Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Marcus's POV

I paced my office, waiting for Lydia to return. She'd been gone too long. The trip to Dante's territory and back should have taken three hours maximum. It had been five.

Owen sat in the corner, watching me with that careful expression he wore when he thought I was losing control. Let him watch. Let him judge. Once I had my son back, none of this would matter.

"She might have run into trouble at the border," Owen said. "Dante's guards aren't exactly welcoming."

"She had the script. She knew what to say." I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from my desk and took a long drink. "She breaks down crying, shows them the bruises, delivers the warning about the evaluation. Simple."

"You hit her pretty hard. What if she actually turned on you?"

I laughed. "Lydia? She's too weak. Too desperate for approval. She'll do what I told her because she still thinks there's a chance I'll choose her over Sera." I took another drink. "Women are predictable that way. Give them attention, make them feel special, and they'll betray their own blood."

Owen shifted uncomfortably. He'd never liked the plan with Lydia, thought it was too messy. But Owen didn't understand strategy. Didn't understand that sometimes you had to break things down completely before you could rebuild them properly.

"The evaluation is set for tomorrow," he said. "Your father and Sarah are prepared to testify. But Marcus, if Sera brings evidence that contradicts our story—"

"She won't. She has nothing." I sat down at my desk, fingers drumming on the wood. "Sera is exactly what we'll say she is. Unstable. Obsessed with pregnancy. Increasingly isolated from the pack. We have three years of documented behavior to support it."

"Documented behavior you created by isolating her."

"Details." I waved my hand dismissively. "The Council won't care how it happened. They'll care that there's a pattern of instability and that pattern makes her unfit to raise an Alpha's heir."

The heir. My son. Growing inside Sera even as she played house with my uncle. The thought made my blood boil.

I'd known for three weeks. Sarah had come to me immediately after examining Sera, excited to deliver the news. Finally, after three years, conception. The pack would celebrate. My father would stop his disappointed looks. Everything would fall into place.

Except Sera had started pulling away around the same time. Stopped trying as hard to please me. Started questioning things. I'd needed to speed up my timeline with Lydia, push Sera to the breaking point so she'd leave on her own.

The plan had been simple. Drive Sera away, have her declared unfit while she was gone, take custody of the child when it was born. In a few years, everyone would forget there had ever been a first wife. Lydia would be Luna, grateful and obedient, and I'd have my heir.

But Sera hadn't just left. She'd run straight to Dante and somehow convinced him they were true mates. That part still ate at me. True mates. The bond was so rare it was practically a myth, and somehow my broken, useless wife had stumbled into one with the most powerful Alpha in the territory.

The timing was too convenient. She must have planned it somehow. Maybe she'd been meeting with Dante for months, conducting an affair while accusing me of the same. Maybe the pregnancy was even his, and Sarah had gotten the dates wrong.

No. Sarah was loyal. She wouldn't lie to me. The baby was mine. Four weeks along, conceived while Sera was still in my bed, still my mate. The bond with Dante might be real, but the child was mine by law and blood.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Come in."

Gerald entered, my father's expression stern as always. "Any word from Lydia?"

"Not yet."

"You trust her to deliver the message without revealing the whole plan?"

"She's motivated. I made sure of that." I'd done more than bruise her face. I'd told her that if she didn't convince Sera to come to the evaluation willingly, I'd make sure everyone knew she'd seduced me, destroyed my marriage, and then abandoned me when things got difficult. Her reputation would be destroyed. She'd be packless, just like Sera had been.

Gerald sat down across from me. "This is risky, son. If Dante fights the evaluation—"

"He can't. I filed the paperwork legally, followed every protocol. The Council has to honor the request." I leaned back in my chair. "And once they examine Sera and hear our testimony, they'll see exactly what she is. Unstable. Manipulative. Willing to abandon her mate and seduce another Alpha the moment things got difficult."

"And if they find her mentally sound?"

"They won't. Because tomorrow, we're not just presenting witnesses." I smiled. "Sarah will testify about Sera's increasing paranoia during her examinations. How she accused the healer of lying about test results, of conspiring against her. Owen will discuss her withdrawal from pack activities, her refusal to engage with other members. And you, Father, will speak to her family history."

Gerald's eyebrows rose. "Her family?"

