Rejected Luna Returns with Secret Twins (Lysandra) novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Tristan’s POV

The sleek black SUV ate up the miles between Moonshade and Silverblood territory, my knuckles white against the leather seat. Rain splattered against the windows, matching my dark mood.

Five years. Five fucking years she’d kept my children from me.

My jaw ached from clenching it too hard, the muscles in my face rigid with barely controlled rage. Everything I thought I knew about Lysandra Ravencroft had been a lie. She wasn’t the innocent wallflower I’d been forced to marry. She was calculating, manipulative–a woman who’d deliberately hidden my own flesh and blood from me.

“Congratulations,” Varian said from beside me, breaking the tense silence.

I turned to glare at him. “For what?”

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “For finding out the truth. For discovering your children.”

“Don’t, I warned, not wanting to discuss it.

Varian ignored my warning. “I saw how desperate you were when you found that negative result from that DNA report.”

“Your point?”

“Your mind might have been fooled by whatever spell she used, but your heart knew those kids were yours. You were drawn to them before you even knew.

Something clicked in my brain at his words. Spell. Whatever spell she used. Of course. The wolf scent disguising, Lysandra couldn’t have done that alone.

“Stop the car,” I barked suddenly.

The driver’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, startled. “Sir?”

“I said stop the fucking car. Now.”

The SUV screeched to a halt on the rain–slick road. Varian looked at me in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone helped her,” I said, pieces falling into place. “Someone with old magic had to help her hide my children. Find out who, now.”

Varian pulled out his phone, hesitating. “Tristan, what`are you planning to do?”

“Find him, I repeated, my voice dropping to a dangerous register.

With a sigh, Varian dialed a number, speaking in low tones to an elder wolf from Moonshade Pack who owed him a favor. I turned to stare out the window, barely hearing their conversation as cold fury simmered in my veins.

The SUV turned onto Moonvale Path, wind whipping through the cracked window and stinging my face. I welcomed the cold–anything to distract from the images replaying in my mind.

Orion’s small body planted in front of his mother, blue eyes–my eyes–blazing with hatred toward me. Lyra on her knees, tears streaming down her face: “Please, I’ll call you Daddy. Don’t take us from Mommy.”

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Chapter 182

I’d hardened my heart against their pleas, telling myself this was justice. They were my children. Mine.

But then there was Lysandra herself. I’d never seen her like that–completely broken, pride shattered as she knelt at my feet. ‘I’ll die without them, she’d said, and something in my chest had twisted painfully.

My wolf had nearly burst from my skin then, desperate to protect her, to comfort her. It had taken everything I had to suppress that instinct, to maintain the cold facade I’d built.

I hadn’t wanted to hurt her, not really. I just wanted her to feel a fraction of the pain I’d felt discovering her betrayal. My fingers absently touched the wounds on my chest where her claws had torn into me during the battle. The physical pain was nothing compared to the knowledge that she’d stolen years I could never get back with my children.

It was time to face the man who’d helped her do it.

The SUV pulled up to a weathered stone cottage at the end of Moonvale Path. The place looked ancient, paint peeling from the shutters, moss creeping up the stone walls. Not what I expected for someone connected to the Ravencroft family.

“Looks like Alaric doesn’t pay his magical consultants very well,” I remarked, eyes fixed on the building.

Varian shot me a nervous glance. “Are you planning to kill him?”

I stared at the door, weighing my options. Part of me–a large part–wanted to rip out the throat of the man who’d helped Lysandra hide my children. Who’d cast spells to mask their scent to keep me from knowing my own flesh and blood.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I answered honestly.

I stepped out of the car, Varian following close behind. The wind had died down, leaving an unnatural stillness in the air. I raised my hand to knock, but before my knuckles touched wood, the door swung open from within.

An elderly man stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the darkness inside. Outside, sunlight broke through the clouds, but not a ray penetrated the cottage’s interior.

I met his eyes and stiffened in surprise. Beneath the human appearance, I detected something else–not full wolf, but not entirely human either. A half–breed. That explained the strange scent.

“All hail our new Alpha!” Maelor said, bowing slightly with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

I frowned, studying him. How did he already know about the war’s outcome?

*How dare you cast a spell on my children?” I demanded, my voice colder than the winter wind.

Maelor straightened slowly, meeting my gaze without fear. His eyes held a power that belied his fragile appearance.

Alpha, perhaps we should discuss this inside,” he said, stepping aside to invite us in.

I glared at him, weighing the invitation. Part of me wanted to drag him outside and force answers from him. But curiosity won out. I wanted to see how long he’d maintain this calm facade.

Inside the cottage, Maelor pulled open the shutters, allowing light to filter through dusty windows. Before I could properly take in the cluttered interior, he spoke words that stopped me cold/

“I’ve been waiting for you to come here for many years, Alpha Tristan. Your arrival was only a matter of time.”

I froze, processing his statement. How could he have anticipated this? How could he have known I’d discover the truth about my children?

Maelor gestured to a worn sofa. “Please, sit. We have much to discuss.”

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