Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Xenois

The drive home was made in silence and anger as Sophia’s words kept echoing in my head, making my blood boil hotter.

Lumina had been cruel to Sophia and Riley. She’d mocked Sophia and Riley, and had told them they didn’t belong in the pack.

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The woman I’d married, the mother of my son, had shown such cruelty to a child, a child the same age as Ollie. Was she that cruel? Is

this how she treated Ollie too when I wasn’t aware. Was our son in danger with her.

My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as I thought about little Riley’s confused face when Sophia described how hurt he’d been.

The boy had done nothing wrong at all- he was innocent in all of this. And for Lumina to take out whatever jealousy or insecurity

she was feeling on a child was completely unacceptable.

I’d always known Lumina could be cold, distant. Our marriage had been arranged, and while I’d hoped we might grow to care for each

other over time, she’d always kept herself separate from me. But I’d never imagined she could be cruel, especially to a child.

The house was quiet when I arrived, everyone was already settled in for the night, most of the lights were off except for the one

coming from the living room. I made my way inside with the key and found Lumina curled up on the couch with a book, looking at peace

with herself and unbothered.

The sight of her calmness only fueled my anger further.

She looked up as I entered, and I saw something flash across her face was it guilt?

“You’re home late,” she said quietly, closing her book.

“We need to talk.” My voice was colder than I’d intended, but I was too angry to control myself and she deserved it.

She set the book aside and sat upright crossing her hands across her chest in a defensive position.

“About what?”

“About your meeting with Sophia and Riley today.”

I watched her face carefully, looking for any sign of remorse, any fear and guilt for what she had done. Instead, her expression was closed off and she looked bored about it.

“What about it?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Lumina. Sophia told me what happened at the grocery store. How you treated her, the things you said to

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Chapter 23

Riley.”

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She was quiet for a long moment, as she narrowed her eyes at me and I could see her thinking, of a perfect lie to tell me as usual.

“I had a brief conversation with Sophia,” she said finally. “It was perfectly civil.”

“Civil?” I couldn’t keep the disbelief out of my voice as I scoffed. Did she really think that I was going to believe the bullshit that

came out of her mouth?

“You call telling her she doesn’t belong in this pack civil? You call making cruel comments about Riley’s legitimacy civil?”

“I never said any of those things.”

The flat denial caught me off guard. There was no emotion in her voice, neither did she sound defensive.

But Sophia had been so upset, so detailed in her account of what had happened.

“Sophia was very clear about what you said to her.”

“Then Sophia was lying.”

“Why would she lie about something like that?”

Lumina stood up, slowly from where she sat as she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as she replied. “I can think of several

reasons, but I suspect you already know what they are.”

“Enlighten me.”

“She wants you back, Xenois. She wants to destroy our marriage so she can have you for herself. What better way to do that than to

make you think I’m some kind of monster who would attack a child?”

I studied her face, looking for any sign that she was telling the truth. But Lumina had always been hard to read, even after all these

years of marriage.

“You’re saying she made the whole thing up?”

“I’m saying that our conversation was brief and polite. I made no comments about her place in the pack or about Riley’s legitimacy. If she told you otherwise, she was lying.”

“She had no reason to lie.”

“Didn’t she?” Lumina’s voice was quiet but there was an edge to it now. “She has every reason to lie, and you know it.”

I felt my alpha instincts rising, the urge to dominate, to force the truth from her. My scent began to shift, carrying the weight of my

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Chapter 23

authority.

:

:

“I want the truth, Lumina. What really happened today?”

I saw her shoulders tense as my scent reached her, her omega instincts responding automatically to my alpha command. But even under the pressure of it, her story didn’t change.

“I told you the truth. I was polite to Sophia, I complimented Riley, and I left. If she claims otherwise, she’s lying to manipulate you.”

The conviction in her voice, even under the influence of my alpha scent, was troubling. But Sophia had been so convincing, so genuinely hurt.

“Tomorrow,” I said, my voice carrying the full weight of my authority, “you’re coming to my office with me. You’re going to apologize to Sophia for whatever you did or said that upset her.”

“I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do.”

“You will,” I said firmly, letting my scent intensify. “Because even if you think you did nothing wrong, she was clearly hurt by your interaction. As my wife, as the Luna of this pack, it’s your responsibility to make sure all pack members feel welcome and valued.”

I watched as she wanted to get angry and fight back but then she stopped, freezing as if she just realized something before she

nodded her head.

“Fine,” she said quietly. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

The silence was heavy between us as she looked away from me and then she moved toward the stairs.

“I’m going to bed,” she said without looking back at me.

“I’m not staying the night.” I said in reply, watching her shrug her shoulders.

“Whatever” she muttered as the door slammed shut.

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