Selene’s POV
I know the words are a mistake the moment they leave my lips.
It was one thing to tell Bastien Lila isn’t his pup. It was another to instruct him to forget about us, but suggesting we’ll never see each other again was akin to waving a red flag in front of an angry bull – and all three together? Well, that was just stupid.
Bastien lunges toward me, tangling one large hand in my hair and tugging my head back so that I’m forced to look him in the eye. His molten silver gaze bores into me, and his mouth hovers mere inches above my own. My breasts graze the muscled contours of his abdomen, and Luna whine needily in my head.
“What did you just say?” Bastien snarls, hitching me up against him.
“I–” I stammer uselessly, not following his train of thought.
“Say it, Selene.” He repeats roughly, “Tell me that we’ll never see each other again.”
I gnaw on my lower lip, trying to figure out what to say to defuse his temper, to get him to leave without forcing me and Lila to go with him. “We won’t, as long as Arabella is out there pulling her strings.” I redirect, feeling a twinge of reassurance when the glazed look in his eye eases. “She wont fail next time, even if I do have my wolf now.” His grip on me tightens, but I press on, hammering in the final nail to the coffin. “And she’ll kill Lila too – just to spite me.”
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“What do you mean, you told Bastien Lila is mine?” Drake repeats, mouth agog.
After telling my mate that Arabella would kill our child if given the chance, he disappeared so quickly I practically fell to the ground. No matter what he believes regarding Lila’s paternity, his protective instincts toward me extend to my pup, which may be the only part of his sudden appearance I can actually appreciate.
Though I truly don’t know what to believe about Bastien’s relationship with Arabella, I’m confident my accusations will at least provide enough distraction for Drake and I to form a contingency plan now that my location has been discovered by my husband.
Admittedly, Bastien left Aiden behind in Asphodel to keep an eye on us, but I’m not worried. Not yet, at least. For the time being, my sole focus is on getting Drake up to speed and figuring out our next steps.
“I told him she’s yours.” I repeat apologetically, “It wasn’t exactly planned but it’s the easiest explanation and another Alpha is just about the only person that could actually stand in his way.”
“My objection isn’t to the concept, Selene.” Drake groans, rubbing his eyes. “As much as I love her, Lila doesn’t look or smell like me.” He eyes Lila fondly, “She doesn’t call me daddy, you and I don’t live together, I’m not in any of your photos, she doesn’t have status in the pack…” He’s listing off the problems, ticking them off his fingers one by one.
Belatedly I realize the only reason why Bastien hasn’t already run through these same conclusions is because his surprise and conflicted emotions blinded him to reason – but that won’t last for long. “We could say I wanted a baby so you donated – as a friend.” I suggest.
“Alpha’s don’t just give out their sperm left and right, Selene.” Drake counters with exasperation, “with good reason.”
“You’re not like most Alphas!” I exclaim. “you’re modern and progressive!”
“Not that progressive.” He chuckles, “It’s not that I don’t want to help, honestly. But we have to find an explanation that will stand up to scrutiny for more than five minutes.”
Wracking my brain for ideas, I throw out, “We could say you’re gay and this was your only chance for kids.”
He cuts his eyes to me, ‘No. Selene.”
Throwing my hands up, I finally say, “look, it’s no one’s business how it happened in the first place.” Drake is already rolling his eyes. “That’s private, between you and I. All anyone needs to know is that she’s yours.”
“And how do you expect to tell the pack I have a child three years after the fact?” Drake ponders, pulling Lila into his lap and bouncing her on his knee. “How do you expect to explain it to this little sausage?” He teases, tickling her belly and holding on tight while she writhes gleefully in his arms.
He’s right, I don’t want to confuse Lila. At the same time, I’d rather confuse her for a few weeks she won’t even remember when she’s older, than permanently introduce the chaos of the Nova pack to her life. “This isn’t about either of them.” I utter coolly, “This is about Bastien. As far as I’m concerned, no one else needs to be the wiser to our plans.”
“You’re smarter than this, Selene.” Drake shakes his head. “This isn’t a lie we can keep under wraps. You have to decide what’s more important: tricking Bastien, or building a good life here.”
“Are you…” I trail off, “Are you saying you won’t lie for me?”
“I will tell whatever story you need me to.” Drake assures me, “but you have to be sure that story is one you actually want told – for all our sakes.”
“Thank you, Drake.” I smile, watching him play with Lila the same way he has a thousand times before. I’ve always loved watching them play. Once upon a time I even imagined this might be what it must be like to see her with her father.
I know better now. Now that I’ve seen Lila and Bastien together, nothing will ever compare to that joy. It wasn’t just the invisible bond tying them together, or the similarities in their expressions. It was the pure rightness of them being together, exactly as the Goddess intended.
I’m so caught up in the memory, it takes me a moment to realize Drake isn’t smiling anymore. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried, that’s all.” Drake admits, “Even with the lie, I’m not sure it’s safe for you two here. Is Bastien going to care that she’s not his?”
“He’ll have to.” I murmur, “he’s not Alpha in Asphodel, he can’t challenge your decision without challenging you for control.”
“I wouldn’t put that past Bastien.” He cautions. “No wolf can see clearly when it comes to their mate, and yours is even more headstrong than most.”
“It has to end sometime.” I decide. “We can’t run forever. At one point or another I have to put my foot down and say enough is enough.” I reach over my lap to stroke Lila’s cheek. “My mother was chased out of the Calypso territory. I was chased out of the Nova lands. There aren’t many places left on the continent for us to seek refuge in, and I refuse to let my daughter be chased from her home the way my mother and I were. Bastien can huff and puff all he wants. This ends here.”
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Odette’s POV
When I answer the phone on Friday afternoon, the very last thing I expect is to hear my son’s voice promptly turning my world upside down. I’d been hoping the call was from him, but I was expecting updates about his investigation into the Volana tipline, not life changing revelations unraveling three years worth of hard-earned healing.
“Selene’s alive?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I never wanted to believe that my daughter-in-law was gone, but the evidence had seemed irrefutable at the time. “How is that possible?”
“She’s here in Asphodel.” Bastien explains over the phone. “Drake Cavanaugh has been protecting her all this time.”
“Oh sweetheart!” I’m not sure what to feel: joy, shock and relief all swarm for control, but confusion seems strongest still. “How is this possible? Why?” I don’t understand how any of this came to pass.
“It was Arabella.” Bastien growls. “She faked the kidnapping – everything – and set the cabin on fire with Selene inside.”
The room spins around me. I don’t want to believe the girl I helped raise is capable of such a thing, but I’ve never been as blind to her faults as my husband and son. Even so, murder and conspiracy are extreme even by shifter standards. There are flaws, and then there are flaws. “I have so many questions.”
“So do I.” Bastien breathes. “There’s something else, Mom.”
What else could there possibly be? I’m not sure I can handle anything more. “Yes?”
“Selene had a baby.” There’s an odd note in Bastien’s voice, one I scarcely recognized. “A little girl called Lila. She’s three.”
“Three?” I repeat, sitting up suddenly. “Is she…?”
“Selene says she’s Drake’s.” Bastien explains, reading my mind. “But I’m not convinced. You remember how sick Selene was the month before the fire?”
Of course, I remember everything about that terrible time. The weeks between Bastien announcing the end of his marriage, my husband’s death and Selene’s supposed murder loom large in my memory. Those terrible days were among the worst of my entire life. “I remember.”
“I’ve got a plan.” Bastien breathes, “I want to bring them home, but we’ve got to deal with Arabella first.”
I’m nodding, though he can’t see me. “What do you need from me?”
