Chapter 11
I turned around and bumped right into Alaric, who had come looking for me,
“Sera, why aren’t you inside yet?”
When he saw Luca behind me, Alaric’s expression instantly turned cold,
“Luca, Sera is my mate now. Stay the hell away from her.”
Luca seemed to find an outlet for his rage, lunging forward to fight Alaric.
“What makes you think you’re any better? If you hadn’t spread false leads everywhere, I would’ve found Serà ages ago.”
“And she never would’ve fallen for your bullshit!”
They exchanged brutal blows. Alaric had spent the night channeling his healing powers to the Moon Goddess for two critical patients and was no match for Luca’s fury.
Seeing Alaric getting more and more battered, I threw myself between them to protect him.
Seeing me, Luca’s fist veered off course, slamming into the ground instead as he looked at me with wounded eyes.
“Sera, you’d rather protect him than me?”
“Baby, are you okay? Shit, I’m sorry–I shouldn’t have lost it in front of you.”
Alaric was full of regret, pulling me close to check for injuries, clearly shaken.
Luca stood up, roughly wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
“Alaric, if you’re a real man, stop hiding behind Sera.”
“Winner takes all. Whoever wins gets her.”
Alaric took my hand and shook his head, addressing Luca directly.
“Luca, I won’t fight you, and Sera isn’t some prize to be won.”
“You grew up with her, but you used her feelings to abuse her. You brought this on yourself.”
“Even if Sera doesn’t choose me, she’ll never choose you!”
Hit where it hurt most, Luca exploded with rage.
“Impossible! We had ten years together, we have a pup…”
Luca roared, refusing to accept reality, but stopped mid–sentence when he mentioned the pup.
That pup was gone.
Maybe Sera really would never forgive him…
“Daddy!”
“Mama!”
A sweet voice called from behind us. I turned to see Celeste toddling over, looking upset.
“Mama, up!”
A smile crossed my face.
Chapter 11
“Of course, sweetie. Did you get worried waiting? Mama’s sorry I’ll be right there,”
Alaric grinned despite his injuries.
“Come to Daddy, little girl. Mama’s tired.”
Celeste turned away from Alaric stubbornly, but after two seconds couldn’t help but blow gently on his wounds.
“Daddy, make hurt go bye–bye.”
Luca stared at Celeste’s face in shock, then broke into tears of joy.
“Sera, this is our pup, isn’t it? He didn’t die, right?”
“Thank the Moon Goddess, you lied to me back then. Our pup is alive–we can fix this.”
“Once he knows I’m his real dad, you can’t leave me, Sera!”
“Come here, daughter. Let Daddy hold you.”
Seeing new hope, Luca opened his arms to embrace Celeste.
I handed Celeste to Alaric and coldly blocked Luca’s path.
“Luca, you are not this pup’s father.”
“Your daughter is dead. You killed him yourself when you ripped out that plug.”
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.