Chapter 40
Zephyrine
Finished
It was already nightfall when the door finally creaked open. Olga, Luna Tahlia’s elderly mother, stepped into the small living room and spoke quietly.
“She’s awake.”
My heart trembled at those words, and I hurried down the hall to her bedchamber, Lycannar following behind me.
“Zephyrine,” Mearez called the moment she saw me. I went straight to her, pulling her into a hug, clinging a moment longer in gratitude for her coming so quickly.
“Will she live?” I asked when I pulled back, Mearez nodded silently, then moved toward her brother, leaving me alone with the Luna who had decided death was better than public disgrace over something she didn’t do.
For a long moment, I could only stare past her, my mind turning over the thought of what would have happened if I had come too late.
“You shouldn’t have saved me.” Her voice drifted across the room, and I turned toward her. “You should have let me end this pain.”
Slowly, I walked to the bedside and sat, my gaze steady on her.
“You have a son to look after. Shouldn’t you put him first?”
“It’s because I put him first that I tied the noose,” she muttered, tears brimming in her eyes. “I can’t save him from being sentenced to death, so what gain is there in living?”
My heart ached for her. Gently, I reached out to take her hand.
“Luna Tahlia… I know you’re being framed.”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“What?”
“I know you didn’t kill Alpha Black. I know you didn’t murder your husband.”
She looked away, blinking hard.
“I didn’t kill him… but there were times I wished he’d stop breathing.”
Silence fell between us. I hadn’t expected her to admit that. Did that mean Lycannar had done her a favor?
“Have you ever sacrificed everything for a man,” she said suddenly, her voice trembling, “only to be replaced by someone else, a younger one? After using me, he told me he wanted her instead. He discarded me and his son, treated us like filth. And then, on our matrimonial bed, he brought in my best friend… and mated with her.”
I watched her break down, and my chest tightened painfully.
“When I asked for a rejection, he refused,” she went on bitterly. “He wanted to eat his cake and keep it. How is that even possible?”
“He became arrogant,” I said softly, “certain you’d never leave him. So he flaunted her before you, disrespecting you until he thought you’d walk away on your own. And when you finally did… that’s when he realized he’d lost a gem.”
She stared at me, then slowly took my hand.
“You speak like someone from experience.”
A warm palm rested on my shoulder, Mearez, sitting beside me now, her on my hand tightened. For a fleeting moment, surrounded by their quict support, I felt… safe.
“Not if I can help it,” I interrupted sharply. “Your son is the rightful heir to Blackbridge pack. I don’t care if he’s young… you’ll guide him until he can make his own decisions. That is how it should be. Don’t lose hope so early. We will get justice.”
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