Chapter 5 HE FOUND OUT
Chapter 5:
Sera's POV
I stared at the photo until the edges crumpled in my grip. Asher looked happy, oblivious to being a pawn in someone else's game.
"They want you to destroy him publicly," Lyssa said. "Vote against him, speak against him, justify his removal."
"And if I do, they'll use me forever." I set the photo down carefully. "Every decision, every vote, they'll have this leverage."
"So what do you do?" Marcus asked.
Good question. Cooperate and become a puppet? Refuse and risk Asher?
Neither option was acceptable.
"I need to think." I moved toward the bedchamber. "Both of you, get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be complicated."
They left reluctantly. I stood at the window, looking out over the territory that had once been my prison.
"Sera."
I spun. Dante stood in the doorway, must have used the private entrance Alphas kept for emergencies.
"How did you-"
"This is still my pack house." He closed the door behind him. "I know every entrance."
"Get out."
"Not until we talk." He approached slowly, hands raised. "Please. Five minutes."
"You don't get to ask me for anything." But I didn't call my guards. Stupid. Dangerous. Necessary.
"You're right." He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I could smell his scent...pine and smoke and something uniquely Dante. The mate bond purred. "I don't. But I'm asking anyway."
"Why?"
"Because I was wrong." The words came out raw. "Five years ago, I was wrong. About you. About everything."
"Congratulations. You figured out you're an idiot. Want a medal?"
"I want-" He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I want. But seeing you tonight, seeing what you've become-"
"What I always was," I corrected. "You were just too blind to see it."
"I know." His voice dropped. "They lied to me, Sera. Lydia and the Council. They told me you'd been unfaithful, that the bond was false, that-"
"And you believed them." Old wounds tore open. "Didn't even question it. Didn't ask me. Just rejected me and threw me away."
"I was an arrogant fool."
"Was?" I raised an eyebrow. "What's changed?"
He flinched. "Everything. The territory's failing. Lydia's not....the bond with her is wrong. Weak. I thought time would strengthen it, but it just gets worse. And now the Council's trying to remove me, and I don't even blame them because I've failed at everything that matters."
For a fraction of a second, I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"Not my problem."
"Isn't it?" His eyes met mine. "We're still mates, Sera. I feel it. I know you do too."
"That bond died-"
"No, it didn't." He moved closer, and I should have stepped back, should have maintained distance. "It's weaker, damaged, but it's there. And if we....if you gave me another chance-"
"Another chance?" Laughter burst from me, sharp and bitter. "You want another chance? After everything?"
"I know I don't deserve it-"
"You're right. You don't." I finally backed away. "You had your chance, Dante. You chose Lydia. Chose your pride over your mate. Live with that choice."
"I am." His voice cracked. "Every day. But if there's any way to fix this-"
A sound from the corridor. Lyssa's voice raised in warning.
Then the door burst open.
And there stood a little boy who looked exactly like the Alpha in front of me, silver eyes blazing with power and fury.
"Get away from my mother," Asher growled.
The room went deathly silent.
Dante stared at Asher. Asher stared at Dante.
And in that moment, the truth became impossible to deny.
"Who-" Dante's voice barely worked. "Who is that?"
I moved between them instantly, pulling Asher behind me. "How did you get here?"
"The bad men weren't very good guards." Asher's voice was muffled against my back. "I shifted and ran. Uncle Marcus taught me to find you no matter what."
Pride and terror warred inside me. "Asher, you shouldn't have-"
"Who. Is. That." Dante wasn't asking anymore.
I met his eyes over Asher's head. Watched understanding dawn like a terrible sunrise.
"No," he whispered. "He can't be-"
"Leave." My voice came out deadly quiet. "Now."
"Sera-"
"LEAVE!" Power exploded from me, slamming him backward.
He caught himself against the wall, staring at Asher like the world had just shifted beneath his feet.
"The boy is mine," he said. Not a question. A realization.
"He's mine," I corrected. "You rejected him before he was even born."
"I didn't know-"
"And whose fault is that?" I pulled Asher tighter against me. "You made your choice. Live with it."
Dante looked between us, his expression cycling through shock, denial, desperate hope, and finally breaking into something raw and wounded.
"What's his name?"
I hesitated. Then: "Asher."
"Asher." He said it like a prayer. "I have a son."
"Had." The correction cut like glass. "You had a chance at a son. You threw it away."
The door opened again. Lydia stood frozen in the entrance, her face going white as she took in the scene.
"Oh god," she whispered. "The resemblance....everyone will know."
"Everyone will know exactly what you both did," I agreed. "Tomorrow, when the Council convenes and sees him. When they realize the Alpha of Crimson Fang rejected his own True Alpha heir."
"Sera, please-" Dante started.
"Get out. Both of you. Before I forget we're on your territory and forget to be diplomatic."
They left. Had to. Because the alternative was violence neither of them would survive.
The door closed. I sank to the floor, pulling Asher into my lap.
"Mama?" His small hand touched my face. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying." But I was. For the girl who'd loved Dante. For the son who'd never known his father. For the mess we were all trapped in.
"Was that him?" Asher asked quietly. "My father?"
I couldn't lie. Not anymore. "Yes."
"He looks sad."
"He should be."
"Do you still love him?"
The question stabbed straight through my heart. Did I? Could you love someone who'd destroyed you? Could the mate bond survive rejection and rage and five years of carefully cultivated hatred?
"I don't know," I whispered. "I really don't know."
Asher hugged me tighter. "It's okay, Mama. I love you enough for both of us."
And somehow, that made everything worse.