206 The Ghost Behind the Curtain
Mara
Lacy slipped away to be with Martha. The rest of us-Lucian, Darian, and I-headed toward Alpha Vander’s room. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sedation had knocked him flat earlier, but when we entered, he was upright on the hospital bed, hands folded, posture too still. Calm, but not natural. Sedated, but watching.
“How is she?” he asked Lucian immediately, voice raspy but focused.
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“She’s alive,” he said simply.
It was all he could offer without risking another storm. He was treading carefully-managing truth like it was a volatile
substance.
“Have you seen her?” Vander asked, eyes sharp now.
Lucian hesitated.
“No. Lacy’s with her.”
A scowl twisted Vander’s face the second he heard her name. Anger flickered behind his eyes, deep and bitter. I saw it and knew-it wasn’t just pain that haunted him. It was betrayal. And beneath it all, there was fear.
“And you thought it was wise to let Alaric’s child stay with her?” Vander snapped, eyes narrowing. The accusation was sharp, even if it wasn’t directly aimed at me. Still, I felt it like a blade.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t admit it had been my call.
“There’s no one else, Father,” Lucian replied calmly. “We’re stretched thin. Mara needs to be handling urgent matters. Lacy
staying is practical.”
Vander’s gaze shifted to Lucian, probing.
“What’s going on?”
Lucian hesitated. I could see it-he was debating whether to tell his father the full truth. We all knew how fragile Vander’s control could be, especially now.
“Lucian,” Vander pressed. “Tell me. I can handle it.”
My husband exhaled, jaw clenched.
“Deserters,” he said. “From the island’s perimeter forces. We lost half the military unit this morning.”
My heart lurched.
“Half?”
Lucian nodded grimly. “Rowan tracked the pattern. Someone’s been recruiting them quietly. Anonymously. But we all
know it’s Chase.”
I gasped. This was worse than I’d imagined.
“Why would they desert?” I asked. “It’s punishable by death if they’re caught.”
“They’re not Mooncrest-born,” Lucian explained. “Most are from the outskirts-neighboring provinces. We don’t know what Chase is offering, but whatever it is, it’s convincing. He’s undermining us from the outside in.”
< 206 The Ghost Behind the Curtain Vander’s face turned red with fury.
+8 Points>
“I’m done with all of this,” he growled. “My father never dealt with this kind of treachery. Not in the entire history of our family. I’m telling you-this Chase Nighthorn is Alaric Moongrove.”
My stomach tightened. I’d suspected it too, but hearing Vander say it out loud gave the thought weight. Chilling weight. “The bastard probably thinks I stole his wife,” Vander muttered, eyes dark. “But I swear to you-I never would’ve touched her if I’d known she was married. Hell, I wasn’t even looking for a mate.”
He turned to Lucian, voice quieting.
“You loved her fast, Lucian. And I thought she’d give you the motherly love you were missing.” He paused, then added, “I
guess I was wrong.”
Darian, silent until now, finally spoke-his voice low but firm.
“She would’ve, if you hadn’t treated her like garbage. I always thought you and she just weren’t into photos. That’s why her face wasn’t in the house. But now I know. You didn’t care. Not really.”
Lucian reached over and gently squeezed Darian’s hand to stop him, but the damage was done. The words hung heavy
between them.
“I cared in my own way,” Vander said quietly. “I just… I didn’t let myself get close. Losing Natasha wrecked me. I couldn’t go through that again. Your mother and I were never bonded. Now I understand why-she was already bonded to Alaric.”
That made me pause. A bond required a claiming. A mark. And I’d seen Vander’s mark on her neck.
So how?
There were more questions buried in this than anyone was ready to answer. But one thing was clear: the past wasn’t
finished with any of us.
The mystery gnawed at me, and I couldn’t hold my tongue, I had to know why Vander wasn’t bonded to Martha even though his mark was visible on her neck.
“But he never claimed her,” I said, doubt creeping into my voice despite everything Lacy had told us about her parents.
Vander shook his head immediately, jaw clenched.
“Goldenpeak customs are different. They don’t mark their mates on the neck-they bite the back of the shoulder.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Martha has a tattoo there. I always thought it was just a beautiful design. Something exotic. But now I
know-it was hiding the mark. Hiding him.”
He bowed his head, and for the first time, I saw something raw in him. Not just anger. Not pride. But humiliation. Grief.
“She should’ve told me,” he said quietly:
But none of us spoke. We didn’t need to. The silence itself told him what he already knew: if she had told him, he wouldn’t
have stayed. The truth would’ve broken him, same as it did now.
After a long pause, Vander straightened his back, though his voice remained soft.
“Why don’t you two go handle pack business? I’ll stay with her.”
“No,” Darian said, shaking his head gently. He didn’t want his father left alone-not like this. None of us did. Vander was unraveling beneath the surface, and if he knew the full truth about Martha’s condition, we weren’t sure he’d hold it together. Right now, preserving that thin veneer of control was the only thing keeping him upright.
Lucian tried to keep his tone steady.
2/3
<200 The Ghost Behind the Curtain
+8 Points>
“You should go home. Rest. Lacy’s with her. She’ll stay.”
Vander didn’t argue. Maybe he knew it was for the best. We left him there, sitting in quiet defeat.
When we reached Martha’s room, I felt it before I saw it: fear. Lacy’s scent was thick with it. She looked up when we entered, eyes wide and damp, hands trembling in her lap. She tried to hide it, but I knew.
She wasn’t just scared for Martha. She was scared of being alone.
If Martha died, Lacy had no one. Her grandparents wouldn’t take her in-too distant, too bitter. And her father? He was a ghost. A fugitive. A man she barely knew, hunted and in hiding.
Darian, at least, had a safety net: a family, a brother who loved him, a father who-despite his flaws-was present, a mate, a
child. A future.
But Lacy? Martha was her whole world.
“Do you know how she got the silver?” I asked gently, kneeling beside her.
She shook her head, voice barely above a whisper.
“No. I don’t. I never saw it. I don’t even know when she could’ve gotten it.”
Someone had helped her. That much was obvious. Martha and Lacy hadn’t been allowed out of the estate since the truth. began unraveling. Vander made that clear. So if Martha had silver, someone from inside the mansion-someone trusted-
had helped her get it.
That meant betrayal. Again.
And this time, the cost might be fatal.
