Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Sera

I didn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lydia's broken body, the brutal wounds that spoke of rage and cruelty. Dante held me through the long hours, not pushing me to talk, just being present.

By dawn, I'd made a decision.

"I want to see Marcus," I said.

Dante pulled back to look at me. "Why?"

"Because Lydia attacked him with a silver blade and hours later she's dead. That's not a coincidence." I sat up, my mind clearer than it had been since hearing the news. "He might know who wanted her dead. Or at least who had reason to."

"Marcus is barely conscious, Sera. The silver poisoning—"

"I don't care. I need answers." I stood, pulling on clothes from the bag Maya had packed for me. "Are you coming with me or do I go alone?"

Dante sighed but got up. "I'm coming. But if he tries anything—"

"He's too weak to try anything. That's why now is the perfect time to get the truth out of him."

We found Marcus in the medical wing, hooked up to various monitors and IVs. His skin had a grayish tinge that spoke of how hard his body was fighting the silver in his system. A healer sat in the corner, monitoring him, but she stood when we entered.

"Luna Sera," she greeted me respectfully. The title still felt strange. "I'm not sure he's well enough for visitors."

"I won't be long." I approached the bed. Marcus's eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. "Marcus. I need to talk to you."

His eyes fluttered open. It took him a moment to focus on me. "Sera." His voice was barely a whisper. "Come to gloat?"

"No. I came to tell you that Lydia is dead."

Whatever reaction I'd expected, the devastation that crossed his face wasn't it. His eyes filled with tears that spilled down his temples.

"No," he breathed. "No, that's not—she can't be."

"She was found last night. Murdered." I watched him carefully. "Did you have her killed, Marcus?"

"What? No!" He tried to sit up but only managed to lift his head slightly. "Why would I—I loved her."

The words hung in the air. Dante made a noise of disbelief behind me.

"You loved her?" I asked. "The woman you were using to manipulate me? The woman you hit hard enough to bruise?"

"I loved you both." Marcus's tears were flowing freely now. "I know you won't believe me, I know I did terrible things, but it was real. What I felt for both of you was real."

"You have a strange way of showing love."

"I know. I'm twisted, Sera. I've always been twisted. My father raised me to see people as pieces on a board, resources to manage. But with you two—" His voice broke. "You made me feel things I didn't know how to handle. So I tried to control it, control you, control the situation. And I destroyed everything."

I wanted to stay angry, to reject this vulnerability as another manipulation. But the grief in his eyes looked genuine. And dying men rarely bothered to lie.

"Who would have wanted Lydia dead?" I asked. "She had the documents, the letters, everything that could expose your plans. Who benefited from silencing her?"

Marcus was quiet, thinking. "Anyone who was involved in the scheme and wanted to cover their tracks. Owen, maybe. My father. Sarah, though she's already confessed so that doesn't make sense."

"What about Riverside Pack?" Dante asked. "You offered them hunting rights in exchange for support. If Lydia had evidence of that arrangement—"

"Alpha Garrett of Riverside is ambitious but not stupid. Murder brings Council investigation, scrutiny he doesn't want." Marcus coughed, the effort clearly painful. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" I pressed.

"There was someone else. Someone I contacted about the evaluation but didn't end up using." He met my eyes. "A specialist in discrediting mates. He's helped several Alphas remove unwanted bonds over the years."

My blood ran cold. "What kind of specialist?"

"The kind who makes problems disappear. I reached out to him about three weeks ago, asked what it would take to prove you unfit and remove the bond. He gave me a price that was too high, even for me. So I went with the legal route instead."

"But he knew about the situation," Dante said. "Knew about Sera, about the baby, about Lydia's involvement."

"Yes. And his payment—he doesn't just take money. He takes something valuable from the people involved. Information, leverage, sometimes life." Marcus's breathing was getting labored. "His name is Vaughn. He operates in the shadows between pack territories. No allegiance to anyone."

"Why would he kill Lydia?" I asked.

"Because she had documents that exposed my scheme. Documents that could reveal his involvement if anyone looked closely enough. He probably contacted me through written correspondence, meetings that could be traced." Marcus closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sera. I brought this to your door. I brought that monster into your life."

The healer stepped forward. "He needs to rest. The stress is making the poisoning worse."

But I had one more question. "Marcus, did you ever actually want the baby? Or was it just about power and legitimacy?"

