hapter 24
Lysandra’s POV
My body crashed onto the hotel bed, but sleep refused to come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw their leering faces–those Rogues with their hungry eyes and grasping hands. The memory of fingers digging into my wrist made my skin crawl.
“Fuck,” I whispered into the darkness, rubbing my bandaged wrist.
I rolled onto my side, staring at the strip of moonlight that cut across the carpet. Despite my exhaustion, my mind kept replaying the attack–running through the shadows, heart hammering against my ribs, the sensation of hitting something solid.
Tristan.
His face materialized in my mind–that flash of deadly rage when he realized what was happening. The way he’d torn into those men without hesitation. For me.
I punched my pillow, angry at myself for the unwelcome warmth spreading through my chest at the memory of his protective rage.
But the twins, I reminded myself. My beautiful moonbeams, the reason I’d fled in the first place. His words from five years ago echoed in my mind: “You think I would let you carry my heir, you filthy aberration?”
The tenderness in his eyes tonight meant nothing. He was the same man who’d rejected me, rejected the possibility of our children.
I turned to face the window, watching clouds drift across the moon until exhaustion finally claimed me.
xx
The next morning, I checked my phone–seven texts from Kieran. The last one, sent fifteen minutes ago, asked if I’d join him for breakfast before the council meetings.
I texted back: Not feeling up to pack politics today. You go ahead.
His response came immediately: Are you sure you’re okay alone?
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then reappeared before his message finally came through: Call me if you need anything. I mean it, Lyss.
After a quick shower, I wrapped myself in the hotel bathrobe and ordered room service. As I picked at my breakfast, I couldn’t shake the knot of unease in my stomach. Something felt off.
I needed to hear my children’s voices.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed home. After five rings, someone finally answered.
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Chapter 24
“Ravencroft residence.”
My heart sank. Not Orion’s exuberant greeting or Lyra’s sweet voice, but one of our housekeepers.
“This is Lysandra. Why are you answering this phone? Where are my children?”
Silence stretched on the other end, my anxiety mounting with each passing second.
“Hello? Are you there?” I pressed, sitting up straighter, “I asked you a question.”
“I–I’m sorry, Miss Ravencroft,” the woman finally stammered. “The children… they’re not here.”
Ice flooded my veins. “What do you mean they’re not there? Where are they?”
“They’ve been missing since morning. We’ve been searching-”
My knees gave out. I collapsed onto the floor, phone clutched to my ear.
My twins. My precious moonbeams. Gone.
A primal scream built in my chest, clawing its way out. I bit my fist to stifle it, tasting blood. My entire body shook with the effort of remaining coherent.
“Keep searching. I’m coming home right now.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed Alaric, but it went straight to voicemail. Same with my parents.
Sobs wracked my body as I pulled at my hair, pacing the room like a caged animal. I should never have left them. Never. What kind of mother puts a stupid council meeting above her children’s safety?
Astrid howled inside me, demanding I shift, that we run home now to find our cubs. My skin prickled with the urge to transform, to give in to wolf instinct.
Then a terrifying thought sliced through the panic.
“Everyone who stands between me and what I want pays the price eventually.”
Selene’s words from years ago. The threat in her eyes when she’d spoken them.
My blood ran cold. She had discovered my twins‘ existence. Had to have. She saw them as threats to her position as future Luna–proof of Tristan’s connection to another woman.
Fury replaced panic, a white–hot rage that burned away rational thought. My fingers flew across my phone screen, typing out a social media post before I could reconsider.
“To all who’ve followed the saga between myself and Selene Darkwood: You don’t know the full story. Five years ago, t was Luna of Silverblood Pack, Tristan Wolfbane’s wife. However, Selene wormed her way into my marriage with her lies about saving Tristan as children–a convenient story no one else can verify. She is nothing but a homewrecker. She came to our home, spent time with my husband even though she knew he was mated. Now you all can decide what type of Luna she’ll make.”
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Chapter 24
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I hit post, believing Selene would contact me to demand I delete it. When she did, I’d demand my children back.
Within minutes, notifications flooded my screen. Pack members sharing, commenting, my post going viral.
Public opinion shifted rapidly as pack members connected the dots about Selene becoming Tristan’s girlfriend suspiciously soon after I left, their comments flooding in with support for me and outrage toward the
“homewrecker” who didn’t deserve to be Luna.
Each supportive comment fed my righteous anger, though a small voice warned me that publicly accusing Selene might endanger my children further if she truly had taken them.
My phone rang, startling me. Dad’s face appeared on the screen.
“Dad? Have you found Orion and Lyra?” I answered, voice cracking.
“Breathe, Lyss,” he said, his calm tone at odds with my panic. “The twins are fine.”
“What? But the housekeeper said-”
“They’re not missing,” he interrupted. “They’re on their way to you. Lyra’s been crying for you since yesterday. And you know how Orion gets when he sets his mind on something. They wanted to surprise you.” He sighed. “So I sent them to you. Sam is with them.”
Sam was the butler who took care of them.
Relief flooded through me so powerfully I nearly blacked out. “They’re safe,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face. “Oh thank God.”
“They’ll be landing at the airport in about two hours,” Dad continued. “I’m sorry for the confusion.”
As the adrenaline ebbed, a new worry took its place. “Dad, no. The council meeting. Tristan is here.”
Silence fell on the other end of the line.
“Dad, we’re leaving today. I’ll meet them at the airport instead. I can’t–I won’t let him see them.”
My fingers were already dialing Kieran before I ended the call with Dad. We needed to leave. Now.
Twenty minutes later, we were packed and heading downstairs. Kieran helped me pack and booked our flights after I explained everything to him.
After a quick lunch, we headed to the airport directly.
“We’ll be gone before anyone even notices,” Kieran assured me. “You don’t need to worry,”
I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to take any chances. What would happen if Tristan discovered my children? What would I do then?
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Chapter 24
I stared out the window at the blur of trees. Astrid had gone unusually quiet, as if sensing the gravity of our situation.
“I can’t let my children meet Tristan,” I whispered.
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