Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 17

Talia’s POV

The man is tall, with high, sharp cheekbones, a straight nose and piercing gold eyes.. Right now, those eyes are wide, scanning the room with panic before they land on the boy and soften with a flood of relief.

“Robin!” His voice has a smooth baritone. “You can’t just run off like that, you know this! You’re misbehaving again…”

The little boy, Robin, flinches. Instead of running towards the man who is calling his name so familiarly, he shrinks back against my legs, his small frame trembling.

I don’t know many things about this child, but it’s definitely not the reaction of a child who has been lovingly missed.

My body moves on an instinct as I shift, putting myself more firmly between him and this stranger.

“Sir,” I say, keeping my voice level. “What’s your relationship to him?”

The pair of gold eyes snap to me, sweeping over me before he lifts one eyebrow.

You’re questioning me? I’m his father.”

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Chapter 17

I look at him from top to bottom.

For a second, when he first stormed in, I had caught a scent in the air that made the back of my neck prickle. But it’s gone now, faded away as if it were never there.

Maybe it was just the adrenaline, or maybe it was someone else’s scent from outside?

Electra, standing beside me, is staring hard at him, but her wolf is not reacting like she’s facing a dominant wolf.

I can’t trust a fleeting feeling and question him about this in a bar where both our kind and humans are known to mingle.

So I focus on the situation at hand, which has thoroughly terrified the child sitting beside me.

“Are you sure about that?”

i

I press, gently squeezing Robin’s hand.

A faint smile touches the man’s lips. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “Should we call the police and let them sort it out?”

“Okay.” I pull out my phone, thumb hovering over the keypad, ready to call the authorities.

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Chapter 17

Just then, I feel a frantic tug on my sleeve. Robin looks up, his big blue eyes pleading. “Don’t call anyone. He… he is my dad.”

I look from the scared boy to the imposing man. Their eyes meet, and tension crackles under the surface.

I crouch down to his level.

“If your dad is here, sweetheart, then you should go with him,” I say softly, trying to sound reassuring.

“I don’t want to.”

He shakes his head vigorously.

Maybe, they had a fight? I know children run away for smaller reasons, and I’m about to persuade him that home is the safest place for him to go, even when I’m just as reluctant to do so.

The man’s voice, cool and detached, cuts me off. “If you don’t want to come, then don’t.”

Both Electra and I just stare at him. What kind of parent says that?

He takes a step into the room, his focus still on his son.

“I’m Raymond Capaldi. This is my son, Robin.”

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Chapter 17

He finally looks at me, waiting to see my reaction.

“He doesn’t… warm up to people easily,” Raymond says, his gaze flicking to where Robin is half–hiding behind my legs. “I don’t often see him trust a stranger, but he seems actually fond of you. So, I have a proposal.”

He says flatly. “If you look after him while he recuperates, I’ll pay you one hundred thousand dollars a month. All his expenses; medical, food, whatever he needs, will be on a separate card. What do you say?”

Electra makes a sound like she’s choking on air.

A hundred grand a month, for watching a kid? There has to be a

catch.

“I’m sorry, I can’t possibly-”

“Two hundred thousand.”

“Mr. Capaldi, it’s not about the money-”

“Five hundred.”

A flare of frustration hits me. “You’re not listening! This isn’t a negotiation, I’m saying no-”

49ge million.” The voice is calm as ever, even though he words 1

Chapter 17

are enough to shake me up. “Per month.”

A million dollars…?

I hate that my mind doesn’t jump to anger first. Rather, it takes the path of practicality.

It’s an insane amount- no, it’s a life–changingly insane sum of money. It would buy my freedom from Aires, and it could provide the seed funding for the studio with Rafael…

And all for doing the one thing I know how to do well: care for a child.

I feel my resolve crack. I’ve never been extravagant, in fact, I barely spend on myself. In all these years, I don’t think I’ve spent even a hundred thousand on me.

But now? My cards are frozen, and I refuse to let Rafael shoulder all the burdens while I contribute nothing but effort.

“Mr. Capaldi,” I say, my voice quieter with embarrassment and

submission.

“What would I actually have to do?”

There is a satisfied smile on his face, relaxing his stern features slightly as he speaks.

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Chapter 17

“I travel constantly, and I’m not home much to take care of him. As for you, Miss…?”

“Talia.”

I brace for recognition; in case he’s a werewolf, I would find the same mocking smile that usually follows the name of the pack’s failed Luna.

But he just nods, then carries on speaking as per usual.

“Miss. Talia, your job is simple. Take him to school and back, make sure he eats properly, you keep him company. If you want to take him to amusement parks, the zoo, summer camps, on a damn vacation… you can decide. All those expenses will be reimbursed separately.”

Electra looks like she’s having a stroke. Paid vacations-?!

“If I will take care of him full–time, does that mean he will stay with me?” I ask, confused. “Not with you?”

He tilts his head, speaking sarcastically.

“What, would you prefer to move into my penthouse? I don’t mind it, but you seem a little young. Your husband or boyfriend might get the wrong idea.”

bfgeze, realising that he has noticed the faint tan line on my3:31

Chapter 17

ring finger.

Naturally, there is no question of moving in with him, it was a bad idea on all counts.

“Does… Robin’s mother agree to let him stay with me?”

I ask carefully.

Raymond’s face goes perfectly, chillingly blank. “His mother passed away.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry,”

I murmur, looking down at Robin with a fresh wave of

heartache.

“It was a long time ago.” He dismisses it with a wave of his hand that seems too sharp to be casual.

Perhaps, the pain still stings, no matter how many years have passed…

“Aren’t you worried that if you send your son to stay with me full–time, I might treat him poorly?”

In any case, I would never hurt a child…but he doesn’t know

that.

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Chapter 17

“He is my son, my only child. Do you think anyone would be stupid enough to hurt him once they know who he belongs to?”

The arrogance in his tone is absolute, and terrifying. But also, on some level, it is quite reassuring, telling me that this man is not careless.

He will be watching out for his son.

2

I look down at Robin. He’s peeking at his father, then up at me. But his hand is still in mine, he doesn’t even try to pull away.

Maybe, some would say that it is a terrible idea. It’s a disaster waiting to happen, taking up a responsibility like this after losing my everything.

But right now, it is also my only way out.

I meet Raymond Capaldi’s unsettling stare.

“Okay. Mr. Capaldi, when do I start?”

X

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