Chapter 3
The Stones were still bickering, their voices overlapping in an endless chorus of demands, when the banquet manager approached and placed a microphone in my hand.
“Tonight, we celebrate the twins‘ coming–of–age as well as their Rising Ceremony,” he announced. “As their mother, please share a few words and your wisdom.”
I lifted the stone, my gaze sweeping over the hall filled with Stone family members.
“Thank you for joining Adrian and Lucas’s Rising Ceremony. Today is-”
But before I could finish, a deep voice cut through the hall.
“Today of all days, their true parents should not be absent.”
The doors swung open
Hand in hand, a man and woman strode inside.
My breath caught. Even after eighteen years, I knew those faces instantly.
Edward Stone my long–dead mate. And beside him, the woman who had always shadowed me his first love, Vivian Hart.
The hall erupted into chaos. Gasps, murmurs, snarls rippled through the gathered pack
And yet Edward’s parents, seated at the place of honor, showed no shock at all. Their composure was so unnerving it was almost rehearsed. They rose only to draw Vivian closer and seat her proudly at their side.
Edward walked straight to me.
“Clara,” he said, voice dripping with disdain, “you were never much of a wife. But I’ll admit–you’ve been a fine caretaker.”
My sons, stunned, finally found their voices. “What is going on?”
Edward pointed toward Vivian. “She is your true mother. This woman- who clung to me with death threats and kept us apart for eighteen years.‘
The words struck like a whip.
his eyes slashed toward me “-is nothing but a barren Luna
The Stones at the main table joined in immediately, their voices a chorus of accusation.
“Yes, it was Clara who refused to let Edward go.”
“She chained him to a loveless bond, and because of her, you boys grew up away from your real parents.”
“Now you’re grown, strong, even accepted into the Royal Academy. At last, the family can be whole again.”
My sons stared blankly, unable to move, confusion twisting in their eyes.
Vivian pressed forward, tears shimmering as she clasped their hands.
“I am your mother. I sent you gifts every year. I watched you from afar after training, hiding so you would never know. Sweet boys…. can’t you feel the truth in your blood?”
Then she turned to me with false humility, “Sister, thank you. Thank you for raising my sons so well.
Edward slid an arm around her shoulders, his eyes gleaming with cruel triumph.
“Clara, enough charades. You and I will annul our bond tomorrow. Eighteen years is long enough. Vivian will take her rightful place as
my mate.”
Everyone expected me to
to collapse, to scream and rage. The entire Stone clan leaned forward, eager for my humiliation
Instead, I smiled. Calm, cold, unshaken.
Chapter 3
“Very well,” I said softly. “We’ll dissolve the bond tomorrow. Let the four of you reunite.”
The hall froze. Gasps rippled through the room.
Even Edward and Vivian stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
“You–are you ins Edward demanded.
I tilted my head. “Why? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Vivian tugged at his arm, whispering urgently. At once, Edward pulled a rolled parchment from his cloak and shoved it toward me, desperate to secure the victory before I could change my mind.
“Then sign. Here. This Blood–Breaking Pact severs all ties. From this moment, the boys belong to us, and you are forbidden from ever claiming them again.”
Without so much as glancing at the text, I scrawled my name across the bottom.
“Mom? You’re abandoning us?” Adrian’s voice cracked with disbelief, his eyes shimmering with hurt.
Vivian snatched up the pact with greedy hands, her lips curling into a victorious smile. “Thank you, Sister. Without you, Edward and I would never have known such freedom.”
She turned to my sons, eyes glittering, “Come now, you are ours again. She has nothing left to do with you.”
Edward’s father waved dismissively. “Enough! Clara, you may leave. You have no place here any longer.”
ן
I rose slowly. “Leave?” My voice carried a razor’s edge. “Not yet. Since the pact is signed, it is time you all learned the truth.”
The hall fell into uneasy silence.
Edward narrowed his eyes. “What are you playing at?”
At last, I exhaled. Eighteen years I had waited for this moment. Eighteen years of sacrifice and silence.
I clapped my hands toward the doors. “Bring them in.”
Two shadows appeared in the threshold, slowly stepping into the torchlight.
And when the pack saw who they were, the hall descended into chaos once more…
