Chapter 10
**Kael's POV**
I knelt on that bridge long after she disappeared.
The folder lay open beside me, pages scattering in the wind. Evidence. Proof. An entire lifetime built on a lie, crumbling to dust in my hands.
Serena wasn't my mate.
Nora *was.*
My fated mate—my *true* mate—and I'd let her walk away not once, but twice. First by keeping her caged. Then by not chasing her hard enough when she broke free.
When I finally stood, my legs barely held me.
I drove back to Silver Fang in a state that was somewhere between fury and devastation. The pack house felt wrong—empty, cold, like the life had been drained from its walls the moment Nora left.
Serena was in the living room when I walked in. She rose, all grace and concern, her silver-blonde hair catching the lamplight.
"Kael! Where have you been? I was worried—"
"Sit down."
My voice must have carried something dangerous because she froze. Her eyes flickered—just for a moment—with something that wasn't concern.
Calculation.
I threw the folder onto the coffee table.
"Explain."
She looked at the scattered papers. Recognition crossed her features—and then, rapidly, a mask of confusion.
"What is this? I don't understand—"
"Don't." I stepped forward. "Don't lie to me. Not again."
She stared at me. The mask held for three seconds. Five. Ten.
Then it dropped.
Her expression smoothed into something cold and unrepentant. She straightened, crossing her legs with casual elegance.
"So you found out. I wondered how long it would take."
"Three years, Serena. You stole *three years* of my life. Of *her* life."
"I didn't steal anything." Her voice was sharp now. "I was supposed to be your Luna from birth. Our families agreed. Then that *girl's* mother came begging at your father's door, and suddenly there was a contract, a blood seal, a *replacement*—"
"She was never the replacement. You were."
Serena's composure cracked. Rage flashed in her eyes—true, ugly, uncontrolled rage.
"I am *not* a replacement. I am the daughter of the most powerful elder family in this region. My bloodline—"
"Your bloodline *fabricated* a fated bond to steal a position that was never yours." I leaned in. "And you cursed yourself—put yourself into a coma for three years—just to manipulate me into guilt."
Her jaw clenched. Then—a smile. Slow, poisonous.
"And it worked. Didn't it? Three years, Kael. Three years you kept that little stray in my seat without ever marking her. Without ever claiming her. You *knew* she wasn't enough for you."
"I didn't know she was my mate because your family's ritual suppressed the bond."
"Details." She waved a hand. "The point is—she's gone. And I'm here."
I looked at her—really looked—and wondered how I'd ever mistaken this woman's cold ambition for love.
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"Leave my territory. Now. If you're still here in one hour, I'll have you escorted out by force."
Serena rose. Her elegance was still intact, but her eyes burned with a fury that bordered on madness.
"You'll regret this. My family won't let this stand."
"Let them come."
She held my gaze for one long, venomous moment. Then she walked out.
The door closed. Silence swallowed the room.
I sank onto the couch. Pressed my palms to my eyes.
*Tell me how to fix this.*
*You can't.*
Her words. Final. Absolute.
I'd lost my fated mate—the one woman I was designed by the moon to love—and it was entirely my own doing.
But I couldn't accept it. I *wouldn't.*
If it took the rest of my life, I would earn her back.
---
I knelt on that bridge long after she disappeared.
The folder lay open beside me, pages scattering in the wind. Evidence. Proof. An entire lifetime built on a lie, crumbling to dust in my hands.
Serena wasn't my mate.
Nora *was.*
My fated mate—my *true* mate—and I'd let her walk away not once, but twice. First by keeping her caged. Then by not chasing her hard enough when she broke free.
When I finally stood, my legs barely held me.
I drove back to Silver Fang in a state that was somewhere between fury and devastation. The pack house felt wrong—empty, cold, like the life had been drained from its walls the moment Nora left.
Serena was in the living room when I walked in. She rose, all grace and concern, her silver-blonde hair catching the lamplight.
"Kael! Where have you been? I was worried—"
"Sit down."
My voice must have carried something dangerous because she froze. Her eyes flickered—just for a moment—with something that wasn't concern.
Calculation.
I threw the folder onto the coffee table.
"Explain."
She looked at the scattered papers. Recognition crossed her features—and then, rapidly, a mask of confusion.
"What is this? I don't understand—"
"Don't." I stepped forward. "Don't lie to me. Not again."
She stared at me. The mask held for three seconds. Five. Ten.
Then it dropped.
Her expression smoothed into something cold and unrepentant. She straightened, crossing her legs with casual elegance.
"So you found out. I wondered how long it would take."
"Three years, Serena. You stole *three years* of my life. Of *her* life."
"I didn't steal anything." Her voice was sharp now. "I was supposed to be your Luna from birth. Our families agreed. Then that *girl's* mother came begging at your father's door, and suddenly there was a contract, a blood seal, a *replacement*—"
"She was never the replacement. You were."
Serena's composure cracked. Rage flashed in her eyes—true, ugly, uncontrolled rage.
"I am *not* a replacement. I am the daughter of the most powerful elder family in this region. My bloodline—"
"Your bloodline *fabricated* a fated bond to steal a position that was never yours." I leaned in. "And you cursed yourself—put yourself into a coma for three years—just to manipulate me into guilt."
Her jaw clenched. Then—a smile. Slow, poisonous.
"And it worked. Didn't it? Three years, Kael. Three years you kept that little stray in my seat without ever marking her. Without ever claiming her. You *knew* she wasn't enough for you."
"I didn't know she was my mate because your family's ritual suppressed the bond."
"Details." She waved a hand. "The point is—she's gone. And I'm here."
I looked at her—really looked—and wondered how I'd ever mistaken this woman's cold ambition for love.
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"Leave my territory. Now. If you're still here in one hour, I'll have you escorted out by force."
Serena rose. Her elegance was still intact, but her eyes burned with a fury that bordered on madness.
"You'll regret this. My family won't let this stand."
"Let them come."
She held my gaze for one long, venomous moment. Then she walked out.
The door closed. Silence swallowed the room.
I sank onto the couch. Pressed my palms to my eyes.
*Tell me how to fix this.*
*You can't.*
Her words. Final. Absolute.
I'd lost my fated mate—the one woman I was designed by the moon to love—and it was entirely my own doing.
But I couldn't accept it. I *wouldn't.*
If it took the rest of my life, I would earn her back.
---