Chapter 10
Three days after the Summit, the supernatural world was reeling.
A Laurent—alive. A Lycan Queen—returned. Every media outlet in the hidden world ran my image alongside breathless speculation.
I ignored all of it. Focused on the Council work piling on my desk—centuries of neglected disputes now demanding resolution.
But Alaric was relentless.
Flowers arrived. I donated them to hospitals.
Letters arrived. I returned them unopened.
He stationed himself in The Obsidian's lobby for six hours before security escorted him out.
His thoughts battered my shields nightly—a constant low roar of regret and desperation:
*"Come back. I'm sorry. I'll leave Vanessa. I'll leave everything. Just come back."*
I reinforced my walls and slept soundly.
On the fourth morning, something unexpected appeared at my door.
Not Alaric.
Vanessa.
She looked different. Thinner. Dark circles that makeup couldn't fully mask. The Luna pendant still hung at her throat, but it looked heavy now. The toddler—a boy, with Alaric's amber eyes—squirmed in her arms.
"Can I come in?" Her voice held none of the venom I remembered. Only exhaustion.
I stepped aside.
She sat on the edge of a chair, bouncing the child on her knee. For a long moment, she simply stared at her shoes.
"I came to... I don't know what I came to do." A bitter laugh. "Apologize? Gloat? I don't even know anymore."
I sat across from her. Said nothing.
"He hasn't touched me since the Summit." She met my eyes. "Won't look at me. Barely looks at his son. All he does is pace and mutter your name."
"That's not my problem."
"I know." Her jaw trembled. "I just—I thought if I gave him an heir, he'd love me. He said he would. He said—" She pressed her fist to her mouth. "He said everything he said to you."
The same script. The same lies. Different actress.
Something almost like pity stirred in my chest. I killed it.
"Vanessa. What you did—those texts, the gloating, showing up at my home—that was cruel."
"I know."
"But Alaric is the one who broke vows. He wielded both of us like tools. You for his desire. Me for his image."
She nodded. Tears streaked her cheeks.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
She looked at her son. "I don't know. He won't reject me—too much pride. But he won't love me either." A ragged breath. "I'm trapped in the same cage you escaped."
I studied her.
Three years ago, I would have burned with hatred. Now I saw only a young woman who bet on the wrong wolf.
"Leave him."
Her head snapped up.
"You have a child. You have leverage. File for pack separation. The Council will enforce custody rights—I'll make sure of it."
She stared at me. "You'd... help me?"
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it because no woman should be caged by Alaric Black." I stood. "Now go. And take off that pendant. It never suited you."
She touched the moonstone at her throat. Then—slowly—unclasped it.
Set it on the table between us.
And left.
I looked at the pendant.
Felt nothing.
Swept it into a drawer.
---
A Laurent—alive. A Lycan Queen—returned. Every media outlet in the hidden world ran my image alongside breathless speculation.
I ignored all of it. Focused on the Council work piling on my desk—centuries of neglected disputes now demanding resolution.
But Alaric was relentless.
Flowers arrived. I donated them to hospitals.
Letters arrived. I returned them unopened.
He stationed himself in The Obsidian's lobby for six hours before security escorted him out.
His thoughts battered my shields nightly—a constant low roar of regret and desperation:
*"Come back. I'm sorry. I'll leave Vanessa. I'll leave everything. Just come back."*
I reinforced my walls and slept soundly.
On the fourth morning, something unexpected appeared at my door.
Not Alaric.
Vanessa.
She looked different. Thinner. Dark circles that makeup couldn't fully mask. The Luna pendant still hung at her throat, but it looked heavy now. The toddler—a boy, with Alaric's amber eyes—squirmed in her arms.
"Can I come in?" Her voice held none of the venom I remembered. Only exhaustion.
I stepped aside.
She sat on the edge of a chair, bouncing the child on her knee. For a long moment, she simply stared at her shoes.
"I came to... I don't know what I came to do." A bitter laugh. "Apologize? Gloat? I don't even know anymore."
I sat across from her. Said nothing.
"He hasn't touched me since the Summit." She met my eyes. "Won't look at me. Barely looks at his son. All he does is pace and mutter your name."
"That's not my problem."
"I know." Her jaw trembled. "I just—I thought if I gave him an heir, he'd love me. He said he would. He said—" She pressed her fist to her mouth. "He said everything he said to you."
The same script. The same lies. Different actress.
Something almost like pity stirred in my chest. I killed it.
"Vanessa. What you did—those texts, the gloating, showing up at my home—that was cruel."
"I know."
"But Alaric is the one who broke vows. He wielded both of us like tools. You for his desire. Me for his image."
She nodded. Tears streaked her cheeks.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
She looked at her son. "I don't know. He won't reject me—too much pride. But he won't love me either." A ragged breath. "I'm trapped in the same cage you escaped."
I studied her.
Three years ago, I would have burned with hatred. Now I saw only a young woman who bet on the wrong wolf.
"Leave him."
Her head snapped up.
"You have a child. You have leverage. File for pack separation. The Council will enforce custody rights—I'll make sure of it."
She stared at me. "You'd... help me?"
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it because no woman should be caged by Alaric Black." I stood. "Now go. And take off that pendant. It never suited you."
She touched the moonstone at her throat. Then—slowly—unclasped it.
Set it on the table between us.
And left.
I looked at the pendant.
Felt nothing.
Swept it into a drawer.
---