet, unified steadiness that seemed to ripple through the bond between all of us. Even little Emery’s wolf, usually playful and loud, was calm tonight.

I glanced at Caden as he drove. His hands were steady on the wheel, but I could feel the weight he was carrying. We were heading straight into danger, and for the first time in years, we were doing it together.

Whatever waited for us at the end of this road, we would face it as one.