He opened his eyes again, and for a moment I saw past the manipulative Alpha to the broken man underneath. "I wanted to be a father. To have something in my life that was mine, that I could love without complications or politics." His voice dropped to barely audible. "I thought a child would fix me. Make me better. But I'm not fixable, Sera. I'm just broken."

Dante guided me out before I could respond. In the hallway, I leaned against the wall, processing.

"Do you believe him?" Dante asked. "About this Vaughn person?"

"I don't know. But if there's someone out there killing to cover their tracks, we need to find them before they decide I'm a loose end too." I touched my stomach instinctively. "I'm carrying evidence of Marcus's scheme, proof that his entire plan failed. If Vaughn wants to clean up, I'm the biggest target."

"Then we don't go back to my territory. We stay here under Council protection until this Vaughn is found."

"Elder Miriam needs to know about this." I started walking toward the main hall. "We need to tell her everything Marcus said."

We found Elder Miriam in her private office, a small room lined with ancient texts and territorial maps. She looked up when we entered, unsurprised.

"I wondered when you'd come," she said. "Sit. Tell me what you've learned."

I explained everything—Marcus's confession about the specialist, the name Vaughn, the theory that Lydia was killed to silence her.

Elder Miriam listened without interruption, her expression growing darker. When I finished, she stood and went to a locked cabinet. She pulled out a worn journal and flipped through pages until she found what she was looking for.

"Vaughn," she read. "No last name, no pack affiliation, no territory. He appeared about fifteen years ago, offering services to Alphas with mate problems. We've suspected him in at least seven deaths, but never had enough evidence to prosecute." She looked up at us. "He's careful, methodical, and completely without conscience. If he's involved in this, you're in serious danger, Sera."

"Can the Council protect her?" Dante asked.

"We can try. But Vaughn doesn't respect Council authority. He operates in the gaps of pack law, the places our jurisdiction doesn't reach." Elder Miriam closed the journal. "Your best protection is to make his services unnecessary. If Marcus's scheme is already exposed, if there's nothing left to hide, Vaughn has no reason to target you."

"Unless Marcus hired him for something else," I said quietly. "Something he didn't mention."

The elder nodded grimly. "That's possible. I'll send word to all packs, warn them about Vaughn's potential involvement. But Sera, you need to be extremely careful. Don't go anywhere without guards. Don't trust anyone you don't know absolutely."

"What about people I do know?" I thought about Sarah, about Cole, even about the pack members back at Dante's territory who still weren't sure about me. "How do I know who's actually loyal versus who might be working for Vaughn?"

"You don't. That's what makes him effective." Elder Miriam's voice softened slightly. "I'm sorry, child. You've been through enough without adding this threat. But forewarned is forearmed. At least now you know to watch for him."

We left her office with more questions than answers. In the hallway, Dante pulled me close.

"We're going to figure this out," he said. "We'll find Vaughn, expose whatever he's planning, and end this."

"And if we can't? If he's as good as Elder Miriam says?"

"Then we adapt. We survive. That's what we do." He kissed my forehead. "Together."

I wanted to believe him. But as we walked back to our quarters, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Of eyes in the shadows, calculating, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Somewhere out there, Vaughn was planning his next move. And I had no idea if I'd see it coming before it was too late.

Back in our room, I went to the window and looked out at the forest. Peaceful, beautiful, hiding who knew what dangers in the trees.

"Tell me about your vision for the future," I said to Dante. "When all this is over, when the baby is born and Vaughn is dealt with and Marcus is either dead or exiled. What do you see?"

Dante came to stand beside me. "I see us in the pack house. You've made it a home instead of just a fortress. There are children's toys scattered around, evidence of life and chaos and joy." He smiled. "I see you holding Council meetings, mediating disputes, making the pack stronger with your perspective. I see our daughter learning to shift, you teaching her that strength isn't just physical."

"That sounds nice."

"It will be real. I promise you that." He turned me to face him. "We're going to survive this, Sera. All three of us. And we're going to build something beautiful from all this chaos."

I kissed him, pouring everything I couldn't say into the gesture. Hope, fear, love, determination. When we broke apart, I felt steadier.

"Okay," I said. "We survive. We build. We win."

"Together."

"Together."

Outside, the sun was rising on a new day. Somewhere, Vaughn was making his plans. But so were we.

And I was done being afraid.