SIXTY THREE

SIXTY THREE
SARA’S POV
I found myself behind the stables, pressed against the weathered wood where no one could see me fall apart. The tears wouldn't stop coming. They poured out of me like I was hemorrhaging, hot and endless and stupid. I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to stem the flow, but it was useless.
From henceforth, you're dead to me, Saraphina Maychild.
His words echoed in my head, each repetition like a fresh knife wound. The way he'd said my full name—cold, formal, like I was a stranger he was dismissing from court. Like twenty years of friendship meant nothing. Like I meant nothing.
Maybe I didn't. Maybe I never had.
"Sara?"
I looked up to find Eamon standing at the corner of the stable, his face creased with concern. He approached slowly, like I was a wounded animal that might bolt.
"Are you here to make fun of me too?" The words came out bitter and raw. "You probably think I rejected all of your advances because I was fucking around with the Alpha."
Eamon stopped walking. His expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes. "I know Darragh is the subject of your affection and no one else."
I laughed, but it sounded more like choking. "Right. Sure you do."
"I do." He moved closer, crouching down so we were at eye level. "I don't know what I saw in that room, and I don't want to acknowledge it, but I'm sharp enough to know there's a power imbalance between you and a whole Alpha of Moonveil."
The understanding in his voice almost broke me all over again. I'd expected anger, disgust, accusations. Not this gentle recognition of something I couldn't even name myself.
"I'm disappointed," he continued quietly. "But I'm not going to blame you."
"You won't understand." I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, probably looking like a complete mess. "I'm doing it to save her."
"Who?"
"Luna Dayo."
His eyebrows drew together. "What does that mean?"
I couldn't explain. Couldn't tell him about the poison, about my plan, about watching Bastien drink his own death while thinking he was seducing me. Couldn't tell him that every second in that room had been torture, that I'd wanted to scrub my skin raw afterward.
"Just hate me for this, Eamon." I met his eyes, trying to memorize his face before everything changed. "It will be much easier for you in the grand scheme of things."
"How could I ever hate you?"
The tenderness in his voice was going to destroy me. I pressed my lips together, fighting another wave of tears.
"Not that any of it matters now." The words came out flat, exhausted. "Darragh has cast me out of the pack. I'm nothing more than a rogue now."
"What?" Eamon's voice cracked with shock.
I chuckled, but tears were streaming down my face again, probably mixing with snot and making me look even more pathetic. "It's not a bad thing. Maybe now that I'm out of the picture, it's that simple and there's no elaborate reason or justification for trying to ki—"
I caught myself before I could finish. Before I could say kill. Because that's what this was really about, wasn't it? Keeping Bastien alive long enough for the poison to work, keeping him distracted so he wouldn't hurt anyone else while he slowly rotted from the inside.
Eamon moved toward me, his hands coming up to gently wipe the tears from my cheeks. "Darragh is just angry," he said softly. "I'll talk to him. You're family after all. Darragh could never cast you out."
I caught his face between my hands, feeling the warmth of his skin against my palms. "When people tell you something in a state of anger, you know it's the gospel truth." My voice was barely above a whisper. "There's no place here for me in Moonveil. That's alright. It's better than making everyone uncomfortable."
"Come stay with me."
I shook my head, pulling away from his touch even though it felt like tearing off a bandage. "Unfortunately, I'm used to wiping my own tears, so I do have a habit of hurting those I care about."
"You'll let Darragh in but not me."
"The heart is a cruel thing."
Eamon's expression softened with something that might have been understanding. "It is."
I stared at him for a moment, this boy who'd been nothing but good to me, who I'd pushed away again and again because my heart belonged to someone who'd just thrown me away like garbage.
"Maybe it's better I have no connection to this pack," I said, the words tasting like ash. "I never really did. I always felt trapped. By my grandfather, by Alpha Bastien, and looking back... maybe even Darragh. The Byrnes have that effect."
"They do."
I spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Luna Dayo stood behind us, her posture regal even in the shadow of the stables. Her dark braided hair was pulled back severely, but her eyes were soft when they landed on me.
"But you are Maychild before anything," she continued.
Eamon scrambled to his feet, bowing deeply. "Luna Dayo."
"Leave us," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "I want to talk to her."
Eamon hesitated, glancing between us, but ultimately obeyed. His footsteps faded as he walked away, leaving me alone with Darragh's mother.
"I'm sorry." The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
"Do not be, Saraphina." She moved closer, studying my tear-stained face. "I have come to realize Bastien is a dog."
The bluntness of her statement shocked me into silence.
"You have had a hard life, Saraphina. I am sorry for whatever my Darragh said in his anger."
"It's justified." The confession felt like pulling glass from my throat. "Much I want to believe I did it to save you from disappearing from his life again, it really was for my own selfishness."
Luna Dayo's head tilted slightly. "Again?"
Shit. I'd said too much. My mind scrambled for an explanation.
"Did you and Darragh meet the same healer with visions?" She broke my train of thoughts.
"What?"
"Darragh said the same thing. Me disappearing." Her eyes searched my face, looking for answers I couldn't give. "I don't know what is going on, but I assure you, I am not going anywhere."
My heart stopped. "Darragh knows you disappear?"
"That is not the point." She waved her hand dismissively. "The point is history cannot repeat itself. Moonveil failed your mother, and I was party to it. Because of us, you did not grow up with a mother. I am still an accomplice to that, till the day I die, really. But I cannot fail you."
The sincerity in her voice made my chest tight. She was talking about my mother, about failures I'd never even known existed.
"You will be no rogue. Not on my watch."
She reached for my hand, and I let her take it. Her skin was warm, callused from years of pack work. But even her kindness couldn't quiet the questions spinning in my head.
How did Darragh know his mother would disappear? Had he—
The thought cut off abruptly. It was impossible. Ridiculous. But the pieces were there, weren't they? His strange behavior lately, the changes in the past…
And now this. This knowledge of a future that hadn't happened yet.
"Saraphina?" Luna Dayo's voice pulled me back to the present. "Are you listening?"
"Sorry." I blinked, refocusing on her face. "I was just... thinking."
"About Darragh?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"He will come around," she said firmly. "Anger makes us say things we don't mean. Things that hurt the people we love most."
"I don't think he loves me anymore." The admission felt like swallowing broken glass. "I don't think he ever did. Not the way I loved him."


AUTHOR NOTE: Hi everyone,
I wanted to let you know that there’s currently an issue between me and the platform regarding this book. The contract that this book is under on other platforms states that it cannot be offered for free elsewhere. I would have had no problem if it had been placed under ads or a subscription model—which is usually a grey area—but that didn’t happen.

I didn’t want to leave readers of The Alpha's Betrayal: my second chance to defy fate in the dark because you deserve to know the truth and I value your support deeply. Until the platform listens and adjusts this issue, I may not be able to continue publishing the book here.

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Thank you for your patience and understanding. I hope we can resolve this soon so I can continue sharing this story with you here.

— Samuel Ade