SABRINA’S POV
From the window of my apartment, I watched Cassian’s car pull into the driveway.
“Natasha!” I called, keeping my voice bright and cheerful.
“Daddy’s here!
He’s come to take us home.”
My daughter appeared in the doorway, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
Her eyes were still red from crying, and the bandage on her knee was a constant reminder of what I’d made her do.
But she was a strong child.
She’d survive.
“Daddy?” She perked up a little.
“Really?”
“Really.” I knelt in front of her and smoothed her tangled hair.
“And you know what?
As long as we do exactly what I say, Daddy will stay with us forever.
He’ll never leave us.
We’ll be a real family.”
She bit her lip.
“But Mama…”
“What is it?”
Natasha looked away.
“Mama…
the kidnapping.
The men who took me.
Lyra didn’t…”
I grabbed her shoulders, my grip firmer than I intended.
“Lyra didn’t what?”
Natasha flinched.
“Lyra didn’t send them.
You did.
You hurt me.
You told me to lie.”
The words hung between us.
I stared at my daughter, my heart pounding.
Of course she’d figure it out eventually.
She wasn’t stupid.
But she was young and scared, and scared children did what they were told.
“Natasha.” I softened my voice and loosened my grip on her shoulders.
“Listen to me.
What I did…
it was a tiny lie to protect our family.
I did it for us.
For you.”
“But lying is wrong…”
“Not when it’s for a good reason.” I cupped her face in my hands.
“Lyra is not our family.
She’s never been our family.
She pretends to be kind, but it’s all an act.
She wants to take Daddy away from us.
She wants to steal our happiness.”
Natasha’s eyes filled with tears.
“But she used to read me stories.
She used to hold me when I cried.
She…”
“That was part of her plan.” I kept my voice firm.
“She was pretending to love you so she could hurt you later.
Don’t you see?
She was never truly part of our family.
She was always going to try to push us out, so we have to push her out first.
It’s us or her, Natasha.
Do you understand?”
My daughter’s lower lip trembled.
“I don’t want to lie anymore, Mama.
It makes my tummy hurt.”
“Shh.” I pulled her into my arms and stroked her hair.
“I know it’s hard.
I know it’s scary.
But Daddy loves us, Natasha.
He’s going to be your father forever, but only if we get rid of Lyra.
Only if we make sure she’s gone for good.”
I pulled back and met her tearful eyes.
“Look at me.” I waited until she did.
“You want a daddy, don’t you?
You want a real family?
You want all of us to be together?”
She nodded, sniffling.
“Then you have to be brave for Mama.
You have to keep the secret and treat Lyra like the enemy she is.
Can you do that for me?
Can you be brave?”
Natasha hesitated.
For a moment, she looked uncertain.
Then she looked at me, at her mother, the only constant in her life.
“Okay, Mama.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I’ll be brave.”
“That’s my girl.” I pulled her close again.
I’d do anything, whatever it took, to get rid of Lyra completely…
even if it meant using my own child.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CASSIAN’S POV
I stepped through the door of Sabrina’s apartment, and Natasha came running the moment she saw me.
“Daddy!” She crashed into my legs, her small arms wrapping around me.
“You came back!”
I crouched down, a smile tugging at my lips despite everything.
“Of course I came back.
And I brought you something.”
I pulled out the bag of sweets I’d picked up on the way.
Her eyes widened, sparkling with the kind of joy only a child could have.
“Chocolate!” She grabbed the bag as if it were treasure.
“Thank you, Daddy!”
“You’re welcome, baby,” I said, ruffling her hair.
“Now go to your room.
I need to talk to your mother.”
She nodded, clutching the bag to her chest, and walked down the hallway.
I watched her go as a warm feeling stirred in my chest.
This was what I wanted: a family.
A real family.
A life without the constant disappointment Lyra brought with her.
This.
Sabrina was on the couch with her back to me.
I walked over and sat beside her.
“Are you still mad at me?”
She didn’t look at me.
“I have every right to be mad, Cassian.
My daughter went through something horrible.
She got hurt because of Lyra, and all you did was yell at Lyra.”
I reached for her hand.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
She finally looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
“I locked Lyra in the bedroom and ordered everyone in the house not to help her.” I squeezed Sabrina’s fingers.
“She can’t interfere with us anymore.
You and Natasha can come back to the pack house.
The three of us can start over.”
Sabrina pulled her hand away.
“I don’t want to start over with her still in the house, Cassian.
I want her gone.
I want her out of our lives for good.”
“Sabrina…”
“I’ll never feel safe as long as she’s there,” she insisted.
“She hurt Natasha.
How can you even think about keeping her around?”
“I need more time.” I ran a hand through my hair.
“Just a little more time.
Once everything is settled, I’ll send her far away.
Another country, even.
She’ll never bother us again.”
She studied me, her eyes narrowing.
“Why do you need time?
What’s so important that you’d keep her around after everything she’s done?”
Because I wasn’t finished with her yet.
Because she was still useful.
“The investors,” I admitted.
“There are important deals tied to her family business.
The investors will only recognize her authority.
I need her to finalize the transactions before I can end the marriage.”
Sabrina’s jaw tightened.
I could see the conflict in her eyes.
She wanted Lyra gone, but she wanted to be my Luna more.
“Fine,” she said at last.
“But I’m not happy about it.”
“Give me a few weeks.” I pulled her closer.
“Then it’ll be just us.
I promise.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We drove back to the pack house together.
Natasha sat in the back seat, her sweets long forgotten.
“Daddy?” She leaned forward.
“Can we finally be a happy family now?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” I glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
“From now on, it’s just the three of us.
No one else.”
She beamed at me and clapped her little hands.
Something settled in my chest.
Everything was going according to plan.
Lyra was locked away.
Sabrina and Natasha were coming home with me.
The deals would close, and then I’d be rid of Lyra forever.
Finally, everything was falling into place.
But as we pulled through the estate gates, I noticed something was wrong.
The guards were gathered near the entrance, their faces pale.
They whispered to one another, their eyes darting toward the house.
I stepped out of the car.
“What’s wrong?”
They scrambled to attention.
“Alpha, there’s something you need to…”
“Spit it out.”
The head guard swallowed.
“It’s the Luna, Alpha.
She’s gone.”
I stared at him.
“Gone?
I locked her in the bedroom myself.
I gave explicit orders…”
“We never opened the door,” he said quickly.
“It was locked the whole time.
But when we checked, we found…” He hesitated.
“We found bedsheets tied together, hanging from the second-floor balcony.”
My blood went cold.
“You’re telling me she climbed down from the second floor?”
“It seems so, Alpha.
She must have…”
“Lyra climbed out the window?” I cut him off.
“Are you kidding me?”
They all went quiet.
“Okay.
It’s fine.” I took a deep breath.
“But you went after her.
You caught her and brought her back…” I looked between them.
“Right?”
“Alpha…”
I gave a bitter laugh.
“I mean, we’re talking about Lyra here.
She’s weak and ill.
She couldn’t have gone that far.”
They exchanged glances.
“I’m sorry, Alpha,” one of them said.
“The Luna escaped.”
“What?!” I screamed, my wolf surging forward.
“She escaped?!”