Chapter 46 The Reveal
Kane closed the distance fast. His hand moved to her waist. She met him halfway. The kiss deepened, and Luna felt the wine buzzing through her veins, making everything sharper and softer at once. Kane’s hands were in her hair, his mouth moving against hers with an urgency that matched the storm outside.
She tugged at the belt of his robe. Her fingers fumbled with the knot.
His breath brushed her cheek as he moved his hand up to her neck.
A faint light pulsed against his fingers. He looked down and saw her pendant glowing.
“Luna, look.” His voice sounded tight.
She pulled back an inch and followed his eyes. Her pendant glowed with a low silver light. The chain warmed against her skin.
“What is this?” Kane asked.
The moment her fingers touched the warm metal, her vision blurred.
She’s in the forest again. Her mother running, terror etched across her young face. Richard Pierce behind her, moving fast.
But this time the vision didn’t stop there. It expanded, showing her more.
Another figure emerged from the shadows. Alexander. Younger, but unmistakably him.
Luna gasped as understanding dawned. Richard wasn’t chasing Helena. He was chasing Alexander.
“Run!” Richard shouted to Helena. “Get to the boundary! Go!”
Helena shifted mid-stride, her wolf form sleek and fast. Alexander pursued her while Richard tried to intercept. Both men shifted, massive wolves colliding in a vicious tangle of teeth and claws.
Helena’s wolf skidded to a stop, looking back.
“Keep running!” Richard’s voice echoed even in wolf form. “Protect yourself!”
Helena ran. Through streams, over fallen logs, her sides heaving with exhaustion. Finally, she collapsed in human form by a river, trembling hands touching her pregnant belly.
Wolves howled in the distance. Helena’s voice, young and desperate, began chanting: “I bind my power. I hide my light. Let them see only an omega, nothing more.”
The sacrifice burned through the vision like acid. Luna watched her mother’s magnificent aura dim to nothing, the moon mark on her shoulder fading to invisibility. All to protect the child in her womb.
To protect Luna.
The vision released her. Luna stumbled, catching herself on the window frame.
“Luna?” Kane’s hands were on her shoulders, worry spread across his face. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
Luna’s legs gave out. Kane caught her before she hit the floor, pulling her against his chest. He guided her to the bed and sat beside her.
She looked at him, seeing the concern in his eyes. Her throat went tight.
“Tell me,” Kane said. “Please.”
“Your father.” The words came out broken. “He wasn’t chasing my mother. He was protecting her. I had it wrong all along.”
Kane went still. “What? Protecting her from who?”
“Alexander.” Luna touched the pendant, feeling its warmth fade. “This whole time I thought Richard was chasing her. But he was helping her.”
“What are you talking about?”
Luna took a shaky breath. “I’ve been seeing things. Visions. Every time I touch this pendant. My mother running through the woods. And your father behind her.”
The color drained from Kane’s face. He took a step back. “My father was chasing your mother?”
“That’s what I thought I was seeing.” Luna wrapped her arms around herself. “For a while now. Her running, terrified. Him behind her.”
“You thought he killed her.” Kane’s voice was flat.
Luna nodded, unable to meet his eyes.
Kane turned away, gripping the back of a chair. “How long have you known?”
“Since the Haven attack. That’s when I found the photo.”
He turned slowly. “So this whole time we’ve been working together, you thought my father murdered your mother?”
“I didn’t know what I was seeing,” Luna said desperately. “How could I accuse your father based on fragments of a vision? I needed to understand first.”
“You could have told me.” Each word was clipped. “You should have told me.”
“And said what? That I’m having magical visions? You would have thought I was losing my mind.”
"I would have helped you figure it out." Kane's jaw clenched. "Instead, you've been looking at me this whole time wondering if my father killed your mother. If I knew."
"No." Luna stood, moving toward him.
"I never thought you knew. And I didn't want to believe it about Richard either. That's why I kept quiet. I was trying to find proof, trying to understand what really happened before I destroyed everything with an accusation that might not even be true."
"Were you?" Kane's eyes were hard. "Or were you gathering evidence? Building a case?"
"That's not fair."
"Isn't it? Is that why you were snooping in my office the other time? Is it?"
She nodded.
His face went pale. Then something shifted in his expression. "Part of me is relieved," Kane admitted, running a hand through his hair. "To know my father was trying to help, not hurt. But Luna, you lived in my house thinking my father was a killer. How did you even look at me?"
"Kane..."
“You said we were partners. We were investing the moon fever together.”
“I know but I didn’t know the visions were related to the moon fever.” She continued, “All I knew was that it had something to do with Richard.”
Kane was quiet. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “So what did you see tonight?”
Luna took a breath and moved to stand beside him. "Tonight the vision showed me more. It wasn't just your father and my mother. Alexander was there too."
Kane's head snapped toward her. "Alexander?"
"He was chasing my mother. And your father was trying to stop him." Luna touched the pendant again, but gently this time. "Richard wasn't the villain.
“He was trying to save her. He told her to run, to get to safety. Then he fought Alexander while she escaped."
Kane was silent, processing this. "This is definitely connected to the RP-1989 research."
"It has to be. Your mother said Richard tried to stop Alexander. Could it be that he..." Luna trailed off.
"He what?"
“I don’t know. The vision ended with my mother running. I don’t know what happened after. I don’t know if Richard stopped Alexander or if Alexander eventually caught up to her.” Luna’s voice broke. “I don’t know if your father saved my mother or just delayed the inevitable.”
Kane was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was softer. “I’m not angry that you had suspicions about my father. I’m just hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to share them.”
“I’m trying,” she said instead. “To trust. To open up. It’s just hard.”
“I know.” Kane pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But we’ll figure it out. Together.”
“Together,” Luna echoed, letting herself lean into his warmth.
“Are there any other secrets regarding me that you’re hiding?”
Luna thought about her remaining secrets. Being Aria. Kane’s mate. The twins.
“None that I can think of.”
The lie burned her throat. She was still lying about being Aria, the mate bond, the twins. But how could she tell him about being Aria without putting her pups in danger. With Alexander and Victoria still in the picture, it was too risky.
"I can't promise I'll get it right every time. But I'll try."
Kane nodded. “That’s all I’m asking.”
“I’m sorry,” Luna said quietly. “For not trusting you with this.”
They stood like that for a moment, holding each other in the quiet room. The storm had passed, leaving only the sound of water dripping from the eaves.
“We should sleep,” Kane said finally. “Tomorrow we need to talk to my mother. Find out what else she knows.”