Chapter 140 A Lesson Written in Regret

Alpha Sebastian knew there was no hiding it anymore. "Serena needed support. She was brilliant. I was backing her research."

Luna Margaret’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted a second time.

The doctor rushed in. "No more stress! Whatever this is, take it outside."

Alpha Sebastian stared down at his mother, jaw tight. This was exactly the scene he’d tried to avoid. The whole reason he’d lied.

"Outside. Now." Alpha Roger’s voice was low, dangerous.

--

The slap cracked through the hallway.

Alpha Sebastian’s head snapped sideways. His father had held back, but the sting bloomed hot across his cheek.

"I thought you were tossing her a few grand to keep her happy," Alpha Roger said, his voice shaking. "I didn’t think you’d handed over a goddamn fortune to some outsider. You trying to sink this pack?"

Alpha Sebastian swallowed, meeting his father’s furious eyes. "Dad, I was investing in her career. It was a private venture."

"A private venture." Alpha Roger’s face went dark as a thundercloud. "One investment? Your entire net worth? What happened to common sense? Did that girl charm it right out of you?"

He didn’t buy the "investment" line for a second. His son wasn’t stupid. Just played.

No wonder Eira had wanted out. She’d lived four years with a husband funneling their joint future into another woman’s pockets.

Alpha Roger’s chest felt like it was pinned under a boulder. They’d let a good Luna slip through their fingers, chasing a ghost.

"Some venture. Serena just bought herself a penthouse . Did that come from ’research funds’?"

Alpha Sebastian had nothing. "I stopped funding her after she came back."

"Then explain the penthouse. The luxury cars. The designer everything." Alpha Roger’s voice sharpened.

Alpha Sebastian said nothing.

"Your mother’s been making you soup every night because she thinks you’re working too hard. And you repay her by putting her in a hospital bed." Alpha Roger’s voice cracked. "I don’t care about your past with Serena. You paid that debt a hundred times over. If you go crawling back to her, don’t bother calling me your father."

"Dad—"

"If you’d given Eira even a fraction of what you threw at that woman, none of this would’ve happened." Alpha Roger pressed a hand to his own chest, short of breath.

A damn fine Omega, gone. His son had trashed it all. And Moon Goddess help him, so had he.

"It won’t happen again," Alpha Sebastian said. "From now on, everything goes to Eira. I’ll make it right."

[Make it right. ]Alpha Roger nearly laughed. [You’re already divorced, you idiot.]

"You get your head straight about that girl, and you get it straight today," Alpha Roger said. "You put your energy into your work and into winning Eira back. You hear me?"

Get Eira back. Patch things up. Remarry. Simple.

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw firmed. "I know. But she won’t see me. And Killian always shows up. I think he wants her."

Just saying Killian’s name made his blood run hot. A mated woman, riding around town in another Alpha’s car, brushing him off like he was nobody.

Alpha Roger frowned and waved it off. "Rich men’s games. He doesn’t want her. He wants the win. Brilliant or not, she’s still an orphan with no Pack bloodline. The Sterlings and the Reeds will never accept her. No Alpha heir brings home a divorced woman."

Something about that last part snagged at Alpha Sebastian. [Divorced woman?]

"Eira wouldn’t divorce me," he said. "And I’d sure as hell never divorce her."

Alpha Roger opened his mouth, then closed it. A month ago he’d have believed his son without blinking. Now he just looked at him with a mix of pity and disgust.

"Focus on her. Understood?"

"I know." Alpha Sebastian’s voice steadied. "She’s my wife. She’s the only one I should’ve ever been thinking about."

Alpha Roger studied his son’s reddened cheek. "Still sting? Good. Let it teach you something. I don’t care what you and Serena had. You’re done with her."

Alpha Sebastian nodded and followed his father back inside. Luna Margaret still hadn’t woken.

Isabella came flying through the door, throwing herself against the bed rail in tears. "Dad, Sebastian—what happened to Mom?"

"Your brother happened," Alpha Roger said flatly.

"Sebastian!" Isabella whirled on him. "How could you upset her enough to land her in a hospital?"

"Enough." Alpha Sebastian looked at his sister, and for once there was no softness in it. "You’ll wake her."

Isabella blinked, thrown. Then her mouth twisted. "This is about Eira, isn’t it?"

[Every drama in the last four years always circled back to that woman. Eira, the wrecking ball. Always trying to tear their perfect little family apart.]

Alpha Sebastian didn’t correct her. Their mother had, in fact, collapsed over the truth Eira laid bare.

"I knew it." Isabella’s voice dropped to a hiss. "That woman won’t rest until she’s burned this whole family down. She’s nothing but a cheap little—"

"Isabella." Alpha Sebastian’s tone cut like a blade. "What did I tell you about respecting her? She’s your Luna."

"I don’t want her as Luna!"

Alpha Sebastian said, each word iron. "You don’t get a vote. You took her handbag. You took her car and wrecked it. I didn’t make you pay for the damage or apologize, and that was me being generous."

Isabella’s mouth fell open.

"Touch her things or disrespect her again," Alpha Sebastian went on, "and I cut you off. No allowance."

Isabella stared at him, stunned into silence.