Summer’s POV
The file Alexander had shown me burned in my mind like acid. Photos. Medical reports. Timelines. All pointing to one horrific truth:Alpha Foster and Suzanna had deliberately caused Felix’s death.
My son hadn’t died fromplications of his immune disorder. He’d been murdered.
I sat rigid in Alexander’s SUV as we crossed into Silver Creek territory, my body vibrating with a rage so profound it felt like it might tear me apart from the inside.
My hands clutched the man folder containing the evidence, my knuckles white from the pressure.
“Summer,” Alexander said quietly from the driver’s seat. “You don’t have to do this today. We can build a stronger case, take it directly to the Council-”
“No.” My voice was surprisingly steady despite the storm raging within me. “I need to look him in the eyes when I tell him I know. I need to see his face.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. He’d insisted oning with me, and though I’d initially wanted to face Alpha Foster alone, I was now grateful for his presence. His strength anchored me when I felt I might shatter.
Beta Sean met us at the pack house entrance, his eyes widening in surprise at our unannounced arrival.
“Luna Summer,” he said, the title slipping out automatically though I no longer held that position. “Alpha Alexander. We weren’t expecting-”
“Where is he?” I cut him off, walking past him without waiting for permission to enter.
“Alpha Foster is in his office, but he’s in a meeting-”
I was already halfway up the familiar staircase.
Each step through this house that had once been my prison brought back shes of painful memories- Suzanna’s smug smile as she took my ce, Felix’s tiny body in the hospital bed, Alpha Foster’s cold dismissal of my grief.
I pushed open Alpha Foster’s office door without knocking. He sat behind his desk, looking remarkably unchanged–still handsome in that cold, calcting way, still radiating the entitled confidence <i>of </i>an <b>– </b>Alpha who’d never been challenged.
His eyes widened slightly at the sight of me, a pleased smile spreading across his face. “Summer? You’ve finallye back to me. Ready to return to my arms?”
His gaze shifted to Alexander behind me, and his expression hardened. “You have no right <i>to </i>enter my territory uninvited.”
“Yes,he has every right,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I threw the folder onto his desk.” When it concerns the murder of our son.”
Alpha Foster’s face registered genuine shock, hisposure momentarily fracturing. “I don’t know what nonsense you’ve been told, but Felix died fromplications of his condition. You know that.”
“No,” I said, stepping closer. “Felix died because you and your precious Suzanna couldn’t bear the thought of my son–your legitimate heir–inheriting this pack instead of her child.”
“That’s absurd. I would never kill my own-” Alpha Foster started to rise, but my words made him falter.
“Yes, you killed our son,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Your own flesh and blood.” I pped the evidence down in front of him, spreading photos and documents across his immacte desk.
Alpha Foster flipped through the evidence, his expression darkening with each page. “These are fabrications,” he said coldly. “Someone has manipted these records.”
“Stop lying,” I said, my spine straightening with resolve.
“These documents will be delivered to the Council tomorrow morning. I’m pressing charges against you
and Suzanna for the murder of my child. They’ll strip you of your Alpha status and everything you’ve
worked for.”
For the first time, I saw a flicker of genuine fear in his eyes. Good. Let him know what terror feels like- the same terror I’d lived with every night since losing Felix.
“Summer,” his tone changed, bing almost conciliatory, “you’re making a grave mistake. Think about what this will do to the pack–to everyone who depends on us.”
“I don’t care,” I nearlyughed at his audacity. “Alpha Foster, I reject you as my mate and as my Alpha.”
As I turned to leave, a tearing sensation rippled through my chest.
I’d expected agony, but what came instead was a dull, persistent ache, as if something fragile had finally broken inside me. Thest thread of our mate bond snapping atst.
Alexander caught me around the waist, prepared to support me through the pain he thought would follow breaking a mate bond. His gentle strength in that moment made my heart flutter despite everything.
I looked up and smiled at him, and saw relief wash over his face as he realized I was still standing.
Behind me, Alpha Foster was not faring as well. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he clutched at his chest, waves of pain visibly rippling through his body. He bent forward, dropping to his knees before me.
“Summer… can’t… breathe…” he gasped, his voice thin and broken.
In that moment, something primal stirred deep within me. A force I thought long dormant suddenly surged through my veins like wildfire, awakening every nerve ending, filling every empty space inside
me with renewed power.
Aurora, my wolf, bounded joyfully within my consciousness, as if reuniting with a long–lost friend. She was back I was whole again!
She gazed calmly at the kneeling Alpha Foster, and I knew this was the moment she’d been waiting for.
Alexander turned toward me, his eyes widening as he sensed the change in me. “Summer? Are you okay?”
Before I could answer, Aurora spoke through me: “Mate.”
I froze, staring at him in shock.
“Summer,” Alexander whispered, his voice husky with emotion, his eyes reflecting my own astonishment.
“Orion can feel your-”
On instinct, I pressed my fingers to his lips, shaking my head. “Not here.”
I knew that if word of our true mate bond reached Silver Creek now, Alpha Foster would use his remaining power to destroy this precious gift the Moon Goddess had granted me. I wouldn’t let that
happen.
My heart thundered in my chest as Alexander’s gaze held mine. His breathing matched my own erratic
rhythm.
The scent of cedar and wild musk that clung to him overwhelmed my newly awakened senses, making
my wolf howl within me: “We’ve found him–our true mate!”
C