Page 44 of Luna's Forgotten Vow

I turn, a sharp, scary smile tilting my lips. Because I finally found it.

Purpose.

I run a finger along Landon's cheek on my way out. He coos, his tiny fingers wrapping around mine. I crouch, watching him sleep.

I want this, too, I decide.

I wanteverything.

Callahan's waiting outside our bedroom when I step out. He's still in his suit, his eyes hollow and tired. It's a good look on him. The restlessness. The hurt. Oh, but he deserves so much more.

"I didn't know," he says quietly.

I arch a brow. "Eric told you."

His throat bobs. "You saved her. And my son."

Whatever little bubble of joy I felt inside pops loud enough to temporarily deafen me. His son. Was I cruel enough to not consider it? To take away the decision from him or Seraphina when it came to who had the right to call Landon their son?

I might not have sired him, but I'm the reason he's alive. That must count for something. It has to.

"I accept," he rasps suddenly, startling me. "I'll leave Tova behind when I return to the South. I'll have the treaty revised, exactly as you want it. Give Seraphina and Landon to me and you will never hear from me again."

Somehow, I had imagined this moment to be grander. Eric would fucking love this. But the moment doesn't feel triumphant. It feels hollow.

I should be pleased. But I'm not.

Because I want him to suffer.

But I also wanther.

I cock my head and slip my hands into my pockets in a semblance of calm. I let the silence stretch until it aches. "That won't be enough."

His head jerks. Shock and disbelief flicker in his eyes like a dying flame. "What more do you want?"

The noose tightens around my neck, but I say it anyway. "I want more acres in the South. The mines. The airspaces your father cherished so much. The estates you hide in the East." I step closer. "I want your seat. Your legacy. Your life. And while you're at it, I want you to grovel. Apologize for the lives you took in that fire. I want you to kneel in shame and publicly announce what you have done."

He pales and I smile, my canines grazing my teeth. "Do that and you have my word that Seraphina and Landon will be returned to the Red Wolf Pack."

Ronan shuffles closer, tilting his head to reveal the murderous glint in his eyes. "You do not want to start this fight. Believe me."

I chuckle, clapping his shoulder. "You would be very surprised."

"You have no use for her," he seethes as I turn to walk away. "Holding a helpless woman hostage to get back at me? That's a new low, even for you. Seraphina did nothing wrong. My son is innocent. Don't bring them into this."

My muscles twitch.Hisson.

I glance at him over my shoulder. "Her innocence has nothing to do with her usefulness to me. If she is the key to acquiringeverything I want, then I will keep her, use her until you have nothing left to give." My voice turns soft, mocking. "It was easier than I thought it would be. Taking something of yours and molding it to my liking. Tell me, how does it feel knowing she spends her nights in my bed, her days pining after me? Did it kill you, hearing her moan for me on the terrace tonight?"

His aura fills the hallway, dark, lined with streaks of red. The color of murder. I think he might go for it and charge at me like he did many years ago. I anticipate it. Can almost smell his blood and fear when he realizes I will not hold back this time and finish what I started back then.

He thinks better of it, though his shoulders tremble with restrained rage. "You always were your father's son. So desperate to win that you would ruin the one good thing in your life. We are alike in that respect, are we not?"

I stiffen at the old jab. My expression remains one of nonchalance, but he's hit me in a sore spot. One I have yet to heal from.

He leaves me with those words and for some reason, I do not feel like I have won a single thing.

CHAPTER 15

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