Chapter 78 The Truth Slips Out

At the Hale estate, Luna Margaret was performing an old pack cleansing ritual over Isabella.

She dipped a bundle of juniper and rosemary into salted water, then brushed it over her daughter’s shoulders. The herbs were supposed to clear away bad luck and any hostile scent left by outsiders.

"That ungrateful girl," Luna Margaret muttered. "After everything this family gave her, she’s still trying to ruin you."

Isabella sat on the couch with her arms crossed.

"Is Eira really still helping the police? Even Sterling House took the settlement and backed off."

"The hotel settled its civil claim," Alpha Roger said from behind his newspaper. "Eira’s statement is still on record."

Isabella rolled her eyes.

"Sebastian will make her change it. He believes me, not her."

She gave a smug smile.

"He said he’d bring her home. When she gets here, she can beg me for forgiveness."

"That’s enough," Alpha Roger said. "Eira will be out of this family soon. Get your apology and move on. Don’t back her into a corner."

Luna Margaret had already told him about Eira’s threats.

Alpha Roger did not want her suddenly fighting to stay married just to make the Hales miserable.

Isabella brightened.

"So you agree Serena should be Sebastian’s Luna?"

"Serena is a better match," Alpha Roger said. "She comes from a respected pack, has a strong career, and knows how to carry herself."

"Exactly," Luna Margaret said. "She belongs at Sebastian’s side. Eira never did."

"But Sebastian still hasn’t filed for divorce," Isabella complained. "Serena has been back for a month, and he keeps dragging his feet. If he’d handled it, I wouldn’t have had to step in."

Alpha Roger lowered his newspaper.

Luna Margaret stopped brushing the herbs over her.

Isabella was too busy complaining to notice.

"The drug should’ve knocked Eira out," she said. "I still don’t know how she made it to the bathroom and locked the door. By the time the guy got there, the place was flooded, and he couldn’t do a thing."

Luna Margaret’s scent sharpened with alarm.

"Isabella," she warned.

But Isabella kept going.

"Serena even brought Sebastian upstairs so he’d catch Eira with another man. If it had worked, he would’ve kicked her out on the spot."

"Enough," Alpha Roger snapped.

The front door slammed open.

Alpha Sebastian stood in the entrance, his coat hanging from one hand.

A wave of Alpha pressure swept through the room.

Luna Margaret’s herbs trembled in her grip. Isabella’s wolf shrank back at once, and the color drained from her face.

"S-Sebastian. You’re home."

He dropped his coat onto a chair.

"What did you just say?"

Isabella scrambled to her feet and moved behind her parents.

"Nothing. You heard me wrong."

Alpha Sebastian crossed the room, his eyes fixed on her.

"I heard every word."

His voice remained quiet, which frightened her more than if he had shouted.

"The drug. The man. Serena taking me to that room." His jaw tightened. "That was all planned?"

"No." Isabella shook her head quickly. "It wasn’t like that."

"Don’t lie to me."

His command carried the full weight of an Alpha. Isabella’s wolf fought the order, but her eyes dropped on instinct.

Luna Margaret stepped between them.

"She made a mistake. Eira is fine, so there’s no reason to tear this family apart over it."

Alpha Sebastian turned on her.

"Eira nearly drowned."

"But she didn’t."

He stared at his mother, then looked at Alpha Roger.

"You both knew?"

Neither answered.

Disbelief gave way to disgust.

Alpha Sebastian faced his sister again.

"Isabella Hale."

Hearing her full name made her flinch. The last time Alpha Sebastian had used it, she was thirteen and had bullied a younger she-wolf.

He had brought her before the pack council, forced her to apologize in front of the entire pack, and stripped her of every family privilege for three months.

He had been furious then.

Now he stared through his eyes as if Isabella were no longer his sister, but a stranger who had attacked someone under his protection.

"Sebastian, I only wanted you to divorce her!" Isabella cried. "Nobody in this pack wants her here. You love Serena, so why won’t you marry her instead?"

Luna Margaret grabbed her arm. "Bella, shut your mouth."

Too late.

Alpha Sebastian caught Isabella by the back of her collar and pulled her forward. Alpha pressure crashed through the room, forcing her wolf into submission.

"Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to Eira?"

Isabella struggled against his grip.

"But nothing did! She’s fine."

"She nearly drowned."

"And if your plan had worked?" Alpha Sebastian demanded. "What if that man had assaulted her?"

"Then you would’ve had a reason to dump her!"

Alpha Sebastian’s wolf surged so hard that his eyes flashed silver. Alpha Roger started toward them, but Alpha Sebastian’s warning look stopped him.

"What about what it would’ve done to her?" Alpha Sebastian asked through clenched teeth.

Isabella’s fear turned into anger.

"You’ve been married for four years. It’s not like she’s never been with a man."

"Isabella!" Alpha Roger snapped.

Alpha Sebastian raised his hand.

Then he stopped.

However angry he was, he could not hit his sister. He released her with a hard shove instead.

Isabella rushed behind Alpha Roger, rubbing her neck.

Alpha Sebastian remembered what he had said to Eira in the car. He had demanded that she come home and apologize to the person who had drugged her.

The shame turned his stomach.

"I’m done cleaning up your messes," he said.

Isabella stared at him. "What?"

"I’m not forcing Eira to change her statement."

"But she loves you. She’ll do it if you tell her to."

"Shut up."

His Alpha command shook the room. Isabella’s wolf went silent, and she lowered her eyes.

Alpha Sebastian looked around at the comfortable living room and the untouched dinner on the table. His family had been sitting here as if nothing had happened.

"No wonder she refused to come home," he said.

"Good," Luna Margaret replied. "She never belonged to this pack."

Alpha Sebastian turned toward her.

"She’s my Luna. How is she not part of this family?"

"She isn’t one of us," Alpha Roger said.

Alpha Sebastian’s expression hardened. "You feel the same way?"

Alpha Roger folded his newspaper and set it aside.

"Answer one question. What do you feel for Eira?"

Alpha Sebastian went still.

"And what do you feel for Serena?" Alpha Roger continued. "You hide your Luna and parade Serena around like your future Luna. So which woman do you actually want?"

"I married Eira," Alpha Sebastian said. "That makes her my responsibility."

Alpha Roger held his gaze.

"That wasn’t the question."

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

"I take care of her. I gave her a home, money, everything she needed."

"Again, not what I asked."

Alpha Sebastian had no answer.

After a moment, he fell back on the only excuse that still felt safe.

"A divorce would be bad for Hale Group. It would open our finances to discovery, put years of marital assets on the table, and turn my private life into a public fight."

It sounded reasonable. Clean. Businesslike.

But his racing heart told a different story.

The company was not the real reason.

He simply could not stand the thought of Eira walking away.