"The Riverside Pack exiled her at seventeen for instability and violent behavior. I took her in out of compassion, tried to rehabilitate her, but the underlying issues never went away." I'd spent weeks crafting this narrative, making sure every piece fit together. "Add in the pregnancy hormones and the stress of failing to conceive for three years, and you have a clear pattern of mental decline."

"That's not what happened. She was exiled because—"

"Because she attacked an elder's son. The official record supports my version." I'd made sure of that too. A generous donation to the Riverside Pack leader had ensured their records would reflect whatever I needed them to reflect.

Gerald was quiet for a long moment. "You're destroying an innocent woman to keep your child."

"I'm protecting my heir from an unstable mother. There's a difference."

"Is there?" My father stood. "I'll testify tomorrow because you're my son and pack loyalty demands it. But Marcus, this path you're on, this manipulation and cruelty—it won't end well."

"It'll end with me raising my son and strengthening my pack. That's all that matters."

Gerald left without another word. I didn't care about his disapproval. He'd come around once he held his grandson. Everyone would.

Another knock. Finally.

"Enter."

But it wasn't Lydia who walked through the door. It was James, one of my border patrol guards. His expression was grim.

"What?" I demanded.

"Lydia, Alpha. She's not coming back."

My blood went cold. "What do you mean?"

"We spotted her returning to the territory an hour ago. She went straight to her house, grabbed some bags, and left again. Headed back toward Dante's territory." James hesitated. "She took documents with her. Papers from your office."

The room tilted. Papers from my office. The messages I'd sent her detailing the plan. The timeline I'd written out. The confession I'd made her sign saying she'd seduced me, insurance in case she ever tried to turn on me.

That confession. In Dante's hands, it would prove I'd manipulated the affair. It would prove I'd planned to destroy Sera's reputation. It would unravel everything.

"How did she get into my office?" My voice came out as a growl.

"You gave her a key three weeks ago, Alpha. Remember? When you started the affair."

Right. I had. Because I'd trusted her. Because I'd thought she was too weak and desperate to ever betray me.

I'd underestimated her. Just like I'd underestimated Sera.

"Send warriors to intercept her," I ordered. "Bring her back alive. I want those documents."

"She's already crossed into neutral territory. If we pursue her there—"

"I don't care. Get her back."

James left at a run. I stood there, heart pounding, mind racing through scenarios. If Lydia delivered those documents to Dante, if they presented them at tomorrow's evaluation, everything would fall apart. The Council would see through my story. They'd rule in Sera's favor. I'd lose my son.

Unless I changed the plan.

I grabbed my phone and called Sarah. She answered on the second ring.

"Change of plans," I said. "Tomorrow's evaluation. I need you to do something for me."

"What kind of something?"

"The kind that ensures Sera never makes it to the Council Hall."

Sarah was quiet. Then: "Marcus, I'm a healer. I took an oath."

"And I'm your Alpha. You took an oath to me too." My voice hardened. "Sera is carrying my child and running around with another Alpha like some kind of whore. She's a danger to herself and the baby. We need to intervene before she does something that harms my heir."

"Intervene how?"

"I need her sedated. Brought back to Clearwater territory where we can monitor her properly. For her own safety and the baby's."

"That's kidnapping."

"That's protective custody. Completely legal for a pregnant mate showing signs of instability." I'd looked up the laws. Buried deep in pack regulations was a provision allowing Alphas to temporarily detain pregnant mates deemed at risk. It was archaic and rarely used, but it was there.

"Marcus, this has gone too far."

"Sarah, listen to me very carefully. You've been my family's healer for twenty years. You've been paid well, treated with respect, given status in the pack. But that can all change very quickly if you refuse me now."

Silence. Then, in a small voice: "What do you need me to do?"

I smiled. "Meet me at the border of neutral territory tomorrow at noon. Bring sedatives strong enough to take down a pregnant wolf without harming the fetus. And bring a van. We're bringing Sera home where she belongs."

After I hung up, I poured another drink. Lydia's betrayal was a setback, but not a fatal one. I'd adapt. Change tactics. Instead of using the Council to take Sera's rights, I'd use pack law to take Sera herself.

By tomorrow night, she'd be locked in a room in my house. The baby would be safe. And Dante could file all the complaints he wanted with the Council. By the time they investigated, I'd have my heir.

And Sera? Once the baby was born, she'd be expendable.

I raised my glass to my reflection in the window. "To adaptation."

The really beautiful thing about pack law was how many loopholes existed if you knew where to look.

And I'd been looking for a very long time.