Chapter 53

Chapter 53
THEO

"I’m heading to the hardware store," I lie, grabbing my keys off the counter. "Thought I’d fix up that broken hinge on the back door before we move everything in."

Finn grunts from the couch, distracted by a crossword puzzle he probably won’t finish, and Caleb doesn’t look up from packing the last of Elena’s books. Perfect.

Elena walks in, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and just the sight of her belly makes my heart clench. Our baby. Our mate. I walk over and kiss her forehead.

"Don’t overdo it today, okay? I’ll be back by dinner."

She smiles, suspicious but soft. "Okay. Don’t take too long."

I won’t. I just have something I need to take care of first.



Fergus is already waiting when I reach the cabin. It’s tucked deep in the woods, nearly swallowed by the trees, the kind of place you wouldn’t find unless you were looking for it. He leans against the porch post, arms crossed.

"He’s inside," Fergus says. "Still out of it, but lucid enough. He’s not... well."

I nod. My throat feels dry.

"You want me to stay?"

"No. You’ve done enough. Thank you, Fergus. Really."

His expression is unreadable, but he claps my shoulder once, firm. "Don’t let him twist anything. And don’t let him get in your head."

I wait until I hear his car fade into the distance before I push the cabin door open.

The air is damp, heavy with dust and old wood. A single bulb flickers overhead, casting a weak, yellow glow over the room. Eric is tied to a chair in the center, arms secured, ankles bound. He looks smaller than I remember. Smaller and older.

His hair is too long, greasy and tangled, falling in uneven waves over his face. His clothes hang off his frame, and there’s a tremor in his hands I don’t remember ever seeing. His eyes, once sharp and calculating, dart to me as I enter. They’re wide. Frightened.

He exhales a shaky breath. "Theo... Thank God. I thought they’d send someone else."

I close the door behind me, slow and deliberate. My footsteps echo as I walk across the creaking floorboards and pull up a chair opposite him. I sit down, elbows on my knees, and meet his gaze.

"You’re not the man I grew up knowing," I say quietly.

Eric smiles, the corners of his mouth twitching. "None of us are who we used to be. You’ll see. Time... it rots everything."

I study him, every hollow in his cheeks, every nervous tick of his fingers. This is the man who tore my family apart. The man who shattered Caleb’s. Who poisoned Finn’s father and made Elena’s life a living hell.

And yet, all I feel is a hollow weight in my chest. No fire. No rage. Just this dull ache.

"Why did you take her?" I ask.

His eyes gleam wetly. "She looks like Moira. I thought—when I saw her—I thought for a second she was her. You know how strange that is? How cruel? The same eyes. Same fire. I couldn’t help myself."

"She’s not your second chance. She’s not Moira."

He shakes his head, almost childlike. "No. But she’s all that’s left of her. I just wanted to be close. Just for a while."

"You drugged her. You tied her up. You risked her life and the life of her child. Our child."

Eric blinks at that, startled. "Your child?"

"Ours. Mine, Finn’s, Caleb’s. The three of us."

His lips twist into something like envy, then sorrow. "I never had that. Not with her. James stole her from me."

"James was her mate. You were never meant to be with her."

He closes his eyes, breathing in deep. "You sound like your father. You look like him too. Big and noble and righteous."

The name burns on my tongue. I let it sit a moment before I speak.

"You killed him. Didn’t you."

Eric opens his eyes. His gaze skitters away, unfocused. "It was never supposed to happen like that. Just a little accident. Just enough to scare him. But he always had a way of ruining things. Just like James. Just like Finn’s father."

There it is. A cold confirmation I didn’t want but needed. My fists tighten in my lap.

"Why?" I ask, my voice low.

"Because your fathers stood in the way. All of them. They thought they were better than me. That I wasn’t strong enough to lead. That I didn’t deserve Moira. They talked like I was
broken. Like I couldn’t handle being alpha."

He laughs, a brittle, unhinged sound. "Maybe I am broken. Maybe they were right."

I want to hit him. Godess, I want to break him apart like he broke so many others. But I don’t move.

"You let that poison eat you from the inside out," I say. "You made choices. You destroyed lives. You can’t pretend to be the victim now."

He slumps in the chair, shoulders caving in. "You’re not going to kill me, are you?"

"No."

His head jerks up in surprise.

"That’s not justice. That’s revenge. I’m not like you."

He swallows hard. "Then what happens now?"

I stand slowly, my full height casting a shadow over him. "You’ll answer for what you’ve done. To a real council. Not just the one in your head."

Eric’s breath shudders out of him. For a moment, I think he might cry.

"You’re not the boy I remember," he whispers.

"Good," I say, and turn my back on him.

Outside, the wind rustles the trees, and I finally let myself breathe. My hands shake—not from fear or regret, but from everything I held in.

I send a message to Fergus: Ready for pickup.

Justice, not vengeance. I repeat it like a prayer. Because I have a mate waiting for me. A child on the way. A family worth being strong for.

And Eric? He’s just a ghost from the past. One that will never haunt us